Building a Sports Nutrition Stack: What the Evidence Says for Each Ingredient

Who This Guide Is For

R&D teams and formulators developing pre-workout, intra-workout, post-workout, or recovery supplement products using YNP-supplied ingredients. Procurement managers sourcing a range of sports nutrition actives for a manufacturing client.

Evidence Tier Framework

Before listing ingredients, it helps to have a consistent way to describe evidence quality:

*(Table is horizontally scrollable on mobile)*

Pre-Workout Ingredients

### Caffeine Anhydrous (Tier 1)

The most consistently supported ergogenic aid for acute exercise performance across exercise types — endurance, power, strength, and cognitive tasks. Per the ISSN position stand (Goldstein et al. 2010), 3–6 mg/kg body weight, taken 30–60 minutes before exercise. Per EFSA (2015), 200 mg (approximately 3 mg/kg for a 70 kg adult) produces no safety concerns as a single dose. At typical pre-workout doses (150–300 mg), the performance evidence is robust.

### Beta-Alanine (Tier 1 — for specific exercise duration)

Increases muscle carnosine, buffering intracellular acidosis. Per the ISSN position stand (Trexler et al. 2015), 4–6 g/day for at least 2–4 weeks is required to substantially elevate carnosine. Performance benefits are most pronounced for efforts lasting approximately 1–4 minutes — high-intensity intervals, 400–1500m runs, cycling time trials. Less applicable to shorter strength efforts (<30 seconds) or longer aerobic work (>10 minutes). Paraesthesia (tingling) is the only consistent side effect, managed by divided dosing.

### L-Citrulline (Tier 2)

Raises plasma arginine more effectively than direct arginine supplementation (see Section 26 and Section 42). Associated with improved exercise performance and reduced muscle soreness in controlled trials; most evidence uses citrulline malate (a different product — the DL-malate form is separately in the YNP catalogue). For pre-workout, doses of 6–8 g (as citrulline malate) or 3–6 g (as L-citrulline base) are typical in the research.

### Betaine Anhydrous (Tier 2)

2.5 g/day associated with improvements in power output and body composition in several controlled trials (Cholewa et al. 2013). Evidence not as extensive as creatine but improving. A useful addition to a pre-workout stack for formulators looking to differentiate from standard caffeine + creatine products.

### Taurine (Tier 3 — energy drink context)

Widely used in energy drinks and pre-workouts; EFSA reviewed taurine at up to 3 g/day and found no safety concerns. Mechanistic rationale includes cardiovascular and neurological support. The specific contribution of taurine to exercise performance in controlled trials is difficult to isolate given its near-universal co-occurrence with caffeine.

Post-Workout Ingredients

### Creatine Monohydrate (Tier 1 — strongest evidence in the catalogue)

Per the ISSN position stand (Kreider et al. 2017), creatine monohydrate is the most effective nutritional ergogenic aid currently available for increasing high-intensity exercise capacity and lean body mass during training. 3–5 g/day (maintenance) or a loading phase of 20 g/day for 5–7 days followed by 3–5 g/day. Long-term use at these doses is safe in healthy individuals. Post-workout timing vs pre-workout has been studied — the evidence suggests post-workout may have a modest advantage, though consistency of intake matters more than precise timing.

### Whey Protein — WPC 80% HG or WPI (Tier 1 for protein synthesis)

Whey protein is well established as supporting muscle protein synthesis post-exercise. The evidence is for adequate total protein intake (typically 1.6–2.2 g protein/kg body weight/day for athletes) — whey's fast absorption profile makes it particularly suited for the post-workout period. The choice between WPC 80% HG and WPI depends on the label (lactose-free, lean nutrition profile) rather than meaningfully different protein synthesis outcomes at equivalent protein doses.

Recovery-Targeted Ingredients

### L-Glutamine (Tier 3 for athletes — see caveats)

As established in Section 33, the strongest evidence for L-Glutamine is in clinical contexts (gut barrier, immune function under physiological stress). Evidence for additional muscle recovery benefits in well-nourished athletes consuming adequate protein is limited. It remains a popular and safe addition to recovery products, but the evidence basis for its specific muscle-recovery claim is weaker than creatine or protein.

### L-Carnitine Base or L-Tartrate (Tier 3)

Mechanistically sound (fatty acid transport for energy). Evidence for practical performance improvement in trained athletes consuming adequate dietary carnitine is inconsistent (NIH). Better positioned for energy metabolism support than as a primary performance ingredient.

### BCAA 2:1:1 (Contested — see Section 21)

Widely used, low-risk, popular with consumers. The standalone muscle-building evidence relative to a complete protein source is contested. If the formulation already contains adequate whey protein, standalone BCAA addition has limited additional mechanistic justification. May be better positioned as an "amino acid blend" than a muscle-building ingredient.

Formulation Principles

Dose threshold before breadth. A pre-workout with caffeine at 200 mg, beta-alanine at 3.2 g (half an effective dose), and citrulline at 2 g (well below studied doses) is inferior to a simpler product with caffeine at 200 mg, beta-alanine at 4 g (effective dose), and creatine at 5 g. Effective-dose ingredients beat more-is-more ingredient lists.

Timing separates product types. Pre-workout: caffeine, beta-alanine, citrulline, betaine, taurine. Post-workout: creatine, protein. Daily maintenance: creatine (timing is flexible), protein throughout the day. Don't put everything in one product if it complicates dosing.

Claim language must match evidence tier. Use the tier framework above as a guide — Tier 1 ingredients support strong, direct performance claims; Tier 3 and contested ingredients require qualified, specific language.

Related Products from YNP Catalogue

• Caffeine Anhydrous (Section 46)
• Beta-Alanine (Section 20)
• L-Citrulline (Section 26), L-Citrulline DL-Malate
• Betaine Anhydrous (Section 47)
• Taurine (Section 34)
• Creatine Monohydrate (Section 18)
• Whey Protein Concentrate 80% HG (Section 30), Whey Protein Isolate (Section 17)
• L-Glutamine (Section 33)
• L-Carnitine Base (Section 32), L-Carnitine L-Tartrate
• BCAA 2:1:1 (Section 21)