Important Information Whether You Are Buying Or Selling Supplements

Image Credits: bonfirehealth.com

    When it comes to bodybuilding, losing weight, or just general health, supplements are a great alternative to go to when your nutritition is not up to your needed healthy standards. However, taking or selling supplements is not something to be played with, you have to be knowledgeable enough to understand what the product is for and the potential side effects it will have. 

    I sell supplements at my private personal training studio, Fit Science LLC. Before I even sold any type of supplement to anyone, I made sure I knew what they were, how to use them, and who can use them. You can not just give everyone the same thing that works for you, because people have health issues. Thanks to my new found mentor, Joe Cannon MS CSCS, he and his blog has the proof on the dangers of selling supplements. 

    I really have the upmost respect for this man, because the time he takes to research each supplement and "new diet fad" is enormous! I had the pleasure to chat with Mr. Cannon about his thoughts of people & personal trainers who believe they do not need to know anymore about the supplements, but the basics. He sent me an eye opener post from his blog, www.joe-cannon.com. In his post, he tells of a story of a personal trainer who recommends certain supplements that were not meant to be taken by this client. At the end, the client had a deadly reaction to the supplements, collapses during a personal training session, and later dies in the hospital. In the end, the personal trainer, the fitness center he worked at, the store he took her the buy the supplements, the makers of the differents supplements were all sued for 320 MILLION DOLLARS! As a result, many lives were destroyed. This woman was married and had two kids. All she wanted was to lose a few pounds and she died, because her personal trainer recommended supplements that were not good for her. 

 

    Being a NASM CPT, we are schooled in the benefits and precautions when recommending or selling supplements. In their text book, NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training, it clearly states that "essential nutrients can be potentially toxic at some level of intake" (pg 453).  Too much vitamin A before and after conception, can lead to birth defects. High intake of vitamin D can cause damage to the kidneys, heart, lungs, and calcification of the blood vessels (pg 453). In addition, High levels of vitamin B, can cause damage to your sensory nerves. The same goes for minerals as well. In addition, NASM devotes a whole chapter of "Special Populations" breaking down issues your client might have. It is essential to know and understand what your client's medical situation is. Therefore, if your client has high blood pressure, you DO NOT give them supplements that will stimulate their heart rate.

 

   As a consumer buying supplements, make sure to do your homework as well! If you know that you have to take certain medications, make sure the person who is recommending or selling supplements understands your situation. In addition, consult with your doctor before beginning any type of regular regime of supplementation. Lastly, the best way to know that you will be taking care of properly, in my opinion, is buying from the person who takes to product and had a lot of success in fitness goals. They will have REAL testimonials from prior success stories. At least those type of sellers will know exactly what you need and will know what to do just in case a product does not work well with your system.

 

    As I come to a close, I just want to make sure that if you are considering selling supplements, you know that you will also be held reliable if something bad happens to your client. So, protect yourself and your client by taking the time to learn about the goods & bads of supplemetation.

 

 

 

Lucett, MS, PES CES, NASM-CPT, Scott C., Rodney J. Corn, MA PES, CES, NASM-CPT, Reed Humphrey, PhD, PT FACSM, Stephen J. Kraus, PhD,, Alan Titchenal, PhD, Paul Robbins, PhD, and Robert Cappuccio. "16 Supplementation." NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training. By Micheal A. Clark, DPT, MS PES, CES. 3rd ed. Baltmore: Lippincot Williams & Wilkins, 2008. 449-61. Print.