Sports supplements with the most robust evidence base for performance include: creatine monohydrate (the most studied and most effective legal performance supplement, increasing phosphocreatine availability for ATP resynthesis in high-intensity exercise, consistently producing 5–15% improvements in strength and power output); caffeine (improving endurance, strength, and cognitive performance through adenosine receptor blockade at 3–6mg/kg body weight); beta-alanine (buffering intramuscular acidosis during high-intensity exercise); and carbohydrate-electrolyte sports drinks (for exercise exceeding 60–90 minutes).
Role
Sports supplement literacy is the antidote to an industry generating $50+ billion annually from products ranging from evidence-based interventions (creatine, caffeine) to expensive placebos (most proprietary blends) to potentially harmful products (stimulant stacks, some pre-workouts with undisclosed or excessive stimulants). The person who understands that creatine monohydrate is the most cost-effective and best-evidenced performance supplement available at approximately $0.20/day while most commercial pre-workout supplements contain only sub-effective doses of creatine mixed with stimulants and proprietary blends with no independent efficacy data is equipped to capture genuine ergogenic benefit at minimal cost while avoiding commercial exploitation.