Sports nutrition has changed dramatically over the last two decades. Here are 11 myths that have been challenged, refined or completely overturned by better evidence and real-world experience.
✔ Nutrition advice has changed dramatically over the last 20 years as better research has become available.
✔ Some ideas from the bodybuilding world proved to be years ahead of mainstream advice, while others turned out to be completely wrong.
✔ Creatine, protein, eggs and weight training are all viewed very differently today than they were in the early 2000s.
✔ The best lesson from two decades in sports nutrition is to stay open-minded and be willing to change your opinion when better evidence becomes available.
Sports nutrition has changed beyond recognition since I first became involved in it in the 2000s.
When I started lifting weights, information was much harder to find than it is today. If you weren't involved in bodybuilding, most of your nutrition advice came from television, newspapers, magazines or official government guidance. If you were interested in bodybuilding, you lived in a completely different world.
Those who lifted weights devoured magazines such as Flex, Muscle & Fitness and MuscleMag, then later spent countless hours on forums such as UK-Muscle, MuscleTalk and Bodybuilding.com. Those communities were where new supplements were discussed, training methods debated and nutritional advice shared.
Looking back, one thing has always fascinated me. In some areas, the bodybuilding world was years ahead of mainstream nutrition advice. In others, it became trapped by myths, marketing and what we'd now call "bro science".
I remember trying to explain some of these ideas to family members in my late teens and early twenties. I'd read about higher protein diets, the importance of resistance training and why building, or at least maintaining, muscle mattered for everybody. Or how the official advice to eat a low fat, low protein and high carbohydrate diet was not as healthy as everyone was being told. And how crash dieting and excessive cardio to lose weight with no resistance training to maintain muscle was a recipe for disaster. Most people dismissed those ideas because television and newspapers were saying something completely different. Fast forward twenty years and some of those very same ideas have become mainstream, to the point where the people who once argued against them were telling me about them as though they had only just been discovered.
That doesn't mean bodybuilders had all the answers. Far from it. They believed plenty of things that later turned out to be exaggerated or simply wrong. But looking back over two decades, it's remarkable how much nutrition advice has evolved.
Myth #1 - Fat Makes You Fat
If you grew up during the 1980s or 1990s, you'll probably remember the low-fat era.
Supermarket shelves filled with low-fat yoghurts, low-fat ready meals and spreads marketed as healthier alternatives to butter. Fat was portrayed as something to avoid wherever possible, while carbohydrates were often actively encouraged even in the form of pure sugar.
Today, nutritional thinking is much more balanced.
Most people now appreciate that dietary fat is an essential nutrient involved in hormone production, vitamin absorption and overall health. The discussion has shifted away from simply reducing fat and towards the quality of foods we eat and the balance of our diet as a whole.
The conversation has evolved again in recent years with increasing debate around ultra-processed foods, seed oils and food quality rather than simply counting grams of fat.
Perhaps the biggest lesson is that nutrition is rarely as simple as labelling one entire nutrient as "good" or "bad".
Myth #2 - Eggs Are Bad For Your Heart
This was another huge one.
Bodybuilders have always eaten large numbers of eggs because they are inexpensive, convenient and packed with high-quality protein. Unfortunately, eggs also became associated with cholesterol, leading many people to assume they were damaging to heart health.
I remember seeing bodybuilders who suffered heart problems being used almost as evidence that eating lots of eggs must be dangerous. Looking back, many of those athletes had numerous other cardiovascular risk factors including anabolic steroid use, extremely high bodyweights, elevated blood pressure and other lifestyle factors. Eggs themselves were often unfairly blamed simply because they formed part of a typical bodybuilding diet.
Modern research paints a far more nuanced picture. We now understand that, for most healthy people, dietary cholesterol has much less impact on blood cholesterol than once believed. In fact, eggs are increasingly recognised as one of nature's most nutrient-dense foods, providing high-quality protein alongside vitamins, minerals and healthy fats.
Like many nutritional debates, the truth turned out to be considerably more complicated than the headlines suggested.
Myth #3 - Creatine Is Dangerous (And Causes Hair Loss)
If there's one supplement whose reputation has completely transformed, it's creatine.
