Should I take supplements?

Pills and powders can help plug the nutrient gaps in your diet

Let’s start with the basics. Nutritional supplements are typically consumed orally and come in many forms such as pills, capsules, powders or liquid. They’re usually vitamins, minerals, protein powders, amino acids, meal replacements and extracts. Almost all supplements can be found naturally in foods but are designed to give you additional amounts that you can’t always get from a typical diet.

There might be times when you need more of a particular nutrient and taking it on in supplement form may be more convenient (protein powder) or necessary (vitamin D as it’s difficult to get sufficient amounts from food).

The immune system is complex and there isn’t a simple answer to what you might be lacking. Intensive training, insufficient calories, a poor diet, stress, poor sleep and public spaces are just some of the things that can compromise your ability to fight off disease and infection. There are some simple ways to look after your immune system, though: eat five to seven portions of rainbow-coloured fruit and veg per day; learn to relax and manage stress; get plenty of rest, including sleep; wash your hands regularly – this is to avoid all germs, not just Covid-19. Also make sure you consume enough calories to fuel your exercise and daily activities because low energy levels will weaken you.

Certain supplements can definitely help too. Low levels of vitamin D – which comes primarily from sunlight rather than food – will compromise your immune function so it’s worth taking it as a supplement, especially in winter, and I’d suggest having a recovery shake as soon as you finish a ride when you can’t eat a meal straight away. Zinc lozenges can also help, and there’s some evidence to support the use of probiotics too.

You should get most of the nutrients you need from food, but there are other times when supplements are useful. Meal replacement and whey protein powders can be really useful for convenience if you’re training hard and your body has an elevated need for protein. Iron supplements are good if you’re running low because iron levels are tricky to raise with food alone when a deficiency is apparent.

You may also need some extra help if you remove a large food group from your diet, so for example vegans may need iodine, vitamin B12, calcium and iron supplements.

We know creatine enhances your strength/ power performance and, while creatine is found in meat and fish, to get the maximum performance benefits you will have to take a supplement. And don’t forget that energy products count as supplements too, and there may well be times when you need an energy gel or sports drink, especially in hotter weather and on longer rides of more than 90 minutes.

The pandemic has boosted supplement sales but I’d say the best thing to keep on hand is a good-quality ‘greens powder’. This usually counts towards two or three of your five a day and is high in polyphenols and vitamins.

Always try to unleash the power of food first. Eating the whole food will almost always be a better choice than a supplement because foods give you more nutrients. But don’t be afraid of supplements either – there may be times when energy products, protein powder, vitamin D, creatine and probiotics are really useful and beneficial to health, performance and recovery.

The expert Dr Mayur Ranchordas is a Reader in nutrition and exercise metabolism at Sheffield Hallam University. He is also a performance nutrition consultant who works with Premier League football players and referees, professional cyclists and triathletes