Essential Supplements, for those of you who don't like to supplement too much

[austinite]

Introduction

You stroll into the supplement section, probably visited a couple of my threads and think... this is crazy! I can't supplement with all that! Well, I understand. What I want you to understand is that you do not have to supplement with anything. The truth is, a decent and diverse diet can maintain a healthy body. So there's really no need to supplement heavily with anything. Of course, those with deficiencies will benefit. And some folks who have insane jobs that don't allow for proper nutrition would benefit as well.

That being said, there are 3 stages of state. Malnutrition, healthy and optimum. Malnutrition is obviously a poor diet. You're just not getting enough of the essentials and that will become problematic. Supplementation should NEVER be considered in cases of self-induced malnutrition. It's your responsibility to eat right. That's your first line of defense.

Healthy state is one with a good nutritional plan. If you're happy with that, great. No need to change anything. Finally, there's optimal. This is where supplementation comes into play. Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) is merely enough to maintain a healthy state. These are also based on 2,000 calorie diets. They're likely to have your serum levels in range, lower range, but still in range. This range is considered healthy, or 'acceptable'. Most vitamins, minerals, herbs and amino acids are ok when these ranges are exceeded. In fact, you'd amplify the benefits. That stage would be considered optimum.

But today we're going to focus on optimizing essentials based on age groups and I'll add a recommendation for testosterone therapy patients. This is NOT about muscle and steroid cycles. This is about overall health and wellbeing. As much as I'd love to see you all supplementing heavily, I'm going to do my best to keep the list shorter than 5 each. It's not going to be easy! Let's get started...

Under 30 Years old:

N-acetylcysteine (NAC)
Purpose: Liver health, lung health, stomach health, kidney health, lower cholesterol and more. A powerful antioxidant.
Dosage: 600 mg daily.
Recommended: NAC 600 mg - 100 Veg Capsules - NOW Foods

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)
Purpose: Heart health, increased blood flow, immune system boost, lowers blood pressure, increased sperm count, sugar stabilization.
Dosage: 200 mg daily.
Recommended: CoQ10 200 mg - 60 Vcaps® - NOW Foods

Fish Oil with Vitamin E (Find it w/vitamin e combined)
Purpose: Brain health, vision health, lower triglycerides, anti inflammatory, better metabolic rate, increased nutrient delivery, enhanced immune system.
Dosage: 2500 mg oil. 800 mg EPA. 600 mg DHA. 20 IU Vitamin E Tocopherol.
Recommended: Carlson Labs - Elite Omega-3 Gems


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over 30 Years old:

N-acetylcysteine (NAC)
Purpose: Liver health, lung health, stomach health, kidney health, lower cholesterol and more. A powerful antioxidant.
Dosage: 600 mg daily.
Recommended: NAC 600 mg - 100 Veg Capsules - NOW Foods

Ubiquinol (UBQH <~ Only this)
Purpose: Heart health, increased blood flow, immune system boost, lowers blood pressure, increased sperm count, sugar stabilization, prostate health.
Dosage: 200 mg daily.
Recommended: UBQH 100mg | Ubiquinol | Integrative Therapeutics (This brand only)

Vitamin D
Purpose: Bone builder, essential for nervous system stability, enhances absorption of calcium and regulates mineral metabolism. D is in every cell in your body.
Dosage: 2,000 to 5,000 IU daily. (Obviously I'd rather see you take 5k, but 2k is the absolute minimum)
Recommended: Vitamin D-3 5,000 IU - 120 Softgels - NOW Foods

Fish Oil with Vitamin E (Find it w/vitamin e combined)
Purpose: Brain health, vision health, lower triglycerides, anti inflammatory, better metabolic rate, increased nutrient delivery, enhanced immune system.
Dosage: 2500 mg oil. 800 mg EPA. 600 mg DHA. 20 IU Vitamin E Tocopherol.
Recommended: Carlson Labs - Elite Omega-3 Gems

Testosterone Therapy patients should also consider both: DHEA and Pregnenolone.

There you have it. These are the basics and again, this is not about bodybuilding or steroid cycles. It's just about your general health and wellbeing. So if you're a minimalist, unlike myself with supplements, do your body a favor and supplement with the above.

Have a powerful day,

~ Austinite

[Brett N]

Would these essentials be the same for male and female? Thanks for another great post.

[austinite]

Would these essentials be the same for male and female? Thanks for another great post.

Yes, they sure would. Vitamin D doesn't need to be this high, otherwise the doses are fine.

[kronik420]

interesting, as im one of those who don't like to take supplements, hell i don't even take my medication.. got a tub of protein powder, BCAA's, and fish oil that im pretty sure are all past the expire date as they have just been sitting in the cupboard for over a year now lol... anyway a few q's....

would taking all those 3 supps daily make you 'feel' any different?

and is NAC and coq10 relatively cheap to buy?

and how many thousands of dollars do you spend on your weekly supplementation?

[austinite]

interesting, as im one of those who don't like to take supplements, hell i don't even take my medication.. got a tub of protein powder, BCAA's, and fish oil that im pretty sure are all past the expire date as they have just been sitting in the cupboard for over a year now lol... anyway a few q's....

would taking all those 3 supps daily make you 'feel' any different?

and is NAC and coq10 relatively cheap to buy?

and how many thousands of dollars do you spend on your weekly supplementation?

Hey kronik,

Over time they will certainly make you feel better. Here's the deal with the choices above... they will prevent lots of illnesses and maintain a healthy body in every category. The areas they cover are tremendous. So even if you don't 'feel' different, they are certainly working in the background to keep you healthy and prevent issues. But you're certainly in much better shape with them than without.

NAC is the cheapest of all of them. You should be able to get a 2 month supply for 7 dollars. If you look hard enough you should be able find all of the mentioned super cheap.

I don't spend as much as people think. I used to, at one stage. But now I purchase everything in powder form and injectables so I save a ton of money.

[kronik420]

ok thanks aust

ill look into them, maybe try ebay.. and ill check to see if my fish oil caps are still in date lol..

[kronik420]

one more q

is NAC an ok liver support while running orals on cycle? or would you still add something else? forgot i had 3 jars of liv 52. aswell...

[austinite]

one more q

is NAC an ok liver support while running orals on cycle? or would you still add something else? forgot i had 3 jars of liv 52. aswell...

NAC is the absolute best liver support available over the counter today. NAC is all you need to support oral steroids.

Here's a quick comparison with UDCA.

That doesn't mean others don't work, it just means that NAC is superior.

[kronik420]

ok thanks aust

and lol just checked, my liv. 52 jars expired june last year, but the fish oil caps are still good until november 2014

[Java Man]

Great stuff as usual dude. Love your natural supplement write ups

[austinite]

Great stuff as usual dude. Love your natural supplement write ups

Thanks for that, brother!

[sawyer86]

Another great post. You are the supplement man!

