Although most people who regularly take multivitamins do so for nutritional reasons another advantage which is often overlooked is how they can enhance your appearance. To get the best for your looks out of your multivitamin it should contain 100% of the following ingredients:

Vitamin A helps protect your skin from infection as well as aiding cell tissue growth. It’s best as beta-carotene which converts to vitamin A in the body and is less toxic than straight vitamin A.
Vitamin B aids in converting food into energy via the metabolism of carbohydrates, fat and protein.
Vitamin C helps keep gum and skin tissue healthy by strengthening capillaries and blood vessel walls. It also produces collagen, a protein in connective tissue.
Biotin is produced naturally via healthy intestinal bacteria, but a lack of it can result in dry skin and dermatitis in adults. Eggs are especially rich in biotin but don’t eat egg whites raw as they contain a protein that prevents the absorption of biotin unless they’re cooked.
Vitamin E alone is a good enough reason to take a multivitamin as you can never get enough via a regular diet. A combination of mixed tocopherols and tocotrienols is better than only alpha tocopherol.
Calcium is of course good for strengthening teeth and bones.
Iron helps make haemoglobin which carries the protein containing oxygen to your blood.
Zinc helps cell reproduction, immune function and tissue growth and repairs as well as aids in the absorption of carbohydrates, protein and fat.

Other aids to good looks include always using a good quality sun screen containing either zinc or Mexoryl when exposed to the sun; always getting enough rest and drinking enough fluids either as plain water or as tea – either black, green, white or oolong. Also try to avoid getting stressed out.

Creatine is a supplement that provides your muscles with the nutrients they need to excel during work outs, it helps to improve muscle recovery time and helps develop better muscle definition. 

Creatine is extensively used by athletes in a wide variety of sports because of the certainty it increases muscle mass and aids performance. Many in the fitness industry claim it is one of the best supplements to aid strength, recover faster, build more muscle more quickly and has the benefit of being a natural occurring chemical within your body.

Maltodextrin is a sugar and classified as a complex carbohydrate, it has a high Gi value and this means it is absorbed into the blood stream very quickly and gives the body an energy boost.  This boost can be important in speeding up nutrients, such as protein, amino acids and creatine to the muscles.

CLA is claimed to be a magic bullet supplement, it is thought to increase metabolic rate, increase fat utilization, aid weight loss, increase strength and increase lean muscle mass.  You can get CLA through eating dairy (except skimmed milk) and meat.   If you want to supplement your diet the usual dietary supplementation is 3-5g a day, 20-40 times the daily dietary intake.

Tribulus Terrestris is a plant sourced supplement in capsule form used by body builders looking to increase their natural levels of testosterone.

It gained notoriety in the western world during the early 90’s when Eastern European Olympic athletes claimed that it improved their physical performance. In other parts of the world like India, it has been known to be used for a better sexual performance. It can help smash infertility and erectile dysfunction problems.

Studies have since proven that it heightens the level of testosterone, pushing towards the body’s natural limits which lead to greater gains, shorter recovery times, more energy, and increased libido. What it actually does is increase the Lutenizing Hormone (LH), which works like an on/off switch which in turn raises your natural levels of testosterone.

TT is great for anyone looking to get a natural advantage over the competition and is widely available from any good UK health shop. Most suppliers will offer bottles of up to a months worth.

To fully benefit from TT, take 3 capsules spread out along the day to steadily increase and keep your testosterone levels up.

Nitric Oxide is a supplement that supports the amount of blood flow to the tissues. The inner lining of blood vessels use nitric oxide to signal the surrounding smooth muscles to relax, thus resulting in vasodilation – increasing blood flow and oxygen delivery to the working muscles. Although the body naturally produces Nitric Oxide, most people do not produce enough, and require supplementation in order to see the full benefits.

Nitric Oxide can help you fight fatigue so you can recover faster in between workouts and therefore work out more. Not only can it help you to recover faster and work out more but it can improve the intensity of the work out by allowing you to do more reps. As you perform your session, the body rapidly begins to run out of oxygen. When it does, you’ll start to get lactic acid build-up forming in the muscle tissue, felt as a burning sensation, which may cause you to cease exercise. So if you can get more oxygen to the tissues and reduce the amount of lactic acid build-up and fatigue, you should be able to do more reps.

