Your supplement thread. - PaleoHacks.com

Your supplement thread.

2012-09-16T14:28:39Z

What supplements do you currently take?
Why do you take each of them?
Which ones would you not do without?
What supplements have you had negative experiences with and would advice others to use caution with?

I would like this thread to be very informative, so that we can all get new ideas and experiment on ourselves. Thanks for sharing

Answer by KA24 for Your supplement thread.

2012-09-16T14:48:52Z

Former Type 1/2 Diabetic, was Insulin-dependent for 6 years and on medications for 10. I'm prefacing this post with that because it does affect what I take.

Omega 3/CoQ10 - AgeForce transdermal, worn every night throughout the night.
Alpha Lipoic - In the morning, before any food.
Magnesium - In the evening, after dinner.
Betane HCL - Only with post-workout meals or meals that contain huge amounts of protein.
BCAA's - Pre-workout and intra-workout.
Leucine - Pre-workout and during a fast of over 16 hours.
Glutamine - Post-workout, after sprinting or very heavy lifting.
Vitamin D3 - I'll do about 30,000 iu once every 10 days.

I've tried almost every other thing out there. I also don't include other things that I make a note to add to food (spices, oils, etc...), even if they aren't part of the planned food dish, as supplements.

Answer by Savage Paleo for Your supplement thread.

2012-09-16T15:56:17Z

Vitamin D3- 4000 IU per day if I'm not going to be out in the sun

No others. I eat completely paleo, so I receive all the vitamins I need through my natural diet of grass fed meats, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. I will eat spices such as turmeric, chili powder, and cinnamon for their natural health benefits.

I try to stay away from supplements as much as possible and modify my diet instead. You don't want to start becoming reliant on supplements as a way of receiving nutrients.

Answer by kat for Your supplement thread.

2012-09-16T16:27:31Z

Beware kelp. Apparently people with autoimmune thyroid disorders can kill themselves taking it. I took it to treat hyperthyroidism years ago. I showed significantly hyperthyroid on bloodwork but my doctor wasn't treating it, and I thought I was gonna die anyway. So I figured, iodine is used to treat thyroid storm - a severe form of hyperthyroidism. Kelp is high in iodine. Therefore, my thyroid should take this iodine and shove it (er, calm down).

Usually kelp supplements have a warning for folks with thyroid problems on the side. The warning is to not take them. It is to be heeded. I basically avoid high iodine foods now too (e.g., nori, shellfish).

Answer by bonefed for Your supplement thread.

2012-09-16T17:13:28Z

I'm continually refining my stack, but I'm pretty happy with where it's at now.

I'll start with the last question, which do I advise caution when taking?

B vitamins. Benfotiamine (a form of B1) was actually addictive for me. Niacinamide is toxic to the liver, and B6 may be neurotoxic. I think an adequate protein intake should give you plenty of B vitamins, and a well formulated keto diet will reduce the creation of AGEs (and thus the need for high dose B vitamins).
Amino Acids. These are powerful supplements, but you're taking a risk when you let them circulate in your blood at high levels. 5-HTP is coming under scrutiny, but I don't think it's wrong to assume other amino acid supplements could be dangerous as well.

I could not do without:

Vitamin D. It's the most important steroid hormone in the body. I could get it from the sun, but going out naked in the midday sun isn't my style. But hey, that's just me.
Magnesium. It's depleted in our topsoil and filtered out of our water. This is the type of situation where supplements are perfect. I take the citramate form for better absorption.
Vitamin C. I love vitamin C. I just wish our bodies made it endogenously. It takes 4 steps to create Vitamin C and our bodies do steps 1-3, then proceeds to break it back down. Why go through all the trouble only to break it down again? Because that last step uses energy, and when there wasn't much food to go around (e.g. during the Ice Age) saving every little bit of energy became important. Nowadays there's plenty of food and plenty of reason to need a good antioxidant. So I take Vitamin C in the morning, at night, and whenever I feel stressed or sick.

I also take:

Fish oil. I don't eat enough fish.
Wakame Seaweed. For iodine, minerals, and fucoxanthin.
Astaxanthin. Good fat soluble antioxidant.
Collagen. Only when I don't have bone broth.
Creatine Monohydrate. Only a 1/2 tsp a day. It's for longevity.
K2. I can rarely afford grass fed anything.
Selenium. I rarely eat shellfish.
Zinc. I rarely eat shellfish.
Ubiquinol. I rarely eat organ meat.
Phosphatidyl Serine. I very rarely eat brain.

