Revamping my supplements

[Average Investor]

I am willing to spend more this time around redoing my supplements and now I have a bit more knowledge. Here is what I am looking at possibly getting. Would love suggestions and feedback. With the fish related stuff of course heavy metals are a concern with freshness and potency. I can see I could get ones that are distilled, but it would seems like a waste of nutrients and they seem to add fillers back in to replace them. I look at it as a way to get the nutritional content with a large reduced exposure to those metals. 

On Target Living Alaskan Cod Liver Oil 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JC7QZ69/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A28V1DMX12R67G&psc=1#customerReviews

Really expensive, but I am thinking I will get what I pay for on this one. 

Global Healing Center Vegansafe B12

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RXEW7R0/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00RXEW7R0&SubscriptionId=AKIAIPFZKKNXUR5ABTTA&linkCode=as2&tag=bestprodtag90285-20&th=1

Have to admit I am not as brushed up on the best sources of B12, but this seemed like a higher quality version. 

NOW Supplements, Glucosamine '1000'

https://www.amazon.com/NOW-Glucosamine-1000-180-Capsules/dp/B0013OUOYY

With this one it seems worthwhile with the gmp facility and non gmo.  

 

I am also taking zinc picolinate from Solaray, which I did see could have potential damage to the liver long term, but it is the most bio available. I take this one every other day. 

Another supplement I take is Now brand vitamin d3. Would not mind dropping this one if I can find something higher quality without the olive oil in it. (just discovered that now reading the label lol)

Would love to hear thoughts, opinions, and suggestions. 

[Villager Albert]

@Average Investor Hi, the supplements you should take highly depend on your diet but this is a decent stack if you're a vegetarian.

When it comes to cod liver oil the brand really matters. I don't know about the brand you mentioned but Carlson brand costs the same and many health gurus (like Peter Attia and Rhonda Patrick) take Carlson.

The B12 supplement and glucosamine seem great. What I'd also consider vitamin K2 and creatine monohydrate, these are almost a must unless you eat a ton of grass-fed animals.

[Michael569]

@Average Investor  

B12 seems reasonable if you don;t eat animal products just ensure that you are not overpaying, get something fairly cheap with at least 200mcg per day and all your needs are covered D3 seems reasonable, if you are unsure you can order finger prick test and get results in couple days. Otherwise1000-2000 IU is a good maintenance dose. 

I'll err on the side of Zinc Picolinate. One of the reasons being that it is not necessarily the best absorbed, that would probably be Citrate and also you can use the citrate carrier to enter Kreb Cycle and help with your energy production where Picolinic Acid bound to Zinc Picolinate may potentially open up KInurenine Pathway a bit excessively and too much Picolinic acid is (hypothetically) pro-inflammatory, see the link ->  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3195224/ . I'd go for Zinc Citrate, it is just much safer and make sure to take it in the evening outside of all meals

Are you looking to achieve any particular effect with these supplements or is it just maintenance? 

Are you taking Glucosamine for any particular reason? Joint issues? 

[Average Investor]

@Villager Albert I did research the carlson cod liver oil and I opted against it for the fact that it has the added vitamins in it. The label on that one seems a little deceptive in how it portrays that. Not easy to notice at a first glance. The one that I am thinking here has less added things and it is certified organic. USDA is pretty strict from my understanding and I feel like that could easily warrant this to be in the price range it is. I did not see anything cheaper that I liked due to additives and such. I actually just went to their website and this seems very high end and sustainable. 

14 hours ago, Villager Albert said:

I'd also consider vitamin K2 and creatine monohydrate,

I will do some research on these. Thank you! 

[Average Investor]

@Michael569 Yeah, I had seen on the reviews for that b12 that said it was pretty pricey. I was considering breaking the dose down in to multiple days a week. Not sure where I had picked that up from, but I realize that that one I was taking now was too high of a dose, so it was only worthwhile maybe once a week. I will do some price shopping on that one for sure. 

 

4 hours ago, Michael569 said:

if you don;t eat animal products

I considered experimenting with eggs and maybe something else. I have been vegan for a few years though and I don't mind it. Being as you had seen my food intake do you have a suggestion on anything? I added some rolled oats recently here and there and have been doing a lot of different fruits and other things to have a larger variety. I was listening to a podcast the other day that mentioned how easy it would be to skip over some good stuff that is needed just from getting to stuck in a way of eating. I figured I may as well try some stuff and just see how it goes. I have really no comparison in my energy with me eating those products and just eating healthy versions of them. Only me going from eating bad foods and going to vegan eating. I don't feel bad at all, but would be curious how I would feel the more I research and experiment. I just did a 10 mile hike today with ease considering I have not gone in quite awhile. That and other health and performance seems well. 

4 hours ago, Michael569 said:

Zinc Citrate

I had seen my supplement contains this, but I will do some more research and likely opt for this form. Was a lot of confusing stuff it seemed like on the different kinds. 

 

4 hours ago, Michael569 said:

Are you looking to achieve any particular effect with these supplements or is it just maintenance? 

