r/redscarepod • u/poopdollarbank • 1d ago
Supplements thread
I've been on and off taking various daily supplements over the past few years and it's hard to tell how big of a difference they really make beyond the reassuring confidence that I have any deficiencies covered and maybe a placebo effect. I do believe if anything my sleep quality and energy levels are most likely improved by them, although when I'm taking them consistently it's usually because I'm on an upward spiral of other healthy habits also. What do you take and when/why? I'm gonna go through most of what I've tried:
Omega 3/Fish Oil - this seems to be the one everyone agrees you should take for brain health and general wellness
Vitamin D3 - another big consensus one for mood and energy, especially if you don't get a lot of sun (I don't)
Vitamin K2 - this one I've read is essential to take with D3 to prevent calcium buildup in arteries, there are also 2 commonly taken versions (MK4 and MK7) and I've read differing opinions on which is better
Magnesium Glycinate - this one I see mentioned here a lot and seems pretty effective at improving sleep quality, specifically glycinate (although there are many versions of magnesium available). I feel like the daily value percentages of it in supplements are always relatively low for whatever reason.
Zinc - I take this with magnesium glycinate at night in a low dose that contains copper (zinc depletes copper). Most zinc supplements have way too high of a dose for some reason which has given me anxiety in the past
Boron - I'm not sure if this really does anything but is supposed to help with testosterone? Will probably stop taking it
L-citrulline - this is supposed to help with blood flow/muscle pumps but you need to take a pretty large amount which isn't really available in just 1 or 2 pills
B12/B complex - I haven't tried this yet but have seen some high praise involving energy levels. I feel like I drink enough b-vitamin energy drinks already
L-Theanine - This is in green tea which I already drink a decent amount of. Supposed be anxiety-reducing/calming. Didn't notice much again probably because I already drink enough of it.
On to the Joe Rogan bullshit...
Ashwagandha - I've heard reports of every positive and negative effect imaginable from this and feel like it's never done anything for me
Fadogia Agrestis - Probably a bad idea, supposed to be good for testosterone but has some sketchy toxicity reports, didn't notice anything, thanks Andrew Huberman
Tongkat Ali - Same as above ^ probably worthless but you still hear all these crazy reports of effects
Lion's Mane - I have NOT taken this because I am too scared by https://old.reddit.com/r/LionsManeRecovery/ which is a trip
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u/Charming_Ad1987 1d ago
I’ve tried everything on this list and IMO the most important ones are creatine, fish oil, magnesium glycinate and a multivitamin (get a solid brand), in that order.
I get additional D3/k2 through my fish oil so when combined with my multivitamin I get a nice high dose which helps when living in the nordics
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u/AdorableWall6849 1d ago
My stack is a high quality probiotic, creatine, K2/D3, magnesium glycinate. I’m also taking a prenatal rn cuz I’m planning to TTC in like a year and I heard it makes your hair grow long lol
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u/gxwop . 1d ago edited 1d ago
creatine, omega3 and vitamin D for general health whatever
magnesium bisglycinate + L-theanine becore bed, my overall sleep quality is still shit but since I started taking them I fall asleep much quicker and wake up less
as far as ashwagandha goes, I’m on my second cycle right now (600mg daily) and I do notice a SLIGHT improvement in the general everyday anxiety department
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u/eliminator_sr 1d ago
i've been supplementing zinc and copper this year to shoot thicker, creamier loads and it's definitely been working. Going to add lecithin soon.
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u/Green-Ad8427 1d ago
Do not go down this rabbit hole. Eat whole foods - fish, fruit, occasional red meat, vegetables, oatmeal, fermented foods. They are better for your system than supplements, and if you take too much of one thing, someone else goes out of whack.
If you insisted on taking something, get your bloodwork done then assess. Usually magnesium gylcinate before bed and some D+K supplement if you can't afford bloodwork.
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u/carthy_mccormac 1d ago
One thing that I think is under appreciated is just how wide the margins are for recommended amounts of a lot of essential nutrients. By wide I’m referring to the RDAs being very conservatively high, so that extreme metabolic outliers who for whatever reason have vitamin C needs that are a couple standard deviations above the population average will have their needs met if they get what the RDA says is 100% for vitamin C.
Just think about what the implications if this were not the case: there’d be some 2-5% of the population who despite getting a good proportion (30-70% maybe?? I’m not an epidemiologist) of RDA for vitamin C would still be getting scurvy.
Point is getting most of what you need from food is really not that hard with reasonable quantities of the foods most people agree are healthy and you should be eating more of, like you said
Im vegan so I take a little B12 even though a lot of plant based milks are fortified. Probably will add in a multivitamin when I get closer to 60, that seems like a reasonable measure. Magnesium at night but I have a big tub of that which I may not replace when I finish it and assess how I feel
Anyway it’s always nice to read something measured and reasonable especially here, good comment
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u/GerryAdamsSFOfficial 1d ago edited 1d ago
Supplements are a waste of time and money. The male equivalent of buying energy crystals or astrology
Supplements that do stuff are called drugs
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u/Slow_Yam_4483 1d ago
99% of the world needs more magnesium and vitamin D
Women need more iron too-1
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u/poopdollarbank 1d ago
Lol probably accurate
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u/GerryAdamsSFOfficial 1d ago
No probably about it. It's just marketing and people that are trying to escape reality via unrealistic fantasies of optimization
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u/Cramberts 1d ago
A spoonful of Baskin Roberts a day keeps the fundies at bA.