Here's a quick look at what I'm currently taking for supplements, and why:
- Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Gold Standard: 1 scoop every morning. This is more of a fail-safe to make sure I get enough complete protein each day. It also contains glutamine and BCAAs. The ON brand is far and away the most superior brand of protein on the market right now.
- 1000mg Fish Oil Softgels: 6 per day; 3 in the morning, 3 in the evening. EVERYONE should be taking fishoil. Here's a good article on why; you could look up 100 others as well. Note: When people talk about taking fish-oil they often say 1000mg, or 500mg when referring to the pill size. This is NOT the actual EPA/DHA content. In the case of those 1000mg fish oil softgels each one contains 180mg EPA & 120mg of DHA. So my grand total for the day is 1800mg of EPA & DHA, which is the stuff that gives fish oil it's potent effects.
- 800mg Curcumin with Bioperine: 1 per day. Seriously, why are you NOT taking curcumin? You can read the research for yourself, but fat metabolizing, anti-catabolic, cancer fighting, cholesterol lowering, Parkinson's fighting, inflammation reducing (THAT'S the big one), tumor-shrinking supplements don't grow on trees. It's basically a natural, legal clenbuterol.
- 1000mg Vitamin D3: 2 per day. This one should be mandatory for anyone in the northern hemisphere. Here's a great article on Vitamin D (may be NSFW banner on side). This and fish oil are probably the two most important supplements someone can take. Almost every human being is deficient in Vitamin-D which is too bad because Vitamin D is great for preventing things like cancer, heart disease, etc. The current USDA recommended dose for Vitamin D is woefully low, and it will be raised during the next round of updates to their recommendations. And since a lot of people won't follow the link I posted to the article, here's some info for you:
- "In one mind-blowing study (Melamed, et al.) using population data, researchers found that total mortality was 26% higher in those with the lowest 25(OH)D levels compared with the highest. And a meta-analysis of 18 randomized controlled trials found that supplemental vitamin D significantly reduced total mortality. That means quite simply this: vitamin D supplementation prolongs life.
- According to the Vitamin D Council, current research has implicated vitamin D deficiency as a major factor in the pathology of at least 17 varieties of cancer.
- Vitamin D may protect against both Type I and Type II diabetes.
- Low D may contribute to chronic fatigue, depression, and Seasonal Affective Disorder.
- Parkinson's and Alzheimer's sufferers have been found to have lower levels of D.
- Low levels of vitamin D may contribute to "Syndrome X" with associated hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
- Administration of dietary vitamin D has been shown to lower blood pressure and restore insulin sensitivity.
We need to nerd out sometime talking supplements. Just thought I'd send you a link to this article: http://www.vegan-supplement-checklist.com/2009/01/are-vegans-more-intelligent-not-without.html
ReplyDeleteAs I've been on a vegan diet, I'm trying to figure out the best way to get EPA/DHA from a non-animal source. I'm also concerned about rancidity & fish oil, not to mention possible toxins (mercury and so on) in the fish oil. Before I was vegan though I have to second that ON's Whey is a FANTASTIC product! I used Natural Chocolate.
what no finaflex andro-1.... some pro test. and a large helping of saw palmetto to keep your prostate squirting....
ReplyDeleteThanks for that article Heather! I love the choco-whey as well.
ReplyDeleteI know quite a few people that are vegan, I just found a vegan curcumin supplement for one. The concern about rancid fish oil is a valid one I believe. I buy those tubs with 1000 pills in them, I think I'm going to start refrigerating them. I'm not so much worried about mercury. Gov't recommendations on where the hypothetical risk from mercury begins are VERY conservative. They're actually at 1% of where you actually see any risk at all (I'll try to find the source for this). There's also the fact that selenium prevents mercury and other toxins from entering cells, and the foods most plentiful in selenium are things like fish.
Here's a quote from HowMuchFish:
"The Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency recommend that pregnant women, women who are planning to become pregnant, nursing moms, and very young children all should eat 12 ounces of seafood each week, and avoid just four kinds of fish. Those fish species are shark, swordfish, tilefish, and king mackerel. Added all together, they account for less than 1 percent of the seafood Americans eat. That’s less than a single serving per person per year.
Government guidance about mercury in fish applies only to this limited group of Americans. And even then, the advice is clear that pregnant and nursing moms (and young children) need to eat more seafood, not less. For most people—including men, teens, older kids, post-menopausal women, and women who don’t plan to become pregnant—there are no government-recommended limits on the amount (or type) of seafood that is safe to eat."
With regards to EPA/DHA....it is VERY hard. Flax oil contains ALA which is a precursor, but your body has to convert it, and the conversion is VERY inefficient (studies show between 1% and 10%) plus almost all flax oil sold in the country is rancid. That link you posted seems to have a couple of choices though, I'll have to look into them. If I can get nutrients through plant OR animal sources, I try to go with the plant source as often as possible.
I eat several pounds of saw palmetto per day.
ReplyDeleteThese look like they might be a valid vegan source of omega-3s...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/Ovega-3-Omega-3-500mg-Vegetarian-Softgels/dp/B004LL7AXE/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1312386401&sr=8-5