Just optimal health and maintenance. 

4 hours ago, Michael569 said:

Are you taking Glucosamine for any particular reason? Joint issues? 

My mom and dad both have arthritis, so there is some concern there, but not too much being as I eat much better than them. I do a lot of running and exercise and I noticed with starting to take this my injuries and such are very minor and seem to go away easy. That and I do not seem to get the injuries as much in the first place. I would be willing to experiment with not taking this though and seeing how I do. I did see that the cod liver oil potentially would cover this type of stuff too though. Not really sure. 

Edited August 31, 2020 by Average Investor

[Leo Gura]

I use this krill oil:

https://amzn.to/2EOdpte

It looks premium, but hard to really feel the difference. You're sorta just trusting them on it.

[Average Investor]

@Leo Gura Thanks for sharing that. I did not consider krill as an option initially. I will dive a bit deeper into this. It seems like this whole market of these fish oils is much more deceptive than it should be lol. Just researching the krill oil I came across something suggesting to not buy heated cod liver oil, which is what the expensive one I had shown has done, but it still seems to be one of the better options.

I might rotate a few of these and see if I actually notice a difference between the two. I notice the krill is not as potent in EPA and DHA, but from what I am reading is more bioavalible. I think the krill might be a superior option just from that. Seems worthwhile to do the research on this though as I am now making a substantial upgrade from regular fish oil. 

[Leo Gura]

@Average Investor Krill is said to be tops.

If it's truly from Antarctica as they say, that seems like good stuff. Who knows what kind of junk is found in cod's livers?

[Michael569]

6 hours ago, Average Investor said:

Being as you had seen my food intake do you have a suggestion on anything?

I think my advice would be the one I gave you previously around better food variety even higher food-frequency. More warm aromatic foods may actually make you feel better but also like I said your diet is pretty darn good already. I can't comment on whether to try any animal products or not, I leave that decision to people unless I see that their current diet is causing them too much suffering and needs interference. I was recently working with someone who benefited from adding a bit of oily fish thou and they felt more grounded and a bit happier as well after having been meat-free for a long time. At the same time, other people will benefit from eating less meat & eggs and adding more plants such as when having too much inflammation in the body etc, 

6 hours ago, Average Investor said:

I had seen my supplement contains this, but I will do some more research and likely opt for this form. Was a lot of confusing stuff it seemed like on the different kinds. 

yeah there is a lot of confusion around the different ions attached to minerals. I think magnesium is the most confusing ones of all, you have like 8 variations of it all used for different purposes. But "citrate" is nearly always (with any mineral)  the safest and the best-absorbed one because the body can use it up easily. 

6 hours ago, Average Investor said:

My mom and dad both have arthritis, so there is some concern there

the autoimmune rheumatoid arthritis or just regular joint swelling? 

[Average Investor]

@Leo Gura Yeah, I can see your point. I will probably go with krill then. I know the cod liver has some heavy metals too, and only the super distilled ones that lose all the nutrients get rid of it lol. I can imagine since the liver processes so much stuff it could easily contain even more than just the metals in those too.

[Average Investor]

7 hours ago, Michael569 said:

I think my advice would be the one I gave you previously around better food variety even higher food-frequency. More warm aromatic foods may actually make you feel better but also like I said your diet is pretty darn good already. I can't comment on whether to try any animal products or not, I leave that decision to people unless I see that their current diet is causing them too much suffering and needs interference. I was recently working with someone who benefited from adding a bit of oily fish thou and they felt more grounded and a bit happier as well after having been meat-free for a long time. At the same time, other people will benefit from eating less meat & eggs and adding more plants such as when having too much inflammation in the body etc, 

I will keep experimenting and expanding. I appreciate the insight. 

7 hours ago, Michael569 said:

yeah there is a lot of confusion around the different ions attached to minerals. I think magnesium is the most confusing ones of all, you have like 8 variations of it all used for different purposes. But "citrate" is nearly always (with any mineral)  the safest and the best-absorbed one because the body can use it up easily. 

I will definitely keep that in mind as I keep looking into this stuff. Do you have any books on supplements by chance? 

7 hours ago, Michael569 said:

the autoimmune rheumatoid arthritis or just regular joint swelling? 

Both of these are an issue. My dad just has arthritis and he had some thing where he had to have surgery on his hand to stop in from bending inward. 

[Michael569]

5 hours ago, Average Investor said:

Do you have any books on supplements by chance?

There are many many but I don't have any recomms in particular. Most unbiased nutrition books will have a chunky section on this. 

5 hours ago, Average Investor said:

Both of these are an issue. My dad just has arthritis and he had some thing where he had to have surgery on his hand to stop in from bending inward. 

Could be a lifestyle thing but also genetic depending if grandparents had it as well

Btw if you have a conflict with krill and fish oil why don't you just go for a combination of flax oil with algal oil? Fully vegan and very sustainable. 

