Supplements etc
Discussion
I'm 47, physical job, workout four days a week and active over the weekend. Only supps I use are protein powder because I struggle eating enough protein, I take magnesium and zinc in the evening and roughly 10g of creatine a day. I've tried other supplements but they've done nothing expect hurt the wallet.
Supplementing with vit d3 is wise at this time of year, take it along side magnesium though, the magnesium helps the body absorb d3 than if you take it on its own, creatine is great even if you don t work out as it has many cognitive benefits. I also take NAC a little known supplement but has quite a few benefits if you can be bothered to google it.
Edited by mcelliott on Thursday 13th November 15:44
I've been an avid but intelligent supplement taker for decades, primarily for physical benefits, but also mental/stress (and physical health will aid mental health.
First piece of advice. Ignore anything on social media and the like.
Most advertised supplements on that sort of place are synthetic and even then, really low quality. They also over promised and underdeliver. And most are made and sold from China where there are no health restrictions. The best are OK, but largely iffy quality. If you're serious about supplementing your diet etc, you need food-sourced supplements. But they are a lot more expensive.
Secondly, avoid the new trend for gummies. 99% sugar, 1% s
t ingredient.
For an easy one stop shop that takes no thought, get yourself a subscription for AG1 or IM8. All in one powders that you take each day, everything in, food sourced and good balance.
If you want to take it further then research is the key (but for god sake, ignore NHS or GP guidelines, they are clueless).
I get yearly bloodwork done and on the back of that have tailored supplements to help a variety of issues, all preventative or to address lifestyle. I take around 12 tablets first thing in the morning. I can break down what I take for you if you like, but what is good for me isn't necessarily good for everyone.
As you get older, you need to up your protein to offset the reduced protein synthesis that your body is capable of - or even better tailored Amino Acids to directly counter that reduction). I also use a specific creatine every now and again (a couple of months once or twice a year in low doses to help too). RDA for protein is 0.8-1.0g of protein for every 1kg of body weight. You need closer to double that if you exercise and are heading to the latter half of the average lifespan.
The advice above is good. Protein is a good supplement (make it decent quality and calculate your specific needs). Even better, quality Amino Acids.
For anti-stress, Magnesium is good in the evening, and in general for calming, stress reduction and sleep. You ideally want Magnesium Bisglycinate - we use Viridian. Supplement that with things like L-theanine and Ashwaganda - similarly calming.
VitD is also a good daily, get one with K2 with it too, oil/drops are far better than tablets.
As you get older NMN is a good supplement, or even better, Nicotinamide Riboside which is further up the food-chain, but is more costly.
Beyond that, diet is critical and there is nothing better for mental and physical health, and overall longevity than regular exercise, both cardio and strength training.
First piece of advice. Ignore anything on social media and the like.
Most advertised supplements on that sort of place are synthetic and even then, really low quality. They also over promised and underdeliver. And most are made and sold from China where there are no health restrictions. The best are OK, but largely iffy quality. If you're serious about supplementing your diet etc, you need food-sourced supplements. But they are a lot more expensive.
Secondly, avoid the new trend for gummies. 99% sugar, 1% s
t ingredient.For an easy one stop shop that takes no thought, get yourself a subscription for AG1 or IM8. All in one powders that you take each day, everything in, food sourced and good balance.
If you want to take it further then research is the key (but for god sake, ignore NHS or GP guidelines, they are clueless).
I get yearly bloodwork done and on the back of that have tailored supplements to help a variety of issues, all preventative or to address lifestyle. I take around 12 tablets first thing in the morning. I can break down what I take for you if you like, but what is good for me isn't necessarily good for everyone.
As you get older, you need to up your protein to offset the reduced protein synthesis that your body is capable of - or even better tailored Amino Acids to directly counter that reduction). I also use a specific creatine every now and again (a couple of months once or twice a year in low doses to help too). RDA for protein is 0.8-1.0g of protein for every 1kg of body weight. You need closer to double that if you exercise and are heading to the latter half of the average lifespan.
The advice above is good. Protein is a good supplement (make it decent quality and calculate your specific needs). Even better, quality Amino Acids.
For anti-stress, Magnesium is good in the evening, and in general for calming, stress reduction and sleep. You ideally want Magnesium Bisglycinate - we use Viridian. Supplement that with things like L-theanine and Ashwaganda - similarly calming.
VitD is also a good daily, get one with K2 with it too, oil/drops are far better than tablets.
As you get older NMN is a good supplement, or even better, Nicotinamide Riboside which is further up the food-chain, but is more costly.
Beyond that, diet is critical and there is nothing better for mental and physical health, and overall longevity than regular exercise, both cardio and strength training.
More mentally resilient?
Sleep well - there are supps for that.
Eat enough.
Exercise.
Reduce stress that you can control.
Check testosterone.
Not sure supplements are the answer to mental resilience.
I take a load of supps for different reasons but for mental resilience is not one of them. There are products that imply they'll help but be prepared to wait for the 6 months for them to kick in if using natural products.
Sleep well - there are supps for that.
Eat enough.
Exercise.
Reduce stress that you can control.
Check testosterone.
Not sure supplements are the answer to mental resilience.
I take a load of supps for different reasons but for mental resilience is not one of them. There are products that imply they'll help but be prepared to wait for the 6 months for them to kick in if using natural products.
I recently started taking the nutrition geeks magnesium and have been sleeping better and generally feeling slightly more energetic.
I also take their turmeric and a cod liver oil from someone else and these seem to have helped too with a few aches and pains I was getting.
That`s it for me, considered creatine but not convinced on that really.
I also take their turmeric and a cod liver oil from someone else and these seem to have helped too with a few aches and pains I was getting.
That`s it for me, considered creatine but not convinced on that really.
Belle427 said:
I recently started taking the nutrition geeks magnesium and have been sleeping better and generally feeling slightly more energetic.
I also take their turmeric and a cod liver oil from someone else and these seem to have helped too with a few aches and pains I was getting.
That`s it for me, considered creatine but not convinced on that really.
Creatine is the most widely studied supplement, with essentially no downside. None. There is zero reason not to take it.I also take their turmeric and a cod liver oil from someone else and these seem to have helped too with a few aches and pains I was getting.
That`s it for me, considered creatine but not convinced on that really.
mcelliott said:
Supplementing with vit d3 is wise at this time of year, take it along side magnesium though, the magnesium helps the body absorb d3 than if you take it on its own, creatine is great even if you don t work out as it has many cognitive benefits. I also take NAC a little known supplement but has quite a few benefits if you can be bothered to google it.
I’ve been convinced that K2 is a good thing to take with Vit D, so stop calcium build up in arteries. As ever DYOR. Edited by mcelliott on Thursday 13th November 15:44
S100HP said:
Creatine is the most widely studied supplement, with essentially no downside. None. There is zero reason not to take it.
Edge cases possibly, but not zero. And it costs money.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/...
I've only had a quick look but not seen anything to suggest it's better for your brain than doing word puzzles (say...)
I get my supplements from British Supplements (based in N. Ireland), mainly get Clean Magnesium L-Threonate, Clean Valerian and occasionally Clean Berberine (to help with my T2 Diabetes and Insulin Resistance). I take the Valerian and Magnesium at night to help me wind down and sleep, I take a Vitamin B12 (as this is depleted by Metformin) at lunchtime together with a multi-vitamin and in the morning I take an Omega 3 Fruitflow capsule. Although it's not really a supplement I take a low-dose Asprin at night to help clear any plaque buildup that might be in my arteries.
I used to take omega 3, magnesium and protein powder daily.
But I stopped as I think 90% of the industry is a scam. I got tired of wading through it. I put the money into whole foods now.
There is probably a political element too, a reaction to the covid vaccine vs alternative medicine culture wars. For all its flaws I decided to trust NICE guidance on the matter. Which generally argues the evidence (for the supplements I was interested in) was not nearly strong enough to justify a daily regime at such cost.
But I stopped as I think 90% of the industry is a scam. I got tired of wading through it. I put the money into whole foods now.
There is probably a political element too, a reaction to the covid vaccine vs alternative medicine culture wars. For all its flaws I decided to trust NICE guidance on the matter. Which generally argues the evidence (for the supplements I was interested in) was not nearly strong enough to justify a daily regime at such cost.
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