That's all!

Answer by VB for Your supplement thread.

2012-09-16T17:55:47Z

My answer is going to be weird but... what can I say.

I have tried tons of supplements and vitamins, and most of them I get a reaction to. I have spent about $500 or more on all the supplements that did not work and made me feel horrible.

Supplements I have tried: different vitamins (too many to list), including the ones made from organic vegetables, fish oil, enzymes (all kinds), DGL, milk thistle, dandelion root, freshly made juices, etc.

The only two supplements that did not give me reaction and seems to be working are:

Chinese herbal medicine that my herbal doctor recommended. I cannot live without them. As soon as I stop taking them, my symptoms come back (not as severe, but noticeable).
Probiotics (at first I got a weird reaction, but then I read about the die-off symptoms and it matched so I kept on taking them).

That's all. I wish I could supplement more, but my body rejects it. So I have to buy more expensive food and wash, clean, cut and cook.

I am probably missing tons of vitamins, but there is nothing I can do about it.

Answer by CD for Your supplement thread.

2012-09-16T18:43:03Z

I'm all on board with optimum nutrition right now.

I take: protein powder (double chocolate); multi; fish oil

I take the protein powder because it's delicious and an easy meal post workout I take the multi because I believe that modern foods are not as nutritious as they used to be due to purposeful modifications by humans. I take the fish oil because I don't eat as much fish as I'd like.

I would not do without the protein powder. I love a good steak as much as anyone, but I am never hungry after I workout. Often it takes me three - four hours before I get hungry. Even though I work out fasted. The protein powder gives me the protein necessary in the appropriate window without making me feel bloated ( like force feeding does )

I have had negative experience with Nature Made supplements and NOX. I tripled the nature made multi and did not have neon pee. The optimum nutrition I get yellow pee at 1.5. Also I've had rancid fish oil from nature made.

NOX just made me feel jumpy all the time, and I could not concentrate away from the gym.

Answer by JayJay for Your supplement thread.

2012-09-16T19:51:15Z

D3 and magnesium. Supplement D3 dosage based on sun exposure. If I have 30+ minutes of good light over most of my body that day I supplement none. If I have no sun exposure I supplement 5000IU. Magnesium 500/day.
D3 for its use as a prehormone and many attributes to health. Magnesium because seems to have been depleted in our current food sources and it has effectively cured me of muscle spasms and is implicated in proper absorption and use of a host of other nutrients and minerals.
Just those two. Everything else I feel I get sufficiently from a good diet.
Take caution with creatine to be well hydrated. As a previous wrestler I know quite a few incidences where creatine was used in conjuction with cutting weight and placed excessive stress on the kidneys specifically causing damage and even death. I also did androstein dione in the past...which is now illegal I think...so I guess the advice to take a week off for every two weeks your on it should fall on deaf ears.

I also eat fermented foods on a daily basis. If I did not, I might consider a probiotic but consider it a far second in terms of health and benefits.

Oh, reading your comments I use to supplement with marijuana and speacial shrooms.....those were very nice for my younger development ;). Good times. I neither regret the use nor feel the need to revisit, so I suppose it was very much an everything has its time and place sort of experience.

Answer by Garrett for Your supplement thread.

2012-09-16T20:17:14Z

Biochem Whey Isolate- for post workout and a between-meal-snack sometimes. I chose this one b/c it had a short ingredient list, so I know I'm not getting a bunch of filler and it is gluten and soy free.

Omega 3 Fish oils, 1360mg(make sure your getting at least 900mg of EFA and DHA)-that's a given. The health benefits are too numerous to list. I notice that my joints feel a lot better and my injured shoulder doesn't bother me as much when I take them.

Multivitamins- i vary on these but I am waiting on my vitamin code raw one's to come in the mail. You would be surprised how hard it is to find a multi without soy in it, but vitamin code is soy and gluten free.

I also am off and on on creatine monohydrate. I have read lots of articles about the benefits of creatine but I don't think I have been consistent enough with it to get the full effect.