[Lyubov]

How do you determine what supplements you should take or try out? I don't wanna waste a bunch of cash blowing money on tons of stuff which may not boost my energy and improve my sleep and recovery from heavy lifting in the gym. Also, what's all this chatting about heavy metals? how to figure out if I am affected by this?

[Leo Gura]

3 hours ago, Lyubov said:

I don't wanna waste a bunch of cash blowing money on tons of stuff which may not boost my energy

No risk, no reward.

I've probably spent $5k-10k on supplements over the last 7 years.

[Roy]

4 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

No risk, no reward.

I've probably spent $5k-10k on supplements over the last 7 years.

@Leo Gura Probably hard to answer this, but how worthwhile do you think this investment has been?

Have they made you feel incredibly healthy compared to what you felt before, or what you would have without them?

 

[Average Investor]

@Michael569

5 hours ago, Michael569 said:

There are many many but I don't have any recomms in particular. Most unbiased nutrition books will have a chunky section on this. 

I will take a look for sure. 

5 hours ago, Michael569 said:

Could be a lifestyle thing but also genetic depending if grandparents had it as well

Btw if you have a conflict with krill and fish oil why don't you just go for a combination of flax oil with algal oil? Fully vegan and very sustainable. 

Yeah, both parents ate the standard American diet for a long time, so I imagine it is a lot of it. I am unaware of the other relatives with these issues. 

I mostly just wanted the best source. I did not really know enough to transition the supplements. I am definitely not a purist because of supplements. I try not to get lost in the terminology too much, but it makes it easier to convey what I eat. I am not knowledgeable on those alternatives really. I know much more about food than supplements. I would take krill for example if it were to benefit me far more than the plan based options. It just depends really. Something for me to dive deeper into research on. 

[Average Investor]

4 hours ago, Lyubov said:

Also, what's all this chatting about heavy metals? how to figure out if I am affected by this?

I would say nearly all of the life on earth is effected by heavy metals. You can get a heavy metal like lead into your system just be being under an airplane because it uses leaded gas for example. You would get metals passed on to you at birth as well. Heavy metals get into all sorts of things. A big source can be tap water too. You can get tested to see the levels of metals you have stored in you. Metals can cause all sorts of diseases and issues. Worthwhile to research for sure. Not only are metals an issue, but all sorts of various toxins from things like plastic, cleaners, fragrances, etc. 

 

[Average Investor]

4 hours ago, Lyubov said:

How do you determine what supplements you should take or try out?

I determined it off of what I eat, so trying to fill gaps of micronurtients I might be missing. Trying stuff for more of a nootropic benefit has been hit or miss for sure. I have tried a lot that did not get me results, but I only take two different nootropics currently that work wonderfully for me. I would have to say that the more I spend on eating healthier is totally worth it. Now just making more of that transition in my supplements. I make more money from my energy through my business and not only that I have cured myself of many issues. It would be hard for me to go back to not doing so. 

Being cheap with this stuff was incredibly hard for me to break out of, but it costs so much more in the long run. A big thing I had to do was work on breaking out of my mindset that I could not afford to eat like this. I spend a lot of money on food a month for one person. I spend $400 or more per month most of the time and that is with me preparing all of it and buying bulk. Adding higher end supplements and such onto that adds up, but I can't say it has been a bad investment at all. Health is one of the most valuable things to have in my opinion. 

I highly recommend you work on getting your diet optimal as a primary ahead of supplements if you have not already. Supplements will only be a band aid if you are not eating properly. If you are going for supplements I would look to see what micro-nutrients you might be lacking currently and use it to help there. Working that in with a balanced diet will give you massive results from other things you might want to add to work on performance down the road. 

[Lyubov]

1 hour ago, Leo Gura said:

No risk, no reward.

I've probably spent $5k-10k on supplements over the last 7 years.

Eh, I also have a sort of emotional block when it comes to supplements. A family member of mine was a hoarder and had an entire kitchen full of every supplement, vitamin, etc to the point where it looked sort of paranoid and crazy. Makes me sad cause they passed away recently from heart failure when they were fairly young (middle aged) and overweight. I don't know their entire medical history though so I'm not gonna draw any conclusions. Not interested in filling my kitchen up like that.

[Lyubov]

20 minutes ago, Average Investor said:

I would say nearly all of the life on earth is effected by heavy metals. You can get a heavy metal like lead into your system just be being under an airplane because it uses leaded gas for example. You would get metals passed on to you at birth as well. Heavy metals get into all sorts of things. A big source can be tap water too. You can get tested to see the levels of metals you have stored in you. Metals can cause all sorts of diseases and issues. Worthwhile to research for sure. Not only are metals an issue, but all sorts of various toxins from things like plastic, cleaners, fragrances, etc. 

 

Thanks. I'll look into this. I can't say there is anything wrong with my health though. I plan to start exercising again. I want to also take better care of myself in general just so I don't have to be on all sorts of medications when I'm older. Gonna look into my cholesterol levels. Most I'd just like to have more energy, feel lighter and get better sleep. I think if I fix my diet up some this will go a long way.