Do you supplement? What supplements do you take? \ stacker news ~health

Do you supplement? What supplements do you take?

4041 sats \ 82 comments \ @k00b 26 Jan health

I know it's best to get nutrients/effects from food/behavior, but depending on the style of my life at any given moment, it can be challenging to sun my balls everyday so to speak.

After reading Lifespan, I grew quite convinced of The Information Theory of Aging and have dabbled some in sirtuin-activating compounds. While I'd probably see more benefit from sleeping well, exercising more regularly, eating fewer dosas y less queso, failing with lower stakes, and having a chill jobbie, I've started to take both NMN and resveratrol again. It's also less about fighting aging directly for me and more about self-experimentation and improving performance. I find this kind of thing fun.

Otherwise, I go out of my way to eat sardines and oysters for Omega-3's and harder to come by minerals and cod liver for vitamin D when I'm unable to spend most of the day outside. I also bought some Methylene Blue recently out of curiosity and Nattokinase because I have familial history of Alzheimers.

Do you supplement with anything? What and why?

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2158 sats \ 15 replies \ @antic 26 Jan

I also recommend Healthspan by Peter Attia. His take is that diet is somewhat meaningless of a thing to try to optimize if you haven't first mastered building an exercise routine.

All that said, I take a lot of things.

I start with

Berberine (1200mg) + Alpha Lipoic Acid (600mg) (I don't have a metformin prescription so this is my half-assed sub)
Antarctic Krill Oil
Fesitin
Calcium Alpha-Ketoglutarate
Spermadine
Quercetin
Trans-Resveratrol

Then I follow it up for brunch, daily around 10:30-11am with a smoothy, which is

2 cups of home blended nut milk
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of MCT oil
1 drop of D3 + K liquid (taken directly under my tongue as I prep the smoothy)
1/4 cup of Forager Unsweetened Cashew Milk Yogurt
a batch of prepared powders that I mix up (these are for easy travel packing):
- Multi Collagen Peptides
- Cocoa Powder (Cocoa Vita)
- Pea Protein
- Hemp Protein
- Thorne Amino Complex
- PB Fit
- Kale powder
- Taurine
- Broccoli powder
- Creatine
- Beet Powder
- Elderberry Juice powder
- Lions Mane
- Turkey Tail
- Ceylon Cinnamon
- Cordyceps

Then I do:

another Antarctic Krill
Hyaluronic Acid

and after dinner:

Tru Niagin NR
Pterostilbene (150mg)
Magnesium

I think that's all of it... I should make a full post at some point with the powder mixes and how I store them...

313 sats \ 1 reply \ @antic 26 Jan

https://m.stacker.news/13852

You asked on refilling day. I keep 21 of these CoaGu food grade steel storage containers on hand. I can easily throw 7 of them into a suitcase for a week trip and buy the olive oil and nut milk on the other side of the plane drop.

Forgot I recently added cranberry juice powder and more mushrooms

15 sats \ 0 replies \ @antic 26 Jan

https://m.stacker.news/13858

I use a hand mixer so I can travel with it easily. I always make it in this big yeti mug. So if I’m on a travel day, I can get an oleato latte from Starbucks, pour my powder on top and mix it at the airport.

270 sats \ 0 replies \ @2d 26 Jan

Hot damn

I wasn’t familiar with your game

223 sats \ 3 replies \ @Fabs 26 Jan

But... Why? Does it really make you feel that much better?

308 sats \ 2 replies \ @antic 26 Jan

It's hard to say which of the things are the most important for that, but yes, I've tried a lot of different breakfast routines and with this one, I pack a big punch at brunch and I'm not hungry until dinner, so I get 2 meals a day but plenty of protein and nutrients. Some of these are not for the feel, like Lion's Mane: https://www.healthline.com/health-news/latest-study-suggests-lions-mane-mushrooms-may-boost-brain-heath

I have a lower score on my brain age compared to the rest of my biological age test results so I'm working on that.

Ultimately, doing a routine like this could be a waste of time if you aren't also taking regular bio tests (age, blood, etc) and verifying that all your stats are in order. Unfortunately, we don't live long enough to really put these all through a long-term individual variable test, so a lot of these are combined in a sort of best-guess crapshoot and I add/remove something about every 6-12 months based on latest research and test results.

10 sats \ 1 reply \ @Fabs 26 Jan

Expand on those bio-tests; where can you do those and what are they called specifically, and how are they taken?

