EstimatedEst. Read Time: 5 minutes
Supplements That Taste GREAT…Leave a Bad Taste In My Mouth!

I hope you’re enjoying reading this “Top 5 Biggest Problem with Your Supplements” series I’ve been putting together for you over the last week or so. Not so much in that the information makes you happy or puts a smile on your face (since, like me you’ve probably come to the conclusion that you’ve wasted plenty of money and time on crappy supplements in the past!), but more so in that moving forward…you’ll be much more prepared and armed to make smarter decisions when it comes to what you put in your body to assist your efforts in the gym.

That said…if you didn’t already have a bad taste in your mouth about the information I wrote about in the first three parts…you will now (and ironically, it has to do with the supplements you have may have used or are using…that taste great!) Let me explain!

TASTES TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!

When it comes to supplement taste (particularly with protein powders, meal replacements, post workout recovery supplements, etc) if it tastes too good to be true…..IT IS!! If the last postworkout meal replacement you had reminded you of a McDonald’s vanilla milkshake…in truth, it may not have been too far different nutritionally. How can this be you ask? Doesn’t the label make trustworthy claims about the contents inside? Oh, it does make claims, but in the eyes of the unregulated supplement industry…SAYING and HAVING TO BE SO are two completely different things.

You see, with the lax guidelines and lack of clear specifications in place for standardizing supplement content and ingredient quality…we kind of still find ourselves smack dab in the middle of the SUPPLEMENT WILD WEST! Anything Goes!! Not only can harmful substances like the previously talked about 1,3-Dimethylamylamine be included in the things you’re taking, but on the flip side…things you think are INCLUDED in your supplement (because you’re told they are on the label) don’t necessarily have to be in there in the amounts they’re claiming! I told you things were about to get worse!

WAVING THE MAGIC WAND OF DECEIT

You see…there’s a little talked about practice in the industry called the “magic wand” effect. Manufacturers will often times boast certain levels of an ingredient on their labels only to shortchange the dose and drop in far less than is advertised (saving themselves lots of money in product creation costs along the way)! If the supplement were to be analyzed, and a recommended dose were to be shown to contain only 1mg of HMB for instance, when the label claims 30mg…the company can simply claim “uneven distribution” during the mixing process and get the green light to bring the product to market anyway! Think this doesn’t happen? Think again. It happens far too often.

One of the biggest giveaways when this practice might be occurring is the good old fashioned taste test! Again, if you’re supplement tastes too good to be true, it is…there’s simply no way around certain ingredients. Let me give you an example, by their very nature…branch chain amino acids are guess what? Acidic! They are rather bitter and “grungy” tasting to say the least. This is the reason that most BCAA’s are delivered in pill form, so you can simply swallow down the horse pills without hardly having to endure them sitting on your taste buds for too long.

That said, take a sip of one of the leading postworkout BCAA’s right now and you’d think you were drinking Kool-Aid for crying out loud!! How can that be?? Let me guess…special flavors with “Anti-Amino” Taste Technology? Hardly. More like, one of two things. The first…there really aren’t as many BCAA’s in the product as their claiming (remember, we’re dealing with an UNREGULATED industry) or enough sugar and sweeteners thrown in to drown out the bitterness (only to leave you with a much less healthy version of the supplement you thought you were getting). It’s a lose lose any way you slice it. Even regular vitamins.

Any post workout with a general vitamin profile is going to have a hard time masking that unless they’re not using what they claim or are using massive amounts of fattening sweeteners to do so. Think about the last time you had a multivitamin dissolve on your tongue for a quick second while you were taking it. Pretty distinctive taste huh? The bottom line is that the way the supplement industry has conducted business over the past few decades has forced us as the consumers to become far more proactive and vigilant in what it is that we put in our bodies.

We sadly can’t just TRUST that the “powers that be” will look out for our best interests by putting out quality products (even if at a premium price) with exactly what they claim they’re delivering to us in them. I don’t know, maybe I’m an idealist, but wouldn’t it be nice to be able to go back to the days when our moms would say “EAT THIS….IT’S GOOD FOR YOU” and it really be true again?!? Sure the Brussels Sprouts may not have always tasted the best, but at least they were actually Brussels Sprouts and they were good for us after all. Ahh, the days! Let me know YOUR thoughts! LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW.

PS. Don’t forget #1 is coming next and along with it a BIG announcement!

For those of you wondering about the ATHLEAN-X Sneaker Contest, my infrequent appearances on facebook, and the new TNT Triceps DVD Release….this post is going to answer ALL those questions!! Trust me, you’ll be happy! Stay tuned!

Popular & Trending
stop doing face pulls like this facepull mistake
1
How To Do Face Pulls
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
September 9th, 2019
Face pulls are one of the best corrective exercises to help offset poor posture and shoulder dysfunction.  They help strengthen the chronically weak...
how to identify your body fat percentage with images for men
2
Body Fat Percentage Men
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
May 1st, 2013
There are many ways to measure body fat percentage; some wildly expensive and most inaccurate. It's time to give you an alternative method that...
2 reasons your biceps aren't growing and 3 ways to fix it
3
Why Your Biceps Aren’t Growing
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
August 22nd, 2019
Have you ever felt that no matter how much you trained your biceps you’re left saying… “My Biceps STILL Aren’t Growing?” I believe I know...
The PERFECT Abs Workout
4
The PERFECT Abs Workout
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
July 31st, 2019
We’ll be following my ‘Six Pack Progression’ sequence as we choose each of the beginner and advanced ab exercises for each abdominal movement...
incline bench press avoid mistakes for upper chest
5
How To Incline Bench Press Correctly
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
June 21st, 2019
The Incline Bench Press is one of the best upper chest exercises there is, but there's one major problem preventing us from getting the maximum...
best dumbbell exercises for chest
6
The BEST Dumbbell Exercises for CHEST
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
October 9th, 2019
Today I’m going to share my favorite chest exercises… but there’s a catch. We can only use dumbbells! I’ll show you what to do whether you...
how to construct a complete chest workout
7
The PERFECT Chest Workout
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
July 25th, 2019
The classic theory of "Upper, Middle, and Lower" chest exercises is a good start, but, it's not enough!! The solution to this problem is to not...
best dumbbell exercises for shoulders
8
BEST Dumbbell Exercises for SHOULDERS
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
October 5th, 2019
You want to build big shoulders and you only have access to a few pairs of dumbbells. What do you do? I’m going to show you what to do whether...
how to construct a complete biceps workout
9
The PERFECT Biceps Workout
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
July 15th, 2019
The classic theories of “just do curls” or “it’s not necessary to train your biceps directly” are both flat out wrong! Why? Because it’s...
Home Chest Exercises UPPER, MID, LOWER CHEST!!
10
Chest Exercises at Home
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
May 27th, 2021
Being able to effectively hit your upper, mid and lower chest from home with NO equipment may seem impossible. But, I’m here to show you it’s...