LastHopeBay
Explorer
I stockpiled BCAA a while back, so moving over to essential aminos isn't happening anytime soon for me!
Way too many bottles in the cabinet - how do you trim a stack down?
- Thread starter Bollerhead
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I stockpiled BCAA a while back, so moving over to essential aminos isn't happening anytime soon for me!
Explorer
I've gotten into DIY supplement making. lol. Between all the size 00 capsules I take daily, the gelatin business basically has me to thank for staying afloat.
islandtime50
Explorer
I'm on a large number of supplements. That said, BCAAs and EAAs are out for me now. Anything containing artificial sweeteners is off the table — I genuinely can't handle them.
Just A Cat
Explorer
Food Nerd Fact: amino acid tracking in cronometer works if you limit yourself to the nccdb food database alone.
Make sure the five food groups show up every day. Ultra Filtered Milk, Cottage Cheese, Chicken, Eggs, Coffee.
Also — your GlyNac belongs in the dessert slot, so don't skip it.
Make sure the five food groups show up every day. Ultra Filtered Milk, Cottage Cheese, Chicken, Eggs, Coffee.
Also — your GlyNac belongs in the dessert slot, so don't skip it.
lessthanhalf
Explorer
Does 24 separate supplements — a few of which contain more than 1 ingredient — count as excessive? On top of that, roughly 12 prescription drugs, 3 peptides for weight loss, and 3 additional peptides?
Mr. Blonde
Explorer
This person really goes all in on supplements!
lastresort
Explorer
That's a beginner's count. Throw in 7 different steroids as well.
Joking aside, though: apart from vitamin D, C and B complexes, I can't really claim most supplements have done much for me, if anything. And those over-the-counter "natural" T boosters aren't worth the money next to real T.
Magnesium, glycine, collagen, and BCAAs are the ones I would cut.
A multivitamin is worth adding.
A lot of multis already include magnesium, and the multi also gives you some backup for micronutrient shortfalls in what you eat. It is not a substitute for a solid diet — only a small assist.
Glycine and collagen can come from food, or your body can make them when you eat things like red meat, poultry skin and dark meat, oily fish (skin on especially), connective-tissue-rich cuts such as chuck, shoulder, oxtail, and so on, plus seeds, nuts, and legumes.
As I see it, BCAAs give you barely anything and are largely money down the drain.
Whey is a keep-or-cut call based on how much protein you already eat. You do not need it, but it can be useful if hitting your protein target is hard.
NAC is not something I know well, though there is medical evidence for it in particular situations. My gut says most people do not really need it. If the reason you take it is "detox," stop and stop wasting money. Your body already handles detox on its own unless you have a specific kidney or liver problem. And if you do have a liver or kidney problem, an OTC supplement is not the answer — a doctor is.
LastHopeBay
Explorer
Yesterday I tossed a few collagen containers and quit glucosamine & chondroitin.
I am doing nothing at all.
I am doing nothing at all.
Calm Logic
Explorer
NAC is widely taken for liver support and anti-aging, working by raising the body's glutathione, an antioxidant. Taking NAC at higher doses, or getting glutathione via injections, may increase hematocrit (HCT); on the whole, it ought to be protective.
Just A Cat
Explorer
Just a handful of universal truths that tie into what's being talked about here.
Whether glucosamine & chondroitin really does much is still debated (cough). Look into it yourself if you like.
Most humans don't have enough glycine. Biochemist Dr. Enrique Meléndez-Hevia found through research that there's a hard ceiling on how much glycine the human body can make on its own. For essential jobs — mending collagen, making glutathione, building creatine — the body needs about 10 to 15 grams of glycine every day. Only around 3 grams a day get produced internally. What a typical modern diet supplies adds another 1.5 to 3 grams. That leaves a built-in, near-universal shortfall of roughly 5 to 10 grams daily for the average adult. The fix: consume plenty of foods with skin, tendons, bone broth, and so on, or take a glycine supplement.
Ever looked at how large a calcium or magnesium pill is? Ever counted that it takes 4 big magnesium capsules just to hit the RDA for magnesium?
Do you still believe that a single multivitamin tablet or that one capsule delivers a full day's RDA of calcium and/or magnesium?
Complete daily vitamins with complete minerals do exist on the market. The catch is usually that you'd have to swallow SIX capsules of them every day!
Potassium is one more mineral many people fall short on daily.
And since Calcium came up, it's only fair to note briefly that calcium without Vit. A, D, and K in balance might hurt more than it helps.
Whether glucosamine & chondroitin really does much is still debated (cough). Look into it yourself if you like.
Most humans don't have enough glycine. Biochemist Dr. Enrique Meléndez-Hevia found through research that there's a hard ceiling on how much glycine the human body can make on its own. For essential jobs — mending collagen, making glutathione, building creatine — the body needs about 10 to 15 grams of glycine every day. Only around 3 grams a day get produced internally. What a typical modern diet supplies adds another 1.5 to 3 grams. That leaves a built-in, near-universal shortfall of roughly 5 to 10 grams daily for the average adult. The fix: consume plenty of foods with skin, tendons, bone broth, and so on, or take a glycine supplement.
Ever looked at how large a calcium or magnesium pill is? Ever counted that it takes 4 big magnesium capsules just to hit the RDA for magnesium?
Do you still believe that a single multivitamin tablet or that one capsule delivers a full day's RDA of calcium and/or magnesium?
Complete daily vitamins with complete minerals do exist on the market. The catch is usually that you'd have to swallow SIX capsules of them every day!
Potassium is one more mineral many people fall short on daily.
And since Calcium came up, it's only fair to note briefly that calcium without Vit. A, D, and K in balance might hurt more than it helps.
Since I skipped over this before, I figured I'd go into more detail now. When you look at any supplement, the ingredients aren't the only thing that matter — you also have to check the doses and whether the label is accurate. Take a 30g scoop of protein powder: if it says 28g of protein but also lists 10g of carbs, then 28g of protein is impossible. Whenever you can, doses ought to match what clinical research uses. That's why Thorne prenatal vitamins come as 3 capsules while One A Day is just 1.
On glucosamine — I take it myself — the evidence is all over the place. At one time, multiple osteoarthritis organizations listed it as a treatment option for knee and hip OA. Because the data turned out to be weak, many of those groups have since dropped that recommendation. If you're going to use it, the form that matters is glucosamine sulfate, not glucosamine hcl. There's also a guideline I've come across — though I can't remember which organization issued it — that says to stop taking it after 6 months if you see no effect.
mybodyisasewer
Explorer
Honestly, this is exactly why I went with KLOW. 4 peps in 1 pin. KPV isn't something I even want or care about, but my vendor's price difference was so small that
Calm Logic
Explorer
Among the peptides in KLOW, KPV is probably the one with the best long-term safety profile, and it could also reduce injection site reactions caused by GHK-Cu.
To begin with, cut these out: glucosamine, whey, bcaas and glycine. Do you consume meat, fish, eggs and similar foods?
As for me, my own routine includes: inositol, choline, methylated b complex, c, d3, k2, selenium, serapeptase, nattokinase, peptic enzymes, CoQ10 plus a few others I can't recall at the moment, and nothing has gone wrong. Each one is taken for a particular purpose. (Creatine will also go back in.) While dealing with my meniscus tear, the list was even longer. No issues at all.
Honestly, I fail to see what the issue would be when peps and/or sups are taken for a particular purpose at a proper dose and so on.
Are you experiencing any side effects?