Nitric Oxide also has been shown to help maintain your core temperature balance during a workout by allowing better blood flow. When your body temperature rises during a workout it will cool the tissues so that overheating doesn’t occur. With good blood flow this process is made easier, so less energy will be directed to accomplish this goal, leaving more energy to complete your workouts with. Studies have also shown that Nitric Oxide increases your use of glucose – important if you are looking to lose body fat.

The last benefit of using Nitric Oxide is a great muscle pump after a workout to – which can help keep you motivated. When on Nitric Oxide, this pump will be more pronounced and last longer.

As with any supplement – you should seek approval from your Dr. prior to taking Nitric Oxide.

Written by Vanessa

If you haven’t already heard of ZMA, then you’ve been missing out! ZMA is the combination of the minerals Zinc & Magnesium, plus added to it is Vitamin B6. This supplement is traditionally used by bodybuilders to help increase testosterone levels and stimulate the growth hormone, thus increasing strength, endurance, and muscle mass.

Aside from the bodybuilding benefits that ZMA possesses, it’s also a great supplement to use to help aid other forms of exercise, due to the fact that these minerals are usually lost during activity and need to be replenished to keep the body functioning as normal. Zinc possesses antioxidant properties, and Magnesium can help ward off illnesses like diabetes and osteoporosis.

It is recommended that ZMA is taken at least 2 hours after eating and 30 minutes before sleep in order to be effective. It should not be ingested with any dairy products as Calcium blocks the absorption of Zinc. I would also suggest 3-4 tabs a night for a male and 2-3 for a female, with the addition of a single tab taken first thing in the morning.

People often ask me which sports supplements I recommend for all manner of training types. And if I had to be honest, this would be my list of recommendations:-

1. Whey Protein – Nothing beats a good whey protein shake! Whey contains fast acting protein enzymes that are perfect for anyone looking to bulk up in size, or even lower their body weight. Because of its versatility, you cannot go wrong! There are 2 main types of whey- Concentrate and Isolate. Your decision on which of the 2 to choose will be based on how particular you are. If you prefer an easier mixing protein with no added sugar, less carbs, that’s low in fat and without lumps clumping up your shaker, and can afford to pay that bit extra for a better quality protein then go for isolate. But then, if you’re on a tighter budget and can bare to put up with the increased sugar content and lumps in your shaker then go for the concentrate. All in all though, whey protein packs an almighty punch. It’s perfect as a meal replacement or even post workout when your muscles are screaming out for protein. A good quality whey product should contain a good level of branched chain amino acids- these will help repair and build muscle tissue to.
2. Creatine – Creatine is the most researched muscle building supplement in history. It is scientifically proven to increase muscle tolerance as well as increasing strength and size. Just a few grams a day could lead to such results as well as improvement of the central nervous system and an increase in energy. Creatine can be bought in powder, capsule and tablet form, although I find that the powder works best for me. I also recommend the creapure version due to its higher levels of purity in comparison to monohydrate.
3. BCAAs – Also known as Branched Chain Amino Acids are a 2:1:1 ratio blend of leucine : isoleucine : valine. These 3 amino acids are considered as essential for the fact that we’d not survive without them in our diet. We consume them constantly in the foods we eat but in training terms, we could take great advantage of a bit of supplementation. Taken appropriately, they can provide an increase in lean body mass when building and also prevent the loss of mass when not training or on a cut when you need to increase cardio activity. For these reasons, I feel that this has to be an essential purchase. And aside from these 2 proven benefits, It’s recently been said that BCAAs also contribute to an extended life!!

Give these a try! I’m sure you won’t be disappointed with the results!

Written by Oli Felix

Glutamine; one of the 20 amino acids, has grown in popularity over the past few years to the status of an essential supplement to take when training, although many people don’t realise the true potential of this amazing protein.

I myself and many others regard Glutamine as a compulsory part of the bodybuilding diet merely because it aids recovery post workout and gets you ready for your next workout sooner than without it. This would seem a more than worthwhile reason to supplement Glutamine, but there are even more reasons to start utilising it.

Glutamine serves as a metabolic fuel for skeletal muscle and also helps synthesize protein, helping you grow bigger and stronger! Without it, you may not be channelling a large portion of your post workout protein shake to where it should be going-YOUR MUSCLES!!

Also, taking just 2 grams of Glutamine can stimulate the release of growth hormone, meaning there’s no need to be forking out ££â€™s on illegal and dangerous synthetic growth hormones. You can in fact have similar effects at a small price by doing it the natural way.

All in all I’d have to say that this gives you a huge reason to start taking this supplement. It’s not just an amino, it’s essential!

Written by Oli Felix