When creatine first exploded in popularity during the 1990s and early 2000s, many people viewed it with suspicion. It was often talked about as though it were almost comparable to anabolic steroids. Stories circulated about kidney damage, dehydration, muscle cramps and later even hair loss.
I wasn't particularly sceptical about creatine itself, but like many people I probably expected more from it than was realistic. Part of that was because some elite athletes publicly credited creatine for dramatic increases in size and performance. Years later, it emerged that some of those same athletes had also been using anabolic steroids, meaning creatine was often receiving credit for results it could never realistically produce on its own.
Today, creatine is probably the most researched sports supplement available. Rather than asking whether it's dangerous, most people are asking which type they should buy, whether gummies work as well as powder, or whether it offers benefits beyond muscle performance, such as supporting cognitive function.
Even attitudes among women have changed dramatically. Twenty years ago, very few women would have considered taking creatine. Today it's increasingly used by women interested in strength training, healthy ageing and sports performance.
If you'd like to explore the research in more detail, we've looked at both whether creatine is safe to take daily and whether creatine causes hair loss.
That's not to say creatine is a miracle supplement. It isn't. But today's understanding is far more evidence-based than the fear that surrounded it twenty years ago.
Myth #4 - Women Shouldn't Lift Weights (Or Take Supplements)
This is perhaps the biggest cultural shift I've witnessed in the fitness industry.
When we first started selling sports nutrition products in 2003, well over 90% of our customers were men.
The same was true when we owned a weight training gym in 2003-2004. Despite running marketing campaigns specifically aimed at attracting more women, female membership remained relatively low. Most commercial gyms were heavily male dominated and many women who did attend spent most of their time on cardio equipment rather than in the weights area.
Today the picture couldn't be more different.
Women now make up a huge proportion of the sports nutrition market and are just as likely to be interested in protein powders, creatine and structured strength training as men. Walk into almost any commercial gym and you'll see women confidently using squat racks, barbells and free weights.
The rise of CrossFit, Hyrox and functional fitness has undoubtedly helped change perceptions, but perhaps the biggest change has simply been education. More women now understand that lifting weights doesn't automatically make them bulky. Instead, it builds strength, confidence, supports bone health and helps maintain muscle as they age.
We recently explored this topic in much more detail in our article on why more women are lifting weights than ever.
Looking back, this is one of the most positive changes I've seen in over twenty years in the fitness industry.
Myth #5 - Supplements Are Only For Bodybuilders
If you'd asked someone in 2003 who bought protein powder, there was a good chance they'd have answered "bodybuilders".
At the time, that wasn't far from the truth. Most supplement companies advertised almost exclusively in bodybuilding magazines, bodybuilding websites and specialist forums. Protein shakes, creatine and pre-workouts were seen as products for people chasing bigger muscles rather than general health or fitness.
The three biggest UK communities were forums such as UK-Muscle and MuscleTalk, alongside the enormous Bodybuilding.com forum in the United States. Those communities became the place where people discussed training programmes, nutrition and the latest supplements. They were also where most brands and retailers, ourselves included, advertised and interacted with customers.
Looking back, those forums contained a fascinating mix of excellent information, questionable "bro science" and, inevitably, some influence from supplement companies themselves. Many of the brands advertising there also had close relationships with bodybuilding magazines, meaning new products often received plenty of attention.
Today, the landscape couldn't be more different.
The bodybuilding magazines have almost disappeared. Instead, most people learn about supplements through YouTube, Instagram, podcasts, TikTok and online communities. Information is far more accessible to casual gym-goers than it ever was in the early 2000s.
The customer base has changed just as dramatically.
Today, supplements are used by runners, cyclists, Hyrox competitors, CrossFit athletes, footballers, golfers, martial artists and people who simply want to eat a higher-protein diet or maintain muscle as they age. The recent rise of GLP-1 medications has also introduced a completely new group of consumers who are actively looking to preserve muscle while losing weight.
Perhaps the biggest sign of how mainstream supplements have become is the supermarket.
Twenty years ago you might have found a single shelf containing one or two well-known brands, usually Maximuscle. Today, almost every supermarket stocks protein powders, protein bars, ready-to-drink shakes and often their own sports nutrition ranges. That's both encouraging and challenging. It shows how widely accepted sports nutrition has become, but it also means independent retailers like ourselves now compete with some of the largest businesses in the country.
