Over 600 Elite Supplements staff across retail, online customer support and head office are certified Sports Nutritionists. It took a year, and it changes what you should expect when you walk into a store.
Key points
- 600+ staff certified. Retail, online and head office.
- A year in the making.
- Ask harder questions. That is the point of it.
- Not a substitute for a dietitian or your GP.
- Good advice sometimes means "you don't need that".
What does the certification cover?
Sports nutrition certification covers the fundamentals that most supplement advice gets wrong: energy balance, macronutrient requirements, hydration, nutrient timing, and where supplements genuinely fit against food.
What it means practically is that the person in front of you should be able to explain why a product might suit you, and should be willing to tell you when it will not.
What should I expect in store?
Better questions before better answers. Someone who knows what they are doing will ask what you eat, how you train and what you have already tried, before recommending anything.
Questions worth asking them:
- "What does the evidence actually say about this?" A good answer includes the limitations.
- "Could I get this from food?" Often the answer is yes, and it should be said.
- "What would you buy first if you were me?" Cuts through a wall of options quickly.
- "What is the dose used in the research?" Reveals whether a product is meaningfully dosed.
- "Do I actually need this?" The most useful question in any supplement shop.
If the answer to the last one is sometimes no, that is the certification working.
Is a sports nutritionist the same as a dietitian?
Worth being clear about the boundaries.
A certified sports nutritionist in a retail setting is not an Accredited Practising Dietitian, which is a university qualification with a regulated scope of practice. They are also not a doctor.
So for a medical condition, a diagnosed deficiency, an eating disorder, pregnancy, or anything requiring a clinical assessment, our staff should be pointing you to a GP or an APD rather than to a shelf. That is the correct answer in those situations, and we would rather they gave it than made a sale.
Where they can genuinely help: understanding what a product does, whether the dose is meaningful, whether you need it at all, and how it fits with the rest of what you are doing.
Why did we do it?
The supplement industry has a well-earned reputation for selling people things they do not need. Staff who understand the underlying nutrition are better placed to say "eat more protein" than to sell you a tub, and the business is better off for it in the long run.
It also reflects how we try to write. Across this magazine we have said that collagen is not a complete protein and is the wrong product for muscle, that BCAAs are largely redundant if you eat enough protein, that "adrenal fatigue" is not a recognised diagnosis, and that sunscreen does more for your skin than any supplement we sell. Advice in store should match that.
Find a store
Certified staff are across the retail network. Have a look at the protein range or the health and vitamins range before you visit, and bring your questions.