1307 sats \ 0 replies \ @antic 27 Jan freebie

There are DNA methylation age tests like Elysium Index, and TallyHealth. But caveats:

These are too expensive to be taken at the regularity that you'd need to see if anything is really working ($200-$500/test)
These tests are heavily influenced by your recent stress levels and general health so if you take the test after a week of bad sleep, work stress, and drinking, it's going to give you a bad result but if you take it after you just spent a week at a meditation retreat, your DNA age will be lower (TBD if this is really a reliable system in the long run)
These tests ask you lifestyle questions and basic facts as part of the processing (gender, smoking habits, and AGE), which is a big data science red flag--using your age as part of the data to pivot the results is super sus.

There's also GlycanAge, which measures Glycans instead of Methylation. And there's TruAge that measures other things...

NOTE: I've only tried Elysium Index and TallyHealth so far. The results from Elysium are more detailed--they break down and analyze a bunch of different things (brain, liver, heart, blood, etc) to create a composite age result, but they also give you granular age for each component. TallyHealth just gives you an overall age. I'm going to try the other ones eventually

Probably more reliable metrics are blood tests that you can order through a doctor or online lab to get things like Apo B, general hormone levels, all the chemicals, etc. Again though, we aren't at the time of humanity where these are rapidly available enough to do weekly/monthly to get actionable/timely feedback. Hopefully we'll get there over the next few years (it's a lot better than it was).

As a first step, you can go to your general physician and just say that you haven't had a blood workup in a while and you want to make sure your hormones and other levels are ok. Mention Apo B or they might leave that out of the basic test. Or you can search online for biomarker tests and see what you find.

236 sats \ 1 reply \ @kr 26 Jan freebie

Lions Mane Turkey Tail Ceylon Cinnamon Cordyceps

some of these are definitely pokémon, right?

381 sats \ 0 replies \ @elvismercury 26 Jan

Cordyceps wiped out another branch in the timeline.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @art 26 Jan

King

0 sats \ 3 replies \ @k00b OP 26 Jan

Tru Niagin NR

Why NR and not NMN?

5 sats \ 2 replies \ @antic 26 Jan

I used to take NMN, but some asshat biotech company filed it as a drug with the FDA so now you have to buy it out of country or with a prescription so my source stopped. Haven't found a new source. Do you nave one?

111 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b OP 26 Jan

Toniiq still sells it directly on their website.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @antic 26 Jan

hadn't heard of them... will check it out

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @_stacktoshi 26 Jan

😳

686 sats \ 8 replies \ @Fabs 26 Jan

Okay, not directly asking OP; an open question:

Why? Why do some of you take, like, 25 different sups?

I've experimented with those, too, but to me it was more of a "psychological" thing, with creatine and Pre-work out as one of the very few exemptions of sups that I really felt.

I can't imagine that you really feel each of those sups making a difference, or do they?

0 sats \ 7 replies \ @k00b OP 26 Jan

Even if the effects aren't felt, most of these things have purported theoretical benefits. Things can matter and not be felt, right?

0 sats \ 6 replies \ @Fabs 26 Jan

That's the same as if I'd be looking at my dick exclusively from a specific beneficial angle; in theory it's bigger, but girls will still look funny at the little dragon...

The only difference between the above and taking sups is the price tag of the latter, innit?

0 sats \ 5 replies \ @k00b OP 26 Jan freebie

a. it shouldn't look like a dragon. b. no that isn't a matched analogy

You're effectively saying you can't be poisoned so long as each time you take the poison you don't notice. If that's absurd, so is the idea that for things to have a benefit you must consciously and viscerally experience the benefit.

720 sats \ 0 replies \ @398ja 26 Jan

I juice vegetables for micro nutrients and minerals. (Carrots, greens, beetroot, céleri etc)
Vitamin D3, not as much as I'd like though, for general health and immune system
Liver and fatty meat
Fermented food (kefir, kombucha, kimchi) for a healthy gut.

720 sats \ 1 reply \ @KLT 26 Jan

I was taking Vitamin D/k pills because it’s low and I need to get some sun. Now I’ve stopped taking them and I just work on sitting outside more and work from my laptop outside. There’s something about taking pills for things we could probably get naturally from the food we eat that makes me feel ehhh.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @watchmancbiz 6 May

for the majority of the population, we're at a point in society, that it's mathematically impossible to get everything we need from food & life. they have done so much you wouldn't believe to our food supply, etc. and so much more. I digress, we're at a point, that supplements are really necessary.