Supplements are no longer just for bodybuilders. They're simply another nutritional tool that can help a wide variety of people achieve different goals.
Myth #6 - The Anabolic Window: You Must Drink A Protein Shake Within 30 Minutes Of Training
If you trained in the 2000s, you'll almost certainly remember the famous "anabolic window".
The theory was simple. Finish your workout and you supposedly had around thirty minutes to consume protein before your opportunity for muscle growth rapidly disappeared.
It became accepted almost as fact.
Gyms were full of people carrying shaker bottles, rushing to mix protein before they'd even left the changing rooms. I was one of them.
Looking back, it's easy to understand how the idea became so popular. Early research suggested muscles were particularly receptive to nutrients after resistance training. Supplement companies understandably embraced the concept because it encouraged people to consume protein immediately after every workout. Bodybuilding magazines reinforced the message month after month until very few people questioned it.
As better research accumulated, the picture became much clearer.
Rather than a tiny thirty-minute window, it appears the body remains responsive to protein for considerably longer. More importantly, total daily protein intake consistently appears to matter far more than whether your shake is consumed fifteen minutes or ninety minutes after finishing your last set.
That doesn't mean post-workout nutrition is unimportant. Having protein after training is still a sensible habit for many people. But today's understanding is much more practical than the urgency we all felt twenty years ago.
Sometimes the simplest advice really is the best: get enough protein across the whole day and don't stress if your shake isn't waiting for you the moment you rack your final weight.
Myth #7 - More Supplements Mean Better Results
One lesson that hasn't changed is that the basics nearly always matter most.
Unfortunately, many of us took a while to learn it.
Back in the 2000s, it wasn't unusual to see people buying enormous supplement stacks. Protein powder, creatine, glutamine, BCAAs, nitric oxide boosters, testosterone boosters, fat burners, meal replacements and half a dozen other products would all find their way into the shopping basket.
Then you'd watch the same person eat very little actual food.
I remember members at our gym who would religiously drink protein shakes yet barely eat enough proper meals to support muscle growth. They genuinely believed supplements could compensate for poor nutrition.
Of course, they couldn't.
Supplements are exactly what the name suggests: they supplement an already solid training programme and diet. They don't replace either of them.
Ironically, I think people are much better informed today than they were twenty years ago.
Most experienced coaches now spend far more time talking about sleep, progressive overload, calorie intake and adequate protein than trying to build elaborate supplement stacks. The industry has become much better at recognising that a handful of well-supported supplements usually deliver far better value than chasing every new product that appears.
That's a healthy change.
Myth #8 - Fat Burners Melt Fat
If there was one category that produced the most outrageous advertising twenty years ago, it was probably fat burners.
The adverts were extraordinary.
Before-and-after photographs that looked too good to be true. In fact I vividly remember one marketing company approaching us and offering to create a fake transformation for advertising purposes. I couldn't believe they were suggesting it. Alongside those came claims of melting fat while you slept and capsules supposedly capable of transforming your physique without changing your diet.
Looking back now, much of it seems almost unbelievable.
The reality, of course, was rather different.
Even the better fat burners generally produced relatively modest effects compared with getting your diet and training right. Some ingredients could be effective via slightly increasing energy expenditure, reducing appetite and improving focus during dieting, but none came close to replacing the importance of maintaining a calorie deficit.
Consumer understanding has improved enormously since then.
Most people now appreciate that fat burners are, at best, a small additional tool rather than the foundation of a successful fat-loss plan. They can sometimes support an already well-structured programme, but they don't create one.
The category has also changed dramatically in recent years.
The rise of GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Mounjaro has fundamentally altered the weight-loss landscape. Compared with the extravagant promises made by many fat burners twenty years ago, these medications have shifted both consumer expectations and the conversation around medical weight management.
Fat burners still exist and some people continue to find them useful. But they're no longer viewed as miracle products, and that's probably a sign that the industry has matured.
Myth #9 - BCAAs Are Essential For Building Muscle
If you'd walked into almost any supplement shop between about 2008 and 2018, there was a good chance you'd have left with a tub of BCAAs.
Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) were one of the biggest-selling supplement categories in the industry. They were promoted as essential for muscle growth, recovery and preventing muscle breakdown, and many lifters wouldn't dream of training without sipping them throughout their workout.
