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I'm thinking of purchasing Mark Sisson's Damage Control Master Formula. I'm looking for something that will help with my low energy levels and kick start some weight loss, as well as promote good health, but $129 is way too much to spend on a whim! I have to know the product is good for that kind of money.

I've looked for reviews online, but they don't jibe and feel fake. Plus most sites have the same reviews over and over that they've 'borrowed' from Amazon. I think Primal Toad also reviewed it, but all he says is 'Yep, it's potent!' and doesn't describe the changes he felt.

If you've taken before or take it now, could you let me know what you think? As much as I trust and respect Mark Sisson, I need a little more if I'm going to drop a quarter of my disposable income!

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I think Son of Grok mentioned the product on his site as well. – Shebeeste Sep 26 2010 at 18:33
I just thought id comment, alot of people seem to think iodine is low on a paleo diet. It isnt (unless your eating food from depleted soil). Anyone who eats whole foods should be getting enough iodine, especially if they eat fish, eggs, dairy or cranberries. – Jamie Sep 22 at 8:20
(or coconut flesh) – Jamie Sep 22 at 8:25
I looked it up a while ago and someone else owned Grok. But the trademark lapsed so no one owns Grok these days. Least of all the apple guy. He's sunk to a new low with his branded processed junk, made in some dark satanic puppy mill. – thhq Sep 22 at 14:00

8 Answers

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This is one of the most overpriced supplements around. Not knocking Mark Sisson; I love his articles and his enthusiasm. But look at the nutrition facts label, and see what you're getting for $129/month:

-Vitamin megadoses (not necessary, especially with a healthy diet--research on adverse effects of mega-doses comes out every once in a while, even for water soluble vitamins)

-Mineral supplement

-Antioxidant phytochemicals (lycopene, resveratrol, etc show up in CVS multivitamins too!)

-A mix of random stuff that has scanty evidence for certain markers of chronic conditions

-A small number of adaptogens that purport to help stress levels

There's a few ways to help energy levels and kick start weight loss. In my opinion, the best way is to see what you can do with a fairly strict paleo diet for a few months, then if you feel like you should explore supplements, spend away! If you want stress-releiving supplements, they abound even on Amazon, and for cheap on sites such as 1fast400.com. Search for ingredients such as vinpocetine, ashwaganda, etc. But this stuff is probably way overhyped. I tried a few of them, and a couple made me tired, plus one might have destressed me a little, or it could have just be placebo! Not to mention that you don't want to take all these pills all the time, swallowing big ol' capsules is hard, and not a great/natural thing for your daily routine.

If you track your food intake for a few days, you can see what vitamins/minerals you're missing. Then, you can shore that up with food, and if necessary supplements. Probable culprits include magnesium and iodine.

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I would stay the heck away from megadoses of vitamins, and also aware from high doses of polyphenols (which can cause cancer in high doses, and are not anti-oxidants in vivo). A multi-mineral, and a adaptogen mix would probably be much better than this supplement. See above regarding the iodine thing. – Jamie Sep 22 at 8:27
Good answer tho, generally +1 – Jamie Sep 22 at 8:28
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Here are some elements you can thinker with that are often still lacking on a paleo diet:

  • Iodine
  • Magnesium
  • Vitamin D
  • Vitamin K2
  • Omega-3 fats
  • Probiotics

In the paleo circles a lot of attention is given to vit-D and fish oil, but almost everybody is low on iodine, magnesium and k2 and sources aren't aboundant. If you eat sea weeds you should be fine in terms of iodine, but a lot of paleo people cut their only source of iodine (iodized salt) and magnesium used to be abundant in our water, but not anymore.

I think Mark Sisson's Sun-soil-oil formulation makes much more sense, that with added magnesium, iodine and grass-fed butter (for k2) is what does it for me.

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1 
 excellent post. I like the list you made and just wanna add that these are the ways i address each, without any need for someone's overmarketed products: -Iodine: eat dulse flakes from a company like Maine Sea Veg -Magnesium: natural calm -Vit D: sun exposure as much as possible and fermented cod liver oil -K2: grass-fed butter consumption daily -o3s: rather than worry about consumption simply eliminate as much o6 from your diet as you possibly can. No veg oil, nuts themselves, or nut oils -Probiotics: occasionally eat unpasteurized saur kraut, kimchi, etc. Dont worry about it. – ben61820 Sep 27 2010 at 13:26
This seems like an excellent way to get enough of everything. It's true that o3 becomes less of a problem when o6 is at an absolute minimum. – Paleo Seb Sep 27 2010 at 23:31
Iodine is in every vegetable and every meat. Its particularly high in dairy, eggs, fish, coconut flesh and cranberries. You most certainly do not need seaweed, which has alot more than a human needs, you only need to eat the odd bit of the afformentioned foods, in addition to the lower levels found in basically all whole/real foods. Theres a general myth that goes around that iodine is only present in seafood, or that its rare. Its not rare, and its not only in seafood. An egg for example has 28mcgs per egg. Most meat and veg has about 10-30mcg/100 grams. Coconut and cranberries are very high. – Jamie Sep 22 at 8:24
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Beastie Girl, When looking for a supplement, look up INDIVIDUAL items that may help your issue, then evaluate FORMULAS to see if they contain the type and amount of items you need.

In general, if you are deficient in something and it is affecting your life (e.g. not getting enough sleep, sleeping too much, hair falling out, dry/itchy skin), supplementation may be a very effective way to improve your symptoms while you improve other areas of your life.

There will come a point in time (typically 3-6 months) when you'll notice a convergence - your supplementation needs decline, your nutrition output has improved so that you might start reducing the quantities of some supplements until perhaps you need only 1-2 (maybe Vit D, fish oil, for example).

As to whether the Master Control is for you, do some research on what individual supplements you need first, then research the options. $129 might be worth it, might not. Also be sure your vitamin sources are plant-derived, non-GMO.

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I think the main criticism is it's too expensive... If you were to buy everything separately you could get it for less, but then that goes for nearly all packaged or bundled products.

The other issue is it has a whole bunch of stuff in there that you probably have no idea what they are and if you need/want to take them. Personally I would never ingest a supplement I hadn't read and studied. When I first started out on Paleo I looked at his DCMF and was shocked by how many things were in it, "this can't be Paleo!" I thought. However as I started down the journey into researching supplements, every new supplement I discovered that was popular/looked promising would pop on in his formula, to the point where I now think it is very well researched and despite disagreeing with a couple inclusions/dosages (unavoidable with such a long list) I think Mark Sisson must be extremely well-read on all this stuff, much more so that he lets on in his daily posts!

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I take Natures Multi- Grass Fed Beef Liver or Cod Liver Oil. It's way more bioavailable than pills, and it's food to boot!

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for my grassfed beef liver i go with Dr. Ron's here: drrons.com/… I used to take his Organ Delight which is a mix of all the organs but its pretty pricey. Now im back to just the liver. – ben61820 Sep 26 2010 at 19:13
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I just eat grass fed beef liver and get a kind of salt that is cured in kelp. Couple times a week fish oil. Other than that, only paleo food, no other supplements. Feel pretty lively most times.

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Looks like this discussion is pretty much over... I have purchased this supplement 1 day ago and after my second intake of 6 pills at lunch time, I am having an explosive diarhea and vomiting. I found your posts searching if anyone else was having a similar adverse effect. I have been following the Primal Bluepring diet for almost 2 years now daily enjoying Mark Sisson's posts. So decided to improve my health even more... This has been 8 hours since I had those pills and I am still unwell... Oh well, going to call Customer Service in the Morning to ask what to do and if I should try to take other supplements I purchased as a package (Primal Calm and some probiotics). Sorry for the sad post.

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Dang. You sure the explosive diarrhea can be traced to the Sisson supplement? – Anonymous Chump Sep 22 at 18:20
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Son of Grok wrote a review, it's a couple years old, but good nonetheless!

http://www.sonofgrok.com/2008/12/review-damage-control-master-formula/

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 In my opinion, his review is pretty weak. This comment on his review is more telling: "So how do you know the supplement was effective? When the supplement costs 10 bucks it’s no big deal, but when it’s $129 + SH, that’s something totally different. Grok must have had a big wallet." – Kamal♦ Sep 26 2010 at 19:31

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