PSN No.3: The Science

The science of sports nutrition is a derivative of scientific investigation, including various studies and clinical work performed by researchers and scientists at universities and research centers around the world.

I love the science, because science is a search for truth. I want to know if these vitamins and minerals and dietary supplements actually do what the people who promote them say they do. I want to know for sure that what I’m taking is going to do what I’ve read and what I’ve been told.

I know supplements have value. But I want to know if they’re safe. I want to know how much to take. I want to know if using creatine for example, can actually improve my vertical jump height or my speed or my kinetic power or if it has any additional value such as relating to life extension or protecting mitochondria from damage or sustaining my cells with energy.

I want to know how and why these things work. I want to know why so I can apply them and teach others. Unlike religion, I don’t want to advocate something by faith or hearsay alone, I want this approach of using whole food and natural health products to be validated with scientific evidence.

But here’s where we have to be cautious because not all science is trustworthy, not all science or what appears or hides or masquerades as science is reliable. Not all science is actually true science, because humans in general are not always ethical.

True science is objective. True science is performed without bias. True science yields an outcome which relates to data and logic and math and physics, it has nothing to do with profit, desire or intention. It’s just pure raw real data collected through the scientific process, and this is the stuff we want to know before it’s manipulated, corrupted or altered in any way with a specific outcome of profit in mind.

There are many good books and several journals and reference texts. A couple of excellent resources include the Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism and Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise

Without the science we wouldn’t know that vitamins exist. We wouldn’t know that certain diseases will arise as a result of their deficiency, and now what we are learning, and what is obvious to those who are seeking the truth, is that you can take dietary supplements above and beyond the minimum amounts to improve health, to minimize our risk of disease and to increase the quality of our lives.

This is a critical point to understand.

Here’s one of my favorite Dr. Colgan quotes from Optimum Sports Nutrition,

“If you believe, truly believe, that a supplement is helping, because it is endorsed by a top athlete, or because it comes from Russia, or because of the pseudo-scientific hype that litters promotional brochures, then it is likely that you will make real, measurable gains while using it. That’s the placebo effect. All the better if the supplement also contains a stimulant that gives you the additional feeling that something good is happening to your body. It’s the power of placebos that keeps bogus supplements on the market.”

So what is good science? The qualities that transform a good idea into good science can be captured in three maxims.

Good science responds to real phenomena or real problems. Good scientific problems are those that reflect real phenomena in the world or real problems that need to be solved.

Good science is in the details. A scientific solution to a problem takes the form of a working model that produces observable behavior or empirical data that can be compared and contrasted to the real phenomena.

Good science makes a difference. The measure of the contribution of a piece of work is in how it solves real problems or shapes the work of others.

Science is a human endeavor. Scientists are all human, with the typical faults and foibles that non-scientists have. Sociology, politics, psychology, and similar aspects of human nature all have a profound influence on how science is conducted.

Science follows certain rules and guidelines. Exactly what these rules and guidelines are depends on what area of science a specific scientific procedure falls within.

Fact in a scientific context is a generally accepted reality. Opinions are neither fact nor theory; they are not officially the domain of science. Thus, science cannot directly address such issues as whether God exists or whether people are good or bad.

Science generally uses the formulation of falsifiable hypotheses developed via systematic empiricism. Hypotheses that cannot ever be disproven are not real science. Acceptance of scientific ideas is based on a process of publication and peer review.

To become a legitimate theory in the conventional world, a hypothesis must be subjected to the approval of a scientist's peers and published in an accredited scientific journal. Replication is also vital to good science. For the scientific community to accept a finding, other investigators must be able to duplicate the original investigator's find.

What is the difference between science and an Opinion?

An opinion is a belief that may or may not be backed up with evidence, but which cannot be proved with that evidence. It is normally a subjective statement and may be the result of an emotion or an interpretation of facts; people may draw opposing opinions from the same facts.

'Scientific opinions' are opinions formed via the scientific method, and so are necessarily evidence backed. A scientific opinion, representing the formally-agreed consensus of a scientific body or establishment, often takes the form of a published position paper citing the research producing the Scientific evidence upon which the opinion is based.

So there ya go! First comes science and after that comes everything else.

“A scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.” ~ Max Planck

PSN No.3: The Science - Clinical Review (Audio Tutorial) SNU V9N12a

As always...stay well and live free.

Dr.C