720 sats \ 10 replies \ @Undisciplined 26 Jan

I generally try to work nutrients into my diet rather than supplementing. There are two supplements that I think most people need to take, though, in order to get optimal amounts:

Vitamin D3 in the winter for those in temperate latitudes. Otherwise, get some sun.
Vitamin B12 is produced by bacteria and one of the tradeoffs of modern hygiene/sanitation is low B12 consumption. This might be unnecessary if you eat enough fermented foods, but I'm not sure.

280 sats \ 7 replies \ @elvismercury 26 Jan

I'd add some w-3 as a "you almost certainly need to supplement this" category.

26 sats \ 6 replies \ @Undisciplined 27 Jan

Because modern diets are so inflammatory or because they're so high in omega 6?

28 sats \ 5 replies \ @elvismercury 27 Jan

Both.

0 sats \ 4 replies \ @Undisciplined 27 Jan

I go out of my way to get a high w-3 balance in my diet. Do you think I might be overlooking something?

280 sats \ 3 replies \ @elvismercury 27 Jan

If you're making an effort you're probably doing pretty well.

Last I checked into this in any depth, there was a massive amount of disagreement over what w-3 levels should be, esp given current w-6 levels, esp given nutrient leaching due to industrial food production (cmp w-3 content in game vs industrial meat, for instance), esp given other pro-inflammatory covariates of modern industrialized lifestyles. Nutrition science is nearly the most thankless of all the quasi-sciences, so I certainly don't know the truth.

I just thought of this, but: are you making an exception to veganism wrt w-3 supplementation, or do you get some vegetable source of it? I'd be curious what that is, if the latter. That might be a thing to consider making an exception over, since my vague sense from having looked into this deeply twenty years ago is that vegetable versions would be drastically sub-optimal; but again, talking 65% out of my ass here.

1000 sats \ 2 replies \ @Undisciplined 27 Jan

The highest w-3 foods are flax and chia seeds. Some other nuts and seeds have really good w-3/w-6 ratios.

My understanding is that the ratio is most important, but like you say it's hard to pin that down very accurately. The most common number I see is 1:4, but I recall seeing 1:1.6. Since my diet is not very inflammatory I'm ok with targeting the 1:4.

You're right that plant sources are sub-optimal, but our bodies are capable of converting between the different forms of w-3. With the quantity of w-3 I consume, I'm pretty sure I'm producing sufficient levels of those particular forms.

280 sats \ 1 reply \ @elvismercury 27 Jan

Ah, it's coming back to me. When I left the discussion, the hot topic was how much of the plant-based w-3 really could be converted, with opinions varying drastically and the research being called into question / accused of being inapplicable for assorted reasons. (One of the reasons was that one camp viewed this not as a fixed conversion rate, but as dynamic and adaptive.)

Not to reignite controversy, but I'm curious if you feel anything from it? It's remarkable to me how much I do feel the psychotropic effects of smallish amounts of w-3 in concentrated fish-oil form. It's possible it's placebo, but I don't get the feeling from actual fatty fish, which is interesting. But it's strong enough for me that I take it in the evening to calm down and get ready for bed. Doesn't work w/ flaxseed oil, either. I'm quite sensitive to mind-altering substances, though.

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21 sats \ 1 reply \ @watchmancbiz 6 May

maybe that's why Nutritional Yeast is so awesome for getting B-vitamins.

5 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 6 May

We go through a ton of nutritional yeast. Even so, I think it's best to take a B-12 supplement.

1567 sats \ 0 replies \ @niftynei 26 Jan

so manny

vitamin K, codfish liver oil, vit E + D with glass of milk. fat soluble, milk increases absorption
2+hr later/offset, 2mL magnesium chloride spiked sparkling water (cuz i like the bubbles). you gotta separate the magnesium/zinc from the milk iiuc b/c the calcium in the milk prevents uptake of magnesium
other assorted stuff, depending: zinc + copper (on alternating days), l-lysine, NMN sublingual powder, CoQ10, biotin
new stuff im trying lately: olive leaf extract, monolaurin, cat’s claw mostly cuz the names sound cool

Im not really precise or regular with any of this stuff, which probably helps from overdosing?? idk 🤷 do your own research etc etc

676 sats \ 0 replies \ @kr 26 Jan

i’m kind of surprised by two things:

how many stackers are taking supplements of any kind
how few of these supplements i’ve ever heard of

i’m way out of the loop on the latest biohacking/longevity stuff

537 sats \ 0 replies \ @kr 26 Jan

nothing for me, but i have made a conscious effort to eat much better food over the last year