I was no different. Like many people at the time, I believed BCAAs were one of the core supplements every serious lifter should own.
As research has progressed, that view has changed considerably.
BCAAs still have biological functions, but we now understand that if you're already consuming enough high-quality protein throughout the day, adding extra BCAAs is unlikely to provide much additional benefit for most people.
Instead, the conversation has shifted towards Essential Amino Acids (EAAs), which provide all nine essential amino acids rather than just three.
It's another example of how sports nutrition has gradually become simpler rather than more complicated. Instead of chasing individual amino acids, most people now focus on meeting their overall daily protein target.
Myth #10 - Protein Powder Is Unnatural
This is one I still hear surprisingly often.
Protein powder somehow developed a reputation for being an artificial bodybuilding product rather than simply another food source.
In reality, whey protein is simply produced by separating and filtering the protein naturally found in milk. Whey itself has always been a by-product of cheese production. Modern filtration techniques simply allow manufacturers to concentrate that protein into a convenient powder.
That doesn't mean every protein powder is identical. Some contain more protein than others, different carbohydrate or fat levels, or additional ingredients. But the protein itself isn't some mysterious laboratory invention.
Perhaps the biggest indication of how attitudes have changed is where you can now buy it.
Twenty years ago, protein powder was something you bought from a specialist supplement retailer or bodybuilding shop. Today you'll find protein powders, protein drinks and high-protein foods in almost every supermarket. Protein has become part of everyday nutrition rather than something associated only with bodybuilders.
That doesn't mean everyone needs protein powder. Whole food should always form the foundation of a good diet. But for many people, protein powder is simply a convenient way of helping meet their daily protein requirements.
Myth #11 - High Protein Diets Damage Your Kidneys
This concern has probably survived longer than almost any other nutrition myth.
Even today, we regularly hear people ask whether eating a high-protein diet or drinking protein shakes will damage healthy kidneys.
Current evidence suggests that, for healthy individuals with normal kidney function, higher protein intakes are not harmful to the kidneys. In fact, many active people, athletes and older adults are actively encouraged to consume more protein than the general population because of the benefits for muscle maintenance and recovery.
That's an important distinction though.
People who already have kidney disease or certain medical conditions should always follow advice from their healthcare professional, as their nutritional requirements can be very different.
Kidney stones are another concern that occasionally comes up. While certain dietary patterns may influence the risk of some types of kidney stones in susceptible individuals, protein itself is only one small part of a much bigger picture. Hydration, genetics, overall diet and individual medical history all play important roles. For most healthy people who stay well hydrated and eat a balanced diet, protein intake alone isn't considered a reason to avoid a higher-protein diet.
Like many of the myths in this article, the reality turned out to be far more nuanced than the simple headlines suggested.
The Biggest Lesson I've Learned Since 2003
Looking back over more than twenty years in sports nutrition, one lesson stands out above everything else.
Changing your mind isn't a weakness.
When I first became interested in supplements as a teenager, I genuinely believed some of the myths we've discussed here. I carried a protein shaker to the gym because I thought I'd miss the anabolic window if I didn't drink it immediately after training. I thought BCAAs were almost essential. I probably expected more from creatine than was realistic because of the stories surrounding it.
Equally, there were things the bodybuilding community understood long before they became mainstream. Higher protein diets, the importance of resistance training and preserving muscle mass are good examples. At the time those ideas often seemed to conflict with official advice, yet today they're widely accepted.
I also remember trying to explain some of these ideas to family members after reading bodybuilding magazines and specialist forums. Most dismissed them because television, newspapers and official guidance were saying something completely different. Twenty years later, some of those same ideas had become so widely accepted that the very people who once disagreed with me were telling me about them as though they were brand new discoveries.
Perhaps that's the biggest lesson of all.
Nutrition science keeps evolving. Better research gets published. Some ideas become stronger. Others are refined. Occasionally, they're turned on their head completely.
The people who continue learning are usually the ones who make the best long-term decisions because they're willing to follow the evidence rather than defend old beliefs.
If the last twenty plus years have taught me anything, it's this: stay curious, stay open-minded and never be afraid to change your opinion when better evidence comes along.