Answer by Varelse for Your supplement thread.

2012-09-16T20:57:57Z

Magnesium. I haven't been taking it long, but I think it may be helping with my sleep and twitchiness.
Iron. I've been anemic half the times I have been blood-tested over many years. I'm super pale and I bruise easy. I only supplement about half the RDA because I do eat a good bit of meat.
Fermented foods. I eat at least a few bites a day of one of my home-ferments, instead of taking a probiotic.
Kava kava extract. Once in a while, as needed, to calm down and sleep.

And... I have supplemented with an herbal type of thing in the past. When I had an ulcer, everything made me feel so nauseous and I just couldn't eat nearly enough. I was cold, trembling, weak, and lost so much weight so fast that I had to do something to get food down the hatch. It's not a problem nearly so often these days. It's also very helpful for relieving the anxiety and all that comes with starvation-mode.

I have a bottle of GNC Ultra Women's Multivitamins and some fish-derived CLA caplets that I'd gotten in my SAD ulcer days. I don't suppose it would hurt me to take them, since they were kinda expensive and I still have the bottles. I don't see myself going out to rebuy those products, though.

Answer by Korion for Your supplement thread.

2012-09-16T22:00:48Z

I'm currently not taking all of these as I'm experimenting.

Fat-solubles (some vitamin A, D, E, K2), but not every one of them every day. Just for skin improvement and general stress regulation. Helps with digestion too. Some of them I use topically (like k2 and E). I used to take 12k Vit-D but right now it's more like 2k and 5k Vit-A (though I might need more since I'm getting acne again, normally I eat liver to get rid of that).
Niacinamide (up to 500mg) and aspirin (up to 7 grams) for body temperature regulation, energy, make pupils smaller, ...
Progesterone (up to 10mg) for sleep, autism and general symptoms.
Pregnenolone (currently 300mg and increasing) for energy (that think works miracles), jaw dislocation and general symptoms.
T3 (cytomel) for hair growth, skin quality, libido, jaw dislocation and general symptoms.
Gelatin for autism.
Salt for autism, dairy intolerance, skin issues, energy and sleep.
Sugar for energy, food (dairy) intolerances.
Coconut oil for general problems.

I won't be taking zinc again, or magnesium citrate. Both were apparently very harsh on my stomach. I also won't be using MCT oil anymore because it gave me diarrhea and skin issues (may be brand-related). Other supplements that gave me issues were primrose oil, fish oil (killed libido), zyrtec (= levocetirizine), ...

Answer by alligator for Your supplement thread.

2012-09-16T23:17:35Z

BCAAs
vitamin C
whey protein powder
probiotic
vitamin D3

It is fairly basic and I feel good.

Answer by SoloX for Your supplement thread.

2012-09-17T14:54:07Z

A lot of supplements are useful, but provided one follows a paleo diet rich in a bevy of meats, eggs (choline), and colorful veggies, it really just comes down to:

Vitamin D - contrary to popular belief, it isn't simply about sunlight exposure. Pollutants, skin covered, sunscreen, etc renders most of it moot. 5000 UI is a nice dosage
Fish Oil - while paleo diet (grass-fed beef) helps with the n3:n6 ratio, pollutants have done a great job skewing it in ugly ways.

On top of that, fun ones that can be useful are:

A nootropic - eggs are rich in choline (200mg), but you need to be eating 5+ eggs a day to really feel it.
Creatine - it works. Considering saturation, it's near impossible to eat enough meat every single day to keep yourself saturated
Sleep - it's a cop out. But sleep helps with so many things it's a shame people do not get more of it (see how important sleep is)

Answer by lc875 for Your supplement thread.

2012-10-24T02:04:48Z

I just started taking 2g/day of pantothenic acid in hopes to reduce my sebum production & acne.

I also take calcium & vitamin D3 because I can't seem to get enough calcium through my diet. My nails were becoming weak since quitting dairy and calcium has helped tremendously. The D3 helps with absorption but I would take D3 regardless because I am rarely in the sun.

I have also taken probiotics. I wanted to include them in this list even though I'm not presently taking them because I believe I am still reaping the "digestive" rewards.

Answer by mhcoss for Your supplement thread.

2012-10-24T10:49:03Z

I take no supplements