607 sats \ 1 reply \ @_stacktoshi 26 Jan

Magnesium for nervous system
Vitamin D3 for immunity
Fish oil for heart
Berberine for cholesterol & GI
Creatine for the guns and possibly the brain

Trying to eat more yogurt/probiotics & fiber to be more regular, but the berberine seems to be helping there.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @watchmancbiz 6 May

Berberine is also supposed to be amazing for Insulin-Resistance and Diabetes. D3 is KEY in supplementation, for many reasons even beyond "immunity".

510 sats \ 0 replies \ @Anonymous_Hodler 26 Jan

Vitamins D3 from october to march for sure… Omega 3 is good but people tend to forget that omegas have to be balanced in the right proportion with Omegass 3 , 6 and 9 in order to be healthy !!! So careful with Omega 3 excess !

401 sats \ 0 replies \ @Roll 26 Jan freebie

-Spirulina -Ginkgo -Ginseng/Maca/Ashwagandha -Rhodolia

Only natural/ecologic complements

328 sats \ 0 replies \ @zuspotirko 26 Jan

I don't. To me all of these findings are way to new and with too thin scientific consensus yet.

Generally I think I was born in the luckiest time of human history ever. But particularly on this topic I wish I was born more like 2080s or something. Our grandchildren might maybe use supplements like these to stay forever young.

346 sats \ 1 reply \ @2d 26 Jan

Lot of D3, magnesium, zinc, NAC, black seed oil and creatine

diet is pretty protein/fat focused and aim to include a lot of fermented items

mainly for overall health and fitness but I haven’t been sick in a long time so hesitant to change anything

What’s methylene blue supposed to help with? Seeing that pop up more recently

155 sats \ 0 replies \ @k00b OP 26 Jan

What’s methylene blue supposed to help with? Seeing that pop up more recently

I heard it helped with "energy" vaguely. Whatever that means. It's been used as a placebo so it might be useful to take if you're looking a placebo effect which can be a pretty worthwhile thing to look for.

316 sats \ 2 replies \ @gmd 27 Jan

Creatine for workouts
ZMA
Vitamin D at random amounts if I remember and feel like I didn’t get any sunshine that day

Patients ask me about supplements a lot and I usually tell them 99% are a waste of money and to check out examine.com - very nice non-biased evidence based summaries.

104 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b OP 27 Jan

I love examine.com. It's not what it used to be though.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @gmd 27 Jan

hmm actually have not used in a while… hipefu things haven’t gone too downhill. UI certainly looks like it had an overhaul.

108 sats \ 0 replies \ @watchmancbiz 6 May

I've cut down on a lot of big pharma meds, and take quite the handful of trusted, personally researched natural supplements now. really too many to mention. I follow the likes of Dr. Berg, Dr. Nepute and many others on YT. they are a great help when medical docs 'in the system' literally suck, just want profit, and are unwilling to help!

I'm really interested in how Nattokanase does for you!!!

I hear it is really good for clearing blood clots, and I have a lot of circulation issues!

Please keep me updated!

any questions are welcome 🤗

403 sats \ 0 replies \ @chaoticalHeavy 26 Jan freebie

Vitamin D Vitamin C Zinc Sildenafil Quinine Liver Oysters Iodine Boron Fish Oil

308 sats \ 0 replies \ @BitcoinIsTheFuture 27 Jan

glucosamine chondroitin for knee arthritis. Old wrestling injury. But I can still run like 50 miles a week in the 7-8 minute pace range so I’m happy for a guy in his mid 40’s!

303 sats \ 0 replies \ @MaxAWebster 26 Jan

Magnesium at night. It's a game changer

303 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undergotten 26 Jan

Used to take a lot of vitamin D. Should probably start doing that again.

303 sats \ 0 replies \ @SpaceHodler 26 Jan

Currently: fish oil, lion's mane, vitamins and minerals, IP6, bovine colostrum, melatonin, probiotics, D3+K2.

298 sats \ 0 replies \ @Signal312 27 Jan

No supplements. But I have made a change recently which led to some HUGE health improvements. And that is the carnivore diet.

Here's my post from a while back Kinda-carnivore diet is leading to WAY more energy.

And since then it's just gotten more pronounced. Latest steps in my carnivore path - and why you should consider a carnivore diet

I should write an update. But basically- every physical, mental, and emotional marker is improving.

