Among the countless amount of articles and advertisements, it’s not easy making smart supplement decisions. That is exactly why University of Saskatchewan student Josh MacGowan opened Herc’s Nutrition in Saskatoon.

MacGowan got his start in the health industry at the age of 18 through his first job at a supplement store. Soon after, he became very interested in the science of supplementation and spent a great deal of time researching peer-reviewed articles on PubMed to learn more about the products he was selling. The interest soon became a passion.

Josh MacGowan’s passion for Fitness and supplementation led him to opening Herc’s Nutrition two years ago.

“I’d go on PubMed all the time and read all the reviews on the ingredients and read reviews on all the products, and did a bit or research on that. I had a lot of fun doing that,” MacGowan said. “I loved it. I loved helping people and finding the best products for them that were available. It was a lot of fun for me. I did that for five years while going to university.”

MacGowan noticed there were gaps in the market, as most customers were being sold products based on what the corporation was told to push. MacGowan opened Herc’s Nutrition to change this trend, and now has two locations, one on Central Avenue and the other in Stonebridge.

“We want to give our customers products that actually work for them instead of just pushing the fad of the month, because there are a lot of bad products out there that don’t work or are overhyped,” MacGowan said. “We have really well-trained staff who truly know the products, truly know the industry and actually have a passion for it [and] take the time to get to know the customers and build relationships with them through the years. We’re on a first-name basis with a lot of our customers.”

The first challenge most people face is where to start when it comes to supplementing their diet.

“A lot of people don’t know where to start. They walk into a supplement store and they see a bunch of giant tubs and they all look kind of the same, and there are all these flashy labels and a lot of the marketing claims are so overwhelming that they don’t know where to start,” MacGowan said.

MacGowan suggests a good place to start is with high-quality protein, which most people lack in their diets. However, some people have more specific needs, like decreasing muscle soreness after workouts, increasing energy or adapting to their on-the-go lifestyles.

“Eating high-quality protein from food is time consuming and expensive. You need to eat meat three to four times per day. A four to six ounce serving of chicken breast takes a lot of time to cook and eat.  To carry that much food around with you is a huge time commitment, and chicken and beef are expensive, so it’s actually cheaper to buy high-quality whey protein.”

According to MacGowan, another bonus is that it tastes good.

“We’re always the first ones to try new products and to taste them for ourselves, so we can steer people away from the not-so-enjoyable supplements and get them ones that they’re actually going to enjoy eating or drinking,” MacGowan said.

The most important thing to remember is that a supplement is just that: an addtion. It is not intended to replace real food, but rather enhance your diet by providing the nutrients you require in an accessible form.

“Supplementation can’t replace real food — ever. Real food is the most important thing, regardless of your goal. Whatever you’re doing, focus on the whole food. But what supplements can do is literally supplement your diet to fill in the gaps,” MacGowan said.

“For example, there are good carb powders that we have that people can use if they’re busy after work or school and they want to go and play a sport, but they don’t have time to eat a good meal. These supplements are absorbed by your body much faster than food so that your body will have energy to perform the activity that you’re doing. That’s not to say that you should replace your carbs with carb powder, but that these products have viable uses in appropriate situations.”

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Curtis Fontaine

Photo: Josh MacGowan / Supplied