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My Top Supplement Picks
How did I decide that these were the top supplements? Well, through research and experience. Please note that I feel these supplements are best for me.
It's not possible to make the statement that these are the best for everyone. Age, gender, body habitus, health, diseases, stressors, and a zillion other factors play a role in dictating what is
"good " for one person but not "good" for another. Depending on your nutritional goals, you may use a supplement that would not be helpful to someone with different goals in mind.
Beleive it or not, I feel that much of the nutrition needed for a sedentary, low-stressed person can be accomodated by adhering to a simple, but wise, meal plan.
Ask any nutritionist or dietician. Many of them could write a diet plan for you that would cover all your nutritional bases.
My supplement philophosy is based on two of my personal tenents:
I subject myself to a huge amount of stress through intense weight training and I have unique nutritional requirements.
I cannot be sure to always have accessability to a meal when my body needs it the most.
Based on the above requirements, I employ a unique supplementation regimen. My regimen includes a base set of supplements and an additional set of supplements I consume after
my workout. I have always felt that "post-workout" is the best time to slam some additional nutrients into my system. More than what food alone could provide.
Here are my top supplement picks (in no particular order):
High quality multivitamin / multimineral
Start off with a base that ensure no basic deficiencies in micronutrients. Not all multi's are created equally. Choose wisely.
I prefer the Life Extension multi formulas. The Life Extension Two-Per-Day is good and fairly priced.
Whey Protein Powder
- Whey protein is derived from milk. It is fast digesting and highly bioavailable.
Because it is fast acting, it has many qualities that make it superior to most other protein
sources, especially for the athlete. Taken after a workout, it is absorbed quickly and available to your muscles for protein synthesis.
It also provides an easy way to meet my high protein needs.
Creatine
- It works. Period. Creatine supplementation combined with strength training has been shown to cause dramatic improvements in muscle size and strength.
Creatine is found in many foods including red meat, but you would have to eat a very large amounts of these foods to get the benefits achieved through supplementation with creatine powder.
Glutamine
- I use this every day, all year long!
L-glutamine plays a very important role in protein metabolism, and it is a very important nutrient for body builders. When supplemented, it may help body builders with recovery by helping to repair the muscle breakdown that occurs. By supplementing glutamine (a non-essential or conditionally essential amino acid), other tissues that need glutamine will not rob the glutamine stored in the muscle cells.
Vitamin C
- Great antioxidant.
Vitamin C is required for the growth and repair of tissues in all parts of your body. It is necessary to form collagen, an important protein used to make skin, scar tissue, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels.
Vitamin C is essential for the healing of wounds, and for the repair and maintenance of cartilage, bones, and teeth. Sound like it might help an athlete that is continually breaking down tissue throguh intense training?
Vitamin E
- Another great antioxidant. ..Especially the 'gamma' form of vitamin E..
Vitamin E is an another antioxidant that protects body tissue from damage caused by unstable substances called free radicals. Free radicals can harm cells, tissues, and organs. They are believed to lay a role in certain conditions associated with aging.
Vitamin E is also important in the formation of red blood cells.
Omega 3 Fats - Fish Oil
- Huge amount of health benefits.
There is evidence from multiple studies supporting intake of dietary fish or fish oil supplements to lower triglycerides, reduces the risk of death, heart attack, dangerous abnormal heart rhythms, and strokes in people with known cardiovascular disease. It slows the buildup of atherosclerotic plaques and lowers blood pressure slightly.
Glucosamine / Chondroitin
- My joints feel great on this stuff.
It is a natural compound that is found in healthy cartilage. Glucosamine sulfate is a normal constituent of glycoaminoglycans in cartilage matrix and synovial fluid.
Available evidence from randomized trials supports the use of glucosamine sulfate in the treatment of osteoarthritis. It is believed that it provides benefit in the synovial fluid by strengthening cartilage.
Calcium-Magnesium-Zinc
- Minerals can be depleted during intense training.
Calcium helps maintain the strength of our bones, carries electrical charge during muscle contraction, has intracellular regulator funcrions, and acts as a cofactor for extracellular enzymes and regulatory proteins. Calcium is present in variable amounts in all the foods and water we consume, although the main sources are dairy products and vegetables.
Magnesium is the fourth most abundant cation in the body, with 60% in the bone and 40% distributed equally between muscle and non-muscular soft tissue. Magnesium has an important role in at least 300 fundamental enzymatic reactions, including the initiation of fatty acid oxidation (fat burning). In addition, it functions in the activation of amino acids and synthesis and degradation of DNA and has a key role in neurotransmission and immune function.
Zinc is an essential trace mineral. It has structural, enzymatic and regulatory roles. Demands on all these minerals are increased during stress and training.
DHEA
- Anti-aging, can be converted in body into important hormones.
DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) is an hormone made in your human body,
and secreted by the adrenal gland. It serves as precursor to male and female
sex hormones (androgens and estrogens). DHEA levels in the body begin to
decrease after age 30, and are reported to be low in some people with certain diseases
and in the critically ill. DHEA may be most helpful to supplement
when you're over 30.
Alpha Lipoic Acid
- A must when you slam 50g of dextrose after a workout!
Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is a chemical that is similar to a vitamin. It is an antioxidant. High levels of blood glucose are one cause of oxidative stress. ALA supplements are marketed as tablets or capsules. ALA may be beneficial because of its antioxidant activity, especially when taken with glucose or sugary foods.
Vitamin D3
- Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3) is produced in skin exposed to sunlight, specifically ultraviolet B radiation.
Vitamin D3 promotes healthy bones, promotes calcium absorption, and protects against muscle weakness.
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