Sport

No. Food comes first, and most people already eat enough protein. Supplements are useful when your training load, schedule or appetite makes it hard to hit your targets. A shake after evening training is easier than cooking at 10pm, and creatine is difficult to get from food in useful amounts. If you train twice a week and eat regular meals, you can progress without any of this. Convenience and consistency are the honest reasons to use it.

UK reference intakes describe the minimum to avoid a shortfall, not the amount that suits heavy training. The Reference Nutrient Intake is 0.75 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day for adults.

Active adults commonly aim higher, spread over three or four meals.

Match the form to the moment rather than to the marketing.

Most people end up with a powder at home and a bar or gel in the kit bag.

Protein timing matters less than your daily total. Having some protein within a few hours of hard training is sensible, but hitting your target across the day matters more than the exact window. Creatine works through saturation, not timing, so take 3 g at whatever time you will remember, including rest days. Consistency is the active ingredient. If a shake after training is what keeps you consistent, that is a good enough reason to use it.

No. Loading with around 20 g a day for five days fills your muscle stores faster, but a steady 3 g per day reaches the same level in roughly three to four weeks. Loading also causes more stomach complaints, which is why we usually suggest skipping it. The small weight gain people notice in the first weeks is water held inside the muscle, not fat. If you stop, stores return to baseline over several weeks.

No supplement can be guaranteed free from substances banned in sport, and UK Anti-Doping applies strict liability: you are responsible for whatever is in your sample. Their advice is to assess the need, the risk and the consequences, and to use batch-tested products while recording the batch number. Certification programmes test each batch before release. If you compete under testing rules, start with our range for tested athletes and check the batch yourself.

Yes, but stack for a reason, not for the sake of it. Protein, creatine and an electrolyte drink cover different jobs and sit together comfortably. Problems usually come from caffeine adding up: a pre-workout, coffee and an energy drink in one day can push you past the 400 mg that EFSA considers safe for healthy adults from all sources. Adults who are pregnant are advised to stay below 200 mg per day.

Because a long ingredient list looks impressive on the front of a tub while costing little. Beta-alanine needs roughly 3 to 6 g per day to build muscle carnosine, and citrulline malate is typically studied around 6 to 8 g, yet many blends spread 5 g of total powder across ten named ingredients. Read the panel per serving, not per 100 g, and check the scoop size. We compare the amount per serving before we list a pre-workout, and we say when a formula is light.