Well, let’s see if I can come up with a quick ten for my rant!

1. You have all your exotic oils, herbs and enzymes that tend to recycle over the years. Many that are making many borderline medical claims that are potentially illegal.

2. You mentioned research and while it is good in theory, the simple truth is that most supplement companies don’t allocate the funds for research; they rather spend it on advertising and athlete endorsements.

3. Most supplement companies are making unsubstantiated claims. The simple truth is that these supplement companies fail to live up to the hype. Even many high quality products, of great value when added to a nutritional program, in my opinion just make ridiculous claims. The marketing has got way out of hand.

4. Paid endorsements work! Everyone is putting the best bodies on the cover of their product suggesting that “all a person need do is take a pill or drink this shake and have a body like me”. The association of a product and your favorite athlete will take place if it is a supplement or underwear, and in most cases the athlete doesn't even use the product. This style of half truth advertising is not likely to stop anytime soon, so people need to be more aware of the deception.

5. One thing that the consumer must be aware of is that not all protein powders are created equal. Some companies purchase cheap manufactured proteins in order to improve their profit margins.

6. The special "Must Have" products just drive me crazy. Every year a new generation of young kids fall victim to the outrageous claims by these fly by night supplement companies. Products like Protein powders meal replacements, glutamine and creatine are best, but everything else is in most cases not worth the money.

7. More is better! The idea of product loading such as the case of creatine loading is a perfect example of how supplement companies will twist the truth in order to get you to use more of the product.

8. A person can't live on "Whey" alone! Whey is a way better protein, but certainly not the only protein the body needs. The quality of whey comes at a price, both on the wallet and the gut. The high bio availability of Whey Protein, especially an isolate, doesn't give the body much of an opportunity to utilize the protein. To maintain a nutrition program with only Whey protein will mean that you would need to take a dose of Whey protein just about every hour to maintain optimal nitrogen levels. A blend of both quickly absorbing proteins and much slower digested proteins like a blend of whey, casein and egg proteins provides a much more stable environment for muscle growth and repair. The Whey is better for times when it is clearly important for you to get rapid absorption of protein, such as after a workout.

9. The lack or regulation in the sports nutrition industry will ultimately cost people their lives. Some ingredients are down right dangerous when mixed with other products or with many medications. Product education and an understanding of the ingredients is necessary in order for people to self regulate. We must take personal responsibility for everything that crosses our lips.

10. Mislabeled products are just flat out criminal! Some supplement companies are just not labeling their products correctly. Some supplement companies will change their product formulary, but fail to make the necessary changes to their product labels. The best thing to do is to go with a company you feel you can trust.

Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of great supplements on the market, but many companies, even good companies, get caught up in a battle to reach the consumer.