Before the list, the fact that reorders everything else.
A supplement is not approved before it goes on sale
Unlike a medicine, a food supplement does not go through a prior authorisation that verifies it does what it says. The manufacturer is responsible for the product being safe and for the label not misleading, and the authority acts mostly afterwards, if something goes wrong.
That does not mean supplements are useless or dangerous. It means the phrase «it is on sale» carries no information about whether it works. The evidence has to be looked at separately, product by product.
The ones that have passed the test
Creatine monohydrate
It is the most studied sports supplement there is, by a wide margin and by many years. It is researched in the range of 3 to 5 grams a day. It is also one of the cheapest, which says a fair amount about the relationship between price and evidence in this market.
Caffeine
A recognised ergogenic aid, usually studied in the range of 3 to 6 mg per kilo of body weight taken between half an hour and an hour before. Going above that does not improve the effect and does worsen that night's sleep — which, if you have read the article on rest, is paying on one side what you gain on the other.
Protein powder
Here it is worth being exact: protein powder is not an active compound, it is convenient food. What has evidence is reaching the day's total protein; the powder is a practical way of getting there, not a different route. If you already get there by eating, it adds nothing.
Beta-alanine and citrulline malate
Real but modest effects, and in fairly specific kinds of effort. They are not at the level of the three above and they are not the first place to spend.
The ones that fall short
This list is longer than the previous one. The usual case is not that a supplement has been refuted, but that the studies supporting it are small, in animals, or at doses nothing like the ones in the tub.
Three signs you are looking at one of those:
- The dose in the tub is not the dose in the study. It is the commonest trick. Serious research is cited, done with an amount the product does not come close to carrying.
- A proprietary blend with no amounts. If the label says «patented complex» and lists twelve ingredients without saying how much of each, it cannot be compared with anything. That is the point.
- It promises several things at once. Energy, focus, fat burning and better sleep are not the same mechanism.
The case of BCAAs
They deserve a separate mention because they sell a lot. If your protein intake for the day is already adequate, branched-chain amino acids on their own add little: you are already taking them inside the complete protein.
The hierarchy, and this is the important part
The order in which things move the result, from most to least:
- Total calories and the day's protein.
- Consistent training, with progression.
- Enough sleep.
- And then, a long way after, supplements.
A supplement on top of a broken base fixes nothing. The honest way to put it is that supplements are the final one per cent, and they only make sense once the other ninety-nine is already in place.
If you compete, check the seal
A product can be contaminated with undeclared substances without the manufacturer intending it. For anyone subject to anti-doping controls, the only practical protection is a third-party verification programme that tests batch by batch. The seal goes on the packaging and can be checked against the programme's register.
And a general warning: if you take medication, are pregnant or have a medical condition, ask first. Interactions exist and some of them are serious.
Where each figure comes from
- ODS · NIH — Fact sheets on dietary supplements and their regulatory framework.
- FDA — The regime for food supplements: manufacturer responsibility and the absence of prior authorisation.
- European register of health claims — what was approved and what was rejected.
United States Government agencies publish in the open and their works are not subject to copyright under 17 U.S.C. § 105. Every figure can be checked one by one; the writing of this article is our own work.
What we sell and what we say. This shop sells supplements, so it is worth being clear: this article describes what the public evidence says about certain substances, not what any particular tub does. Our product pages promise no health effects, and that is not modesty.
The supplement guide in the Pro tier works this through with the full hierarchy, the meta-analysis dose criterion and a monthly budget by level.
Published by VILLUMINATIONS. This text is informational and does not replace the care of a licensed health professional.
