Table 1 Dietary supplements that may be beneficial for women
From: Sex differences and considerations for female specific nutritional strategies: a narrative review
Supplement | Purpose | Dose |
|---|---|---|
Beta-alanine | Enhance exercise performance | 4-6g/day in 1-2g divided doses for 4 wks |
Acts as a buffer | A slower releasing supplement can increase skeletal muscle carnosine levels more than a rapid releasing supplement | |
Fatigue attenuation | ||
Optimize recovery | ||
Caffeine | Increase athletic performance | Doses between 3-9 mg/kg/ allow ergogenic effects when consumed 60 minutes before exercise |
Spare glycogen by increasing fat metabolism | ||
Decrease pain perception | ||
Calcium | Vital to muscle contraction and relaxation | 1000mg/day |
Helpful for bone density | ||
Creatine Monohydrate | Enhance exercise performance | 0.3g/kg of body weight 4 times a day for 5 to 7 days for a “loading phase” |
Decrease injury risk | ||
Enhance rehabilitation | ||
Decrease disease risk in young, middle aged, and old age groups | ||
Increased fat free mass | Followed by a "maintenance" phase where one where one should ingest 5g/day | |
Effective during menses, pregnancy, and post-partum (regulate mood and decrease depression) | ||
Beneficial to mental health | ||
Beneficial to bone health | ||
Neuroprotection | ||
Folate | Decrease chance of anemia | 400ug/day |
Iron | Decrease chance of anemia | 18mg/day |
Omega-3 | Anti-inflammation | To see the benefits of omega-3, 1-3g should be consumed a day |
Decrease the overall risk of disease | ||
Plays a vital role in growth and development | ||
Improve immune function | ||
Decrease depression | ||
Probiotics | Meet overall health needs | Consuming a multistrain probiotic |
Regulate immune and digestive function | Probiotics taken daily should include 10 to 20 billion colony forming units (CFU) | |
Regulate uro-genital tract | ||
Promote skin health | ||
Reduce inflammation | ||
Riboflavin | Help skin | 1.1mg/day |
Regulate endocrine function | 1.6mg per 1000 calories (if exercising or lactating) | |
Vitamin B12 | Decrease chance of anemia | 2.4ug/day |
Vitamin D3 | Promote bone health | 2,000 to 4,000 IU is safe and beneficial |
Whey Protein | 20-30g boluses throughout the day to reach the recommended 1.6g/kg/day for active women | 20-30g boluses throughout the day to reach the recommended 1.6g/kg/day for active women |
Improve body composition | ||
Increase bone mineral density | ||
Important to muscle protein synthesis | ||
Increase time to exhaustion during exercise | ||
Improve recovery |