The supplement industry is loaded with useless products that seldom help you achieve what they claim. Supplements such as mass and weight gainers are directed towards a target audience that is new to the fitness industry, especially the younger college-going crowd, as they are the ones who usually struggle to put on weight. So why are mass gainers so bad? Let's take a closer look.
The ingredients:
Typical mass and weight gainers are loaded with sugar and cheap carbohydrates that do nothing but spike your blood sugar, which can lead to fat gain. These same supplement manufacturers will then sell fat-burning supplements to you and you get stuck in this vicious cycle. Instead of looking at shortcuts to gain weight, you should focus on your nutrition and gradually increase the number of calories that you consume on a day-to-day basis.
The devil is in the detail:
While your mass gainer may claim to be low on sugar, they have come up with ingenious ways to deceit you. By renaming different forms of sugars, they can claim that their products are low on sugar. Don't believe me? Most mass gainers contain anywhere between 60-70% Maltodextrin, an ingredient that is processed from corn and has a glycemic index that's higher than sugar. The higher the glycemic index, the higher the insulin response, and over time, can lead to diseases such as type-2 diabetes, fatty liver, and obesity.
Serving size:
Besides being loaded with useless and unhealthy ingredients, a typical mass gainer can cost anywhere between ₹800-1200 per kg. One serving of a typical mass gainer is anywhere between 100-200 grams. That means that from a 1kg tub, you will hardly get 5-10 servings at best. The end result is that you will end up needing multiple 1kg packs a month of this useless supplement, while the supplement manufacturer laughs its way to the bank.
If you are struggling to put on weight, then you have better food choices to pick from such as Oats, full-fat milk, protein bars, banana, peanut butter, chicken, etc. Investing your money on mass gainers is as good as flushing your money down the toilet.
Questions?