You've seen the advertisements for supplements in the magazines. The ridiculous claims made in some of these advertisements. Things like "Gain 10 lbs. in 7 days on super duper creatine", "Scientifically proven to burn fat now" and other claims made by the supplement companies to push their supplements on you. Of course if you dispute any of their claims, they can quickly show a scientific study that "proves" it does what is advertised.

The truth is these advertisements are only telling you part of the story. They conveniently forget to tell you the study that "proves" beyond a shadow of a doubt the supplement works, was performed on some sickly person in the hospital who would have probably gained muscle on anything you gave them.

Supplement companies have only one goal in mind. To make a profitable product. They will go to great lengths, even lie, to try and get their supplements to be bought by you off the shelves of your local GNC or by calling a 1-800 number. This misleading (a politically correct way of saying lie) can take many different forms.

The biggest problem with the misinformation of supplements comes from the bodybuilding magazines themselves. A lot of people (especially those new to the bodybuilding game) do not know most of these bodybuilding magazines also own the supplement companies. And these supplement companies use their magazines as a sort of advertisement.

These conflicts of interests make it literally impossible to provide an objective viewpoint of a supplement. How can a supplement company publish an article in its magazine which paints a negative (but true) picture of a supplement they sell.

Hidden agendas are everywhere in this industry. To help you here is a list of some popular bodybuilding magazines and their sister supplement companies.

• Muscle & Fitness Magazine - promotes Weider products
  
  
• Flex Magazine - promotes Weider products
  
  
• Muscular Development Magazine - promotes Twinlab products
  
  
• Muscle Mag - promotes MuscleTech products
  
  
• Testosterone Magazine - promotes Biotest products
  
  
• Pumped Magazine - promotes SAN Nutrition products
  
  
• Double XL Magazine - promotes Nutrabolics products

And recently one of the most heavily promoted supplement brands is XYIENCE which is regularly seen on the UFC, Spike TV, The Fight Network, and several magazines worldwide.

The next dirty little secret of the supplement industry is about product manufacturing. Supplement companies get their products made from a contract manufacturer. A contract manufacturer is a large company with the equipment and tools to get the materials needed for a specific product, and is able to put the product together. They do this in large quantities for bodybuilding supplement companies.

For example, if I wanted to start my own supplement company I would contract with one of these manufacturers. They would then get the basic supplements (i.e. protein, creatine, or whatever) from one of the major suppliers and formulate a product with my label, and now I'm in business.

The point I am trying to make is almost all the supplements come from a few major companies, which produce it in large quantities. They sell it to the contract manufacturers who put it into product form under safe conditions. After that, they slap a label on it and it is sent to the sports nutrition company for them to sell.

So the bottom line is that one brand of supplements is no better then another brand in terms of real world results. They may have different flavors, colors, etc. added to make it different from the others. But the actual product itself is no better then any other brand. You’ll get just as good of results by using one brand of supplements as you will by using another brand, regardless of what the magazine advertisements say, or what the paid sponsored athletes say.

Below I have listed my top 5 supplements that I personally use regularly and that I believe are good supplement investments.

Protein Powder:

Your body needs protein, and lots of it. It is the building block of muscle. Without enough protein in the body, muscle mass will not increase. During your weight training workouts, your muscles are getting broken down. In order to rebuild and repair your muscles, your body needs protein. It is as simple as that.

Protein powder is a really convenient and inexpensive way to get extra protein in your diet. All bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts need to eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. Getting this much protein from food alone can be tough. But by adding a couple protein drinks per day you'll easily be able to get extra protein in your diet.

Protein powder is also a lot cheaper then most high protein foods, so by getting some of your daily protein intake from a protein powder you can cut down on your grocery bill.

Creatine:

Creatine increases protein synthesis and minimizes protein breakdown. This can increase lean muscle mass, improve performance in high-intensity exercise, increase energy levels, and speed up recovery rates. Creatine is naturally found in many foods such as meat and fish, but to get the best benefit bodybuilders and athletes should supplement their diets with creatine.

For your money the best creatine supplement to use is Pure Creatine Monohydrate powder. This will work just as well as the more expensive and heavily advertised creatine supplements that are available, but at a fraction of the cost.

EFA's:

Essential Fatty Acids are the "good fats". They are important for immune system development, digestive support, healthy brain function, soft and smooth skin, circulatory health, and anti-aging benefits. Essential Fatty Acids are necessary fats that humans cannot synthesize, and must be obtained through diet. EFAs are long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids derived from linolenic, linoleic, and oleic acids.

Foods such as fish, flax seeds, olives, and nuts are great sources of EFAs. But if you do not consume enough of these foods in your diet on a regular basis you should supplement with fish oil and/or flax seed oil supplements.

Greens:

Studies show that phytonutrients such as chlorophyll, polyphenols, carotenoids and other antioxidants help protect the body from free radical damage. Greens are rich in phytonutrients which help support the body's self defense mechanism, detoxify and nourish the body. A serving of Greens is approx. the equivalent to 8-10 servings of fruits and vegetables, they are one of the best antioxidant supplements available.

We all know that we are supposed to eat 8-10 servings of fruits and veggies each day, but very few people actually do this on a daily basis. That's why I consider Greens a must have supplement for overall health and well being.

Multi-Vitamins:

It makes sense to get the Daily Recommended Values for vitamins and minerals just in case you don't get them from food. Many people run short on some key nutrients, possibly raising their risk of heart disease, weakened bones, nerve damage, as well as slowing down their muscle growth.

Taking a multi-vitamin, multi-mineral supplement daily is a good way to provide your body with potent antioxidants and supply your muscles with key vitamins and minerals that they need to perform optimally.

Obviously, you can't expect supplements to make up for a lousy diet and poor training program. Your main focus should be on perfecting your workout and nutrition program first. And then you can take advantage of the nutritional supplements I've listed above to help you get the extra edge that they can provide.