Ask Stew: Navigating Performance Nutrition/Supplements — Yes or No?

The question of the week has to do with getting overwhelmed with not just eating healthy foods, but finding healthy foods that also help you with athletic performance.

Here is an email from a future special-ops soldier worried about failing because of nutritional needs, especially dehydration. One of the biggest issues with every basic training or special-ops selection program during hot and humid summers or dry and arid environments is heat exhaustion due to dehydration, as well as a mission-ending ailment known as rhabdomyolysis that is linked to dehydration.

Stew, I am in the Army now and have seen the good and bad of training. Some great training along the pipeline, but after a hot and humid summer in Fort Benning, Georgia, and Fort Bragg, North Carolina, some great people were severely injured as heat casualties. Some even got rhabdo. Both of these ended many good soldiers' special-ops goals. Do you have any recommendations?  Is there anything legal that I can add to my food to avoid dehydration or worse?

This is such a great question. Not only are there these injuries that end training, but some even die in training because of these severely serious ailments. Many experience hydration and some rhabdomyolysis problems. The good news is that the military is researching many products to help alleviate such issues that contribute to the high failure rates of many military training programs.

The quick answer is to add more salt to your food when you are sweating profusely and, if possible, try some of the following brands of trusted nutrition and supplements that can help prevent these serious issues. Also, higher muscle-mass individuals are more susceptible to rhabdomyolysis, compared to a leaner athlete.

Being better prepared for the higher endurance, load bearing and other movements is critical. Bigger, deconditioned and dehydrated athletes tend to fall prey to rhabdo.

During training programs, you should access only approved nutrition and supplemental products. Some that I know the military have tested and are in the process of testing are listed below. These also are  approved by United States Olympic teams and are cleared by a third-party safety organization called NSF International, so they are clean from any contaminants that may affect drug tests or your health.

Recommended hydration drinks and powders

DripDrop Hydration: One product that can be found in grocery stores and Walgreens is a product called DripDrop, which we featured on Military.com a few years ago on a similar hydration post.

Shaklee Products: This is another product that has its roots in the NASA space program. Shaklee and NASA have been working together for more than two decades. Most recently, Captains Mark and Scott Kelly have taken Shaklee nutritional products into space. Originally, NASA tapped Shaklee as a partner to help our astronauts return to Earth safely by providing a solution to address General Re-entry Syndrome. Together, their research led combined scientific teams to create AstroAde, a special rehydration product that is still used today on every flight into space. (Verification links/Scientific studies.) Shaklee since has remodeled AstroAde into a variety of hydration drinks that are used by many Olympians, because they exceed standards for the International Olympic Committee-established drug testing regimen.

Shaklee's hydration product, HYDRATE, plus its nutritional Performance Physique + Bio-Build Recovery Protein Supplement, which are designed for rapid muscle recovery, already have been approved by the head nutritionist at the Air Force Combat Control Schoolhouse. They are heading up the chain of command for approval to be tested by the trainees, in hopes of reducing rhabdomyolysis as well as preventing hydration/heat casualty issues.

Thorne Research: Catalyte is a quick and easy powder to add to your water. It is loaded with electrolytes, such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, as well as vitamin B, C and other nutrients. They help you become hydrated quicker than water alone and assist with recovery. Thorne has an entire line of supplements approved by more than 10 Olympic teams as its exclusive nutrition supplement partner. It is approved by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF).

Ascent Protein: For pure recovery, the Ascent whey protein blend contains native whey, and the native whey is the specific protein that has 17% higher levels of leucine. (See why leucine is important.) Native whey is the least processed dairy protein available today. It is a very fine powder and does not clump when shaken. This same protein powder is used in baby formula, so it is so pure that it actually is considered a food -- not a supplement. This requires greater scrutiny and regulation by the Food and Drug Administration.

Thorne and Shaklee offer a full list of products from which to choose.  Finding a company that meets these high standards for product is critical, no matter what your health, fitness and performance goals are.  My recommendation is to find what works for you that is allowed in your military unit and test it. Typically, once through the selection process of training, these products generally are more accepted and used among military members.

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Visit his Fitness eBook store if you're looking to start a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle. Send your fitness questions to stew@stewsmith.com.

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