Nutrient intake and dietary supplementation in body-builders

Abstract

The micronutrient intake of a group of 76 body-builders was studied. Sixty-three per cent of the subjects supplemented their diets with vitamin and mineral pills. The highest pill consumption was 87 pills per day. Fifty-nine per cent of the subjects used high-protein powders. The benefits of these powders is open to question, since the diet already supplied a high 2.2 g protein per kilogram of body weight. Thirty-nine per cent of the subjects used vitamin/mineral pills as well as protein powders. Because of the use of dietary supplements, the food in the diet supplied only a small fraction of the total intake of most of the micronutrients. The food supplied adequate amounts of nutrients according to the US Recommended Dietary Allowances, and the use of dietary supplements can therefore not be justified.