Supplements? Share what works for you

[Lucas]

My take on supplements - most of them are just expensive marketing hype that'll drain your wallet without delivering results.

I'm talking about "detox" supplements: your liver and kidneys already handle detox perfectly fine that's literally their job. These products are mostly snake oil and can actually mess with your medications.

Also megadose antioxidants: I think popping huge amounts of vitamins C and E isn't helping.

Collagen powders. Your body makes its own collagen. There’s no solid proof that scooping up expensive powders does anything special beyond what your body naturally produces.

Homeopathic anything - it's literally just placebo effect in a bottle.

So tell me which supplements do you take and actually feel are worth it?

 

[MissAnthro]

One of the biggest side effects I suffer from tirz is not being very regular anymore, I was taking stool softeners every day for months but read from a few reviews about the “calm magnesium powder” saw it randomly at Costco and thought…what the hell. It’s touted as I guess a relaxing drink, I don’t experience that, and it could be snake oil but it seems to help.

 

[AndyPanda]

Most are garbage, but if you want to know what will work for you, get a genetic methylation test to find out what you are deficient in. It’s a few hundred dollars but cheaper than buying a bunch of vitamins and supplements.

 

[joseblo]

Get a blood test, you might need any number of things.
If you don't go outside a lot you might be vitD deficient.
If you're menopausal you might want vitK to better absorb Ca for bone density.
If you don't eat a lot of fish, your Omega3/6 ratio might not be the best.
The thing is if you're in calorie deficit you're not getting as much of ANYTHING.
So you need to be more sure you're getting at least enough of everything.
For me, that's a lot of water and fiber, and protein even when I don't really want it.

On collagen peptides there's actually a lot of studies and even some mechanisms for improvements in skin health. The problem is that most of the studies are industry related so you can take them with a grain of salt.

Here's one on muscle growth:

Ingestion of a Whey Plus Collagen Protein Blend Increases Myofibrillar and Muscle Connective Protein Synthesis Rates - PubMed

Ingestion of a whey (25 g) plus collagen (5 g) protein blend increases both myofibrillar and muscle connective protein synthesis rates at rest and further increases myofibrillar but not muscle connective protein synthesis rates during recovery from exercise in recreationally active, young men.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Here's a small double blind one on skin elasticity:

Four-weeks daily intake of oral collagen hydrolysate results in improved skin elasticity, especially in sun-exposed areas: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial - PubMed

We demonstrated significant improvement of skin elasticity in sun-exposed areas after 4 weeks ingestion of marine CH. The improvement of elasticity remained 4 weeks after discontinuation of study agents. There were no severe adverse effects during the study.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov