Our columnist is a marketing and communications expert himself, so he knows that just because the runner is being sold something as “hot shit” doesn’t mean it’s actually true. And yet: He too is an advertising victim from time to time.
Anyone who regularly hangs around in social networks today knows that the algorithms are really nasty things. If we, as runners, only occasionally find out about nutrition and dietary supplements on the internet, we will end up being spammed with online advertising. Supplement manufacturers in particular often focus their advertising on the online sector. That’s still not bad, but you have to be very, very strong as a consumer and runner in order not to become a victim of advertising.
Anyone who does a lot and regularly sports, who takes care of themselves, who wants to get better, often not only tweaks their training, the adjusting screw nutrition usually also plays a role. And we are all susceptible to the ultimate miracle cure. One that makes us even fitter, that replaces entire meals, that provides us with important building blocks, that makes us even more perfect. Well, at least the body.
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Maybe the miracle cure can even ensure that we lose a little weight!? A dream. And then suddenly they are there. The Athletic Greens, Almaseds, Orthomols and everyone else in the world promises us to be or become lean, fit, forever young people.
For just under 100 euros a month, we gulp down shakes that taste like sweeteners or completely overpriced sugar solutions. Simply because we hope to become even better and healthier runners. Substances that have become liquid and taste like edible paper are said to make us lean and slim, sugar water strengthens our immune system – 75 vitamins and nutrients with just one shake make us healthy forever. I’ve tried them all. My birthday is still March 12th. i am aging And I still don’t run a sub-two-hour marathon. Crazy! Sobering!
As I write all this, I have to chuckle a little to myself. Although you know all this, you still allow yourself to be “seduced”. In addition, science is totally unanimous: the clear effect of the supplements has not yet been proven. On the contrary: Many experts and scientists believe that the additional preparations have a rather negative effect. Some are even warned of those who claim to be able to replace meals.
The main reason: Dietary supplements often lack fiber, effective secondary plant substances, long-chain carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats. They cannot replace a meal because they are not. Besides, the name says it all: All of these remedies are supplements – they supplement and don’t fill out. And by the way, all these products have to be labeled accordingly. Anything else would be illegal.
“What science already says,” one might think. And yes, the sentence could also come from me. Do you always have to be able to prove everything? Isn’t there something like your own perception that you can and must trust? Don’t runners know their bodies best?
There’s definitely something to it. For example, I am very sure that taking my magnesium product every day is extremely important to me. That it makes me feel better than if I didn’t consume it. The 1000 dose is of course much too high. But in my head it’s like: take it and you won’t have cramps after training. and thats the way it is. But it’s just in my head.
And every scientist smiles at me, which is totally okay. What is certain is that I would not eat anything that would harm me. The body simply cannot absorb too much magnesium and excretes it. Point. And I think it’s really important that we – whatever – do a lot for our well-being. It is also important to me that everyone has their own beliefs and, above all, their own body.
Mike Kleiß has been doing sports since he was a child. “Those who exercise achieve more” is his motto in life. Running was always his favorite subject. For seven years he has been running between 15 and 20 kilometers almost every day, often in marathons and sometimes in ultra marathons. So far, our columnist has published two books on running. He is the founder and managing director of the communications agency GOODWILLRUN. Mike Kleiss lives with his family in Hamburg and Cologne. He writes about running here every Thursday.
What is good for me may not be good for others. We should only be aware of two things: If we are going to spend a lot of money on effects that have hardly been scientifically proven, then hopefully not on things that harm us. And: If you eat a balanced diet, you don’t need any food supplements – that also saves a lot of money! That’s how it works.