Carnivore calm is a term I heard today in a podcast (I'm listening to a lot of Dr. Shawn Baker's old podcasts). And it really resonated. That's what I feel. I sure wish I had started this much earlier.

298 sats \ 1 reply \ @elvismercury 26 Jan

For your Alzheimer's risk, sauna + maximizing insulin sensitivity is your best friend. (I'm in the same boat; just got sub-panel installed so we can get a sauna in here.)

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @k00b OP 27 Jan

I had a dry sauna installed when I lived in Ca and insulin sensitivity won't return my text messages.

Let me know if you solve reading in the sauna. I accepted destroying books at one point.

298 sats \ 0 replies \ @03479d0ee6 26 Jan

We need a section for supplements here on SN! I'm still building my stack but so far it's : -iron for energy -D3+k2 for calcium, I notice in my teeth -NMN - aging -Resveratrol - aging

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @BountifulB 27 Jan freebie

For anyone who needs protection from the effects of chronic stress, I highly recommend Phosphatidyl Serine. Taking this stuff is really good for the brain and calms you down, help with sleep, lowers cortisol, makes your thinking more sharp, etc. I recommend NOW soy-free Phosphatidyl Serine containing Sharp-PS. More info:

https://www.zrtlab.com/blog/archive/phosphatidylserine-protection-from-chronic-stress/

Many report the Stamets stack, from mycologist Paul Stamets, helps with mood, PTSD , brain healing and cognitive enhancement:

Lion's mane + microdose of psilocybin mushroom + niacin

109 sats \ 0 replies \ @ama 27 Jan

I take hidroferol, because I have low levels of vitamin D. Nothing else, of course, since it's not only unnecessary to take any supplements when your biochemical levels are right, but it can be detrimental and even dangerous at toxic levels.

109 sats \ 0 replies \ @nicosey 26 Jan

Creatine

109 sats \ 0 replies \ @OT 26 Jan

I tried taking some niacin for a month but not sure I saw any benefits.

109 sats \ 0 replies \ @0245bdaef2 26 Jan

++ to NMN & Resveratrol

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @haimot 27 Jan

My supplement are sunlight, grounding and beef (meat, organs, bone). Nothing fancy

20 sats \ 1 reply \ @owleyedapprentice 26 Jan

i've found Quercetin (with Bromelain) to be a major boost for the immune system. it's also helped my girlfriend with her seasonal allergies, replaced the need for anti-histamines.

109 sats \ 0 replies \ @Atreus 26 Jan

Started taking that during the "2020 event" and never stopped 👍

138 sats \ 3 replies \ @Kathleen_Croteau 26 Jan freebie

1 cup of sperm every morning in bed! I feel like it lubricates my joints and it improves my morale every time.

104 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b OP 26 Jan

That's a lot of volume. I think you just confessed to bestiality.

99 sats \ 0 replies \ @elvismercury 26 Jan

Or she's in the Navy.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @watchmancbiz 6 May

oh my! 😆

109 sats \ 1 reply \ @0xbitcoiner 26 Jan

F****** NO !

I might consider taking it if the doctor prescribed it.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @watchmancbiz 6 May

haha, just dumb

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @JuanMiguel 27 Jan freebie

Only the 3 basic ones: Protein, Creatine and some random/cheap Multi-vitamins.

Reading this comment section kinda worries me. Some people are taking too much shit with weird names.

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 6 Apr

Sun light, fresh air, nature. I believe we have everything we need within. No need for supplements IMO. I feel younger than I ever did when I was worried about how to stay younger with supplements.

5 sats \ 0 replies \ @TNStacker 27 Jan

5 sats \ 0 replies \ @BountifulB 27 Jan

One of the best supplements out there is Longvida curcumin - an patented form of turmeric extract, developed by scientists at UCLA, that crosses the blood-brain barrier. All other turmerics just work on the body but longvida is mildly mood enhancing, clears brain fog and powerfully reduces inflammation. It also works on the body.

The stuff is like a panacea for many kinds of inflammation, mood and congitive funks: It is works well as an anti-depressant (curcumin show to be similar to SSRIs in published studies) , clears brain fog, eases aches and pains, activates the CB1 cannabinoid receptor (has a calming CBD-like effect).

A lot of Indian physicians take Longvida. I take between 500 to 2000mg a day, depending on how much of a boost I need. If I am not feeling well for almost any reason, I bump it up.