Get on track with your goals by finding out what supplements are right for you! Get your FREE personalized Supplement Recommendation by visiting the supplement recommender

(Source: blog.madsweat.com)

(Source: blog.madsweat.com)

We would like to introduce you all to dotFIT, it is the supplement brand we personally use and recommend to our clients.  Here is a little background of why we have chosen dotFIT for our supplement needs.

Before supplements become dotFIT products or are recommended for general consumer use, they must survive stringent legal and scientific review with the following conditions met:

1.  Current clinical research- evidence based and 100% defensible through published scientific research.

2.  Documented safety & efficacy- only safe and effective dosages; only the compounds, and levels that are proven to work are in the products

3.  Purity, potency, delivery- Our dietary supplement products are manufactured in a FDA-registered, Drug-Licensed pharmaceutical facility in compliance with Current Good Manufacturing Practices. This means that both purity and potency are guaranteed and it assures users that all nutritional claims meet or surpass FDA guidelines, USDA guidelines, and industry norms.

4. Never too much or too little-All formulas must be able to work in synergy with other dotFIT products in order to avoid nutrient overages, which are common with typical, indiscriminate supplement use.

Welcome to our series all about proper supplementation!

Today we are going to look at the dotFIT multivitamin formulas, and help determine what one is really best for you! 

Did you know? In June of 2002, the JAMA (journal of the American Medical Association) published a study that urged all American to take a daily multi-vitamin!  So with all the choices out there how do you know what is best. 

 We have already discussed why we recommend dotFIT supplements to our clients, now lets figure out which MV formula is going to be best for your specific needs!

1. Active MV: as this implies if you are an active individual (athlete or involved with intense physical activity) this is the MV for you.  It has higher levels of antioxidants and B vitamins, needed to due increased energy demands.

 2. Over 50:  this formula considers the needs of individuals over 50 years young! Increased levels of B12, B6 and folic acid!

3. Women: designed with the needs of women in mind, higher levels of vitamin D, folic acid, magnesium and iron.

(Source: blog.madsweat.com)

  Many supplements can interact with prescription medications. Make sure you find out if any medication your taking has any contraindications with the supplements you take.

What supplements are OK and which ones you should avoid?

 Have you seen all the glossy ads for supplements fill magazines and jump off of Internet sites, all promising a performance edge. Many people purchase powders and pills without really knowing what they are or how they work. Because of the legislative environment, supplements are not regulated the same way that pharmaceutical drugs are, leaving more room for contaminants and irregular quality.

Before even considering a supplement, you should first look at your overall diets and see where there are opportunities for improvement. You can make huge gains in performance by eating nutrient-dense foods and staying well hydrated.

If you are considering supplements to help enhance your performance, you should be extremely careful, especially if you are competing in sports with drug testing. Even if you did no intend to take a banned substance, compounds might be present in these supplements as contaminants that could lead to a positive drug test.

Two of the most commonly used supplements are creatine and caffeine, and both have been extensively studied.

Creatine is a nitrogenous organic acid that occurs naturally in vertebrates and helps to supply energy to muscles. It is also found naturally in meat and fish. Creatine has been shown in research to increase strength and muscle mass by rapidly supplying an energy source to muscles working at a very high intensity. By complexing with a phosphate to form creatine-phosphate (CrP), the body uses creatine in the phosphagen energy system. In this energy pathway, the phosphate is split from the creatine, releasing energy which is then used to attach another phosphate to adenosine-diphosphate (ADP), making it adenosine triphosphate (ATP) – energy currency for muscular contraction. Considerable research shows that creatine is effective for repeated, short-duration, high-intensity exercise. However, if training or competition does not involve high intensity work, creatine will not improve performance at all. For example, long, low-moderate intensity distance training for a marathon will not be enhanced by creatine.

Caffeine is used as an ergogenic aid to improve endurance performance by increasing lipolyisis and thereby the body’s access to fat as a fuel source. Some research also indicates that caffeine will decrease fatigue during activity which plays a physical as well as psychological role in the performance of an athlete. However, there are significant side effects of caffeine for many people, including nervousness, rapid heart beat, irritability, and sleeplessness, and many athletic sanctioning organizations prohibit the use of caffeine in high doses. 

Get answers to more common (and not so common) supplementation  questions just ask the experts.