Quote:
Originally Posted by OTIS
There really is no way to test the effects of supplements on muscle building.
|
WOW. That's very not true IMO. It is for this reason that most studies use a control group. If the sample size (number of participants) is large enough, then you can definitely get a good idea. Also, if enough studies have been done, then you can start to get an idea. Granted, there will always be a sampling error. But you can definitely say with a large amount of confidence that supplements such as creatine may aid in building muscle.
The problem is that companies (and sometimes the people conducting the studies) take good studies and misinterpret the results. Most of the studies that supplement companies reference were done with two groups of less than 10 people. That is NOT a large enough sample to have a significant outcome.
Supplementing creatine has been proven to work to aid in building muscle IMO. There are over 100 studies that show this. High protein diets, and supplemental protein have been proven to help.
So overall, some claims are efficacious while others are likely, but not necessarily, false. It is definitely possible to show that supplements do work. Most companies don't take the time to do so because they don't have to. Or they manipulate the studies or the interpretations. I understand where you're coming from because I'm pretty cynical too.