From my post on another board...
I thought I'd lay out a basic supplement stack for anyone who is interested.
Vitamins and Minerals
There are two main approaches to supplementing your vitamin and mineral needs.
1. Multivitamin
Pros:
-Multivitamins are great because they conveniently include every vitamin and mineral that your body may need on a daily basis
-Multivitamins are essentially a cheap insurance policy to ensure that deficiencies do not occur.
Cons:
-Multivitamins, due to their large composition of ingredients, are pharmacokinetically challenged. When taken with food, the increased gastric motility may reduce overall micronutrient absorption. On the flip side, if taken without food, fat-soluble vitamins may suffer lesser absorption.
-Most multivitamins do not account for interactions and uptake overlap between the various constituents of the formula.
How to purchase a multivitamin:
You want to purchase a multivitamin that uses superior vitamin forms and chelated minerals while circumventing the "cons" listed above.
Good Choices:
-AOR Orthocore
-Orange Triad
-Source Naturals Life Force Multiple
2. ACES
Pros:
-Doesn't have the "cons" associated with multivitamins
Cons:
-Expensive and inconvenient
How to purchase ACES:
Let me start by elucidating what ACES is: Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Selenium. On top of ACES, you will also want vitamin D, a b-complex, and a mineral complex.
Good Choices:
Vitamin A - Solaray Food Carotene 10,000IU
Vitamin C- Ester-C or Generic Ascorbic Acid - 500mg
Vitamin E- Toco-8 or MRM Complete-E
Selenium- 100mcg of seleniomethionine (don't exceed 200mcg daily)
Vitamin D- Generic Brand 5000 IU D3 in fall/winter, 2000 IU in spring/summer
B-Complex - AOR B-Complex or Jarrow B-Right
Mineral Complex - NOW Minerals
Some may prefer to dose the water-soluble vitamins multiple times a day (B and C). Personally, I would take a B-Complex 1-3 times a day and vitamin C 1-2 times a day, away from training sessions.
Fish Oil
Pros:
-If the diet is deficient in Omega-3s from fish, fish oil supplementation is a great idea. The benefits are profound: reduced inflammation, increased protein synthesis in the elderly, fatty acid balance, optimized brain function, reduced blood pressure, and transiently increased energy expenditure following meals.
Cons:
-None if dosed responsibly.
How to pick a fish oil:
You ideally want a fish oil with high epa/dha content. Plasma saturation of epa/dha occurs at 3g total daily, which is what you should be aiming for.
Good choices:
Controlled Labs Orange Oximega Fish Oil
NOW Ultra Omega-3
Nordic Naturals
SAN Triple Fish Fats
Creatine
Pros:
-The primary benefit is increased anaerobic capacity. This means you will shift more weight for more reps in the 1-15 rep range.
-Others: brain function, immune support, improved glucose tolerance, improved bone health, enhanced muscular hydration and volumization.
Cons:
-None if used in healthy individuals and dosed correctly.
How to pick a creatine:
Simple: pick creatine monohydrate. Dose at 5g every day for the first month, and then 3-5g on workout days only thereafter. Certain individuals may respond better to Magnesium Creatine Chelate as far as GI issues are concerned. For particular forms of creatine, I'll answer what I can in this thread.
Good Choices:
SNS Creatine Monohydrate
Allmax Micronized Creatine
ON Micronized Creatine
Beta-Alanine
Pros:
-Increased muscle carnosine translates into increased muscular endurance and performance. Complements creatine quite well.
-A variety of benefits are associated with increased carnosine, such as greater longevity and reduced soreness following exercise.
Cons:
-Some users may experience parathesia, a tingling sensation, if too much beta-alanine is taken at once.
How to choose a beta-alanine product:
Beta-alanine is best used by dosing multiple times a day in small doses. It should be used every day at 3.2-6.4g daily, for months on end. A good beta-alanine product will simply meet label claims, though I prefer capsules because it makes the "multiple-times-a-day" dosing far more convenient.
Good choices:
SNS Beta-alanine Caps
AEN IntraXCell
Gaspari Anavite at 6 tabs/day
So there you have 4 basic supplements for any user who is seeking to optimize performance and overall health. I will expand on this list in the future, but this is simply the "base" from which you can build up.
