Supplements for Gymnasts: What’s Safe, What Works and What to Skip

Do you KNOW if the supplements your gymnast is taking…

• Could be replaced with food?
• Are safe?
• Are effective?

Here’s the thing: the supplement aisle is the “wild west.” Let’s talk about whether gymnasts need supplements, how to tell if one is safe, and which ones are a waste of money.

By Christina Anderson MS, RDN, CSP, CSSD · Updated October 2026

Do gymnasts need supplements? The quick answer

Most gymnasts need FOOD first, not supplements. Before you buy anything:

1. Make sure she’s eating enough. No supplement fixes underfueling or REDs.
2. Test, don’t guess. Labs show whether she’s actually low in iron, vitamin D or other nutrients.
3. If she needs one, choose a third-party certified product. This matters even more for NCAA and elite gymnasts, who are drug tested.

The supplements that come up most often for gymnasts are iron, vitamin D, calcium and sometimes magnesium, and only when her diet or labs show a need.

Supplements for gymnasts: why “food first”

“Food first” is the tagline of sports dietitians. We are not “anti-supplement,” but there’s a lot to be said for focusing on what you can ADD to her plate. Whole foods give her many benefits that a supplement can’t, and many nutrients have what’s called “synergy,” meaning they work better together.

But some nutrients are hard to get in adequate amounts, or need to be repleted because of insufficiency or deficiency, which is common with high levels of intense training. These include:

• Calcium, if she has a milk allergy or is vegan (see Gymnast Bone Health and Food Allergies and Intolerances)
• Iron, especially once periods start (see Gymnast Iron Deficiency)
• Vitamin D, which is hard to get from food alone
• Magnesium, in some gymnasts
• B12, for vegan gymnasts (see The Gymnast’s Guide to Plant-Based Diets)

There are several very effective supplements I use with my high-level athletes when their diets are lacking or their labs show they’re insufficient or deficient.

How to decide if your gymnast needs a supplement

Before you add a supplement, make sure she’s eating ENOUGH and eating the right things to fuel performance. (More in How Many Calories Does a Gymnast Need?)

Then the right lab tests need to be done to check specific nutrients like vitamin D and iron. A thorough nutrition assessment should also look for gaps in her diet that typical labs won’t pick up, taking into account her health, age, injuries and training. (Listen to Our Approach to Labs, Supplements and Mineral Analysis.)

What you’re left with is usually making sure she gets enough calcium (through food, or a supplement if she can’t), vitamin D and iron (test, don’t guess), and possibly magnesium or other nutrients specific to her eating pattern. More is NOT better. Iron and vitamin D can both build up to harmful levels, so supplement only with guidance from her physician or dietitian.

Are your gymnast’s supplements safe?

Supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration the way medications are. You never REALLY know what’s in a supplement unless it’s been through third-party testing, and some third-party programs are stricter than others.

I work with international elite and Olympic level gymnasts, and college gymnasts are subject to random drug testing through the NCAA. Elite gymnasts are tested under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules.

If a gymnast takes a supplement (or protein powder, pre-workout, vitamins, etc.) that contains banned ingredients, SHE is responsible. She can lose her eligibility or be disqualified. That represents years of blood, sweat and tears, so it’s not worth the risk.

Which certifications to look for

• For college and elite gymnasts: look for NSF Certified for Sport or Informed Sport. These programs test for banned substances and are the gold standard for drug-tested athletes.
• For everyday vitamins and minerals: USP Verified or Informed Choice are good signs of quality, but their testing isn’t designed for drug-tested athletes.

Supplement companies often advertise “clean,” “NCAA compliant” or “third-party tested,” but when you actually check whether they’ve been certified by one of these programs, many have not. Minimal or no supplements is the least risky option, but sometimes supplements are needed, and that’s OK.

Are your gymnast’s supplements effective?

Supplement claims aren’t well regulated either, so you can’t always believe the label.

Fruit and veggie gummies. Juice Plus+ is a very popular fruit and vegetable powder supplement in the gymnastics community. It suggests taking several gummies or capsules a day to get “over 30 different fruits and vegetables.” The health claims just aren’t backed by sound research. Taking a few gummies a day doesn’t replace actual fruits and vegetables. Nutrition just isn’t that simple.

Turmeric. Curcumin is the active anti-inflammatory compound in turmeric, and it’s poorly absorbed on its own. Many turmeric supplements aren’t in a well-absorbed form, which makes them expensive waste.

Omega-3s. Omega-3s are one of the most researched nutrients for muscle soreness and inflammation in athletes. But the benefit comes from two specific omega-3s, EPA and DHA. A bottle might say “1,000 mg of fish oil” when the actual EPA and DHA is only a fraction of that, so check the label for EPA plus DHA, not just total fish oil. Eating fatty fish like salmon is a great food-first option.

Creatine. This one comes up a lot. I cover it in Gymnast Muscle Soreness and Recovery.

(Listen to What ChatGPT Doesn’t Know About Your Gymnast’s Supplements for more.)

The bottom line on supplements for gymnasts

The supplement industry is the “wild west” when it comes to product claims, so you have to be really careful. The good news? Getting your gymnast to eat enough (and avoid REDs), fueling practice and recovery, and testing labs before supplementing are the “big rocks” that will get her pretty far in this sport. (More in Gymnast Off-Season Recovery: Labs and Supplements.)

Frequently asked questions

Get help with your gymnast’s supplements

If you’re not sure whether your gymnast needs a supplement, look at her fueling and her labs first. Start with our free masterclass or take the free Gymnast Fueling Quiz. And if you want more than a generic meal plan, The Balanced Gymnast® Program is our 1:1 program, built by a former gymnast, nationally rated NCAA/USAG judge and pediatric sports dietitian who lives and breathes this sport. We look at HER labs, her diet and her training, and only recommend supplements she actually needs, so she can close the recovery gap each and every day.