The world of sports performance has long benefitted from those who understand the value in supplementing with nutrients that can aid the both in a number of ways. At the start there are pre-workout nutrients—probably caffeine being the most well-known. Then there are nutrients to help with building muscle and improving strength, fitness, output and endurance during competition. On the tail end, recovery is increasingly being seen as vital—both to prevent muscle soreness that can keep you down as well as even immune-enhancing bioactives not traditionally used in sports supplements but gaining greater sway among athletes. That’s because the stress and strain put on a body during a competition or a workout can cause damage to the body and sometimes during that down period people succumb to illnesses. And if you’re too sick to get out there, you’re not going to be able to perform at all, let alone optimally.

We asked Douglas S. Kalman, Ph.D., clinical associate professor at Nova Southeastern University in Florida, his insight and opinion about three ingredients that are effective and popular in today’s sports nutrition world. Kalman talked with Todd Runestad, content director for Natural Products Insider, at the SupplySide East trade show in Secaucus, NJ, on April 19, 2023.

Related:A balanced approach to optimizing sports performance for today's athletes - podcast

The first sports ingredient Kalman mentioned is the cellular protectant, hobamine. When you’re involved in high-intensity exercise, you get stress and reactive oxygen species that can cause short-term damage to cells that can limit performance. Hobamine can enhance exercise performance either by extending it or higher output capacity during that time period.

HMB, or beta-hydroxymethylbutyrate. It’s an older one but it helps reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness and reduce biomarkers of muscle damage. HMB can help with recovery and the amount of damage to a person.

To hear about the third one, which is used both enhance muscular output but also has provocative new evidence about enhancing cognitive function and health, watch the video.