The advice I give to the moron that is myself is to stay away from supplements. I say, "Chromedome, you stupid putz, eat a diet full of fruits and vegetables, enough starches (I don't like spuds, so I hit the rice bucket pretty hard) to keep your energy level consistant during the day, and enough meat to keep strong." But then I argue that I really want dairy fat. So I say, "Pretend dairy fats are your supplements. Use them wisely." But then I ask, "What about all these fancy supplements people use?" And I reply, "Your ancestors, those thousands of generations of people that got together to create the marvel of genetic engineering that you are, ate food not supplements."

There's tons of sports med information available to the public, but I doubt if much of it is read before an athlete starts using supplements. Pro athletes have the advantage of having trainers and sports med MDs help with supplemental sources. The rest of us don't. And even if we went to a trainer at a gym--one of the most likely places we'd find one, they may not have the depth of education needed to help a cyclist, swimmer, etc, with the supplements that could be useful to them, and not harmful.

How well do you know what you're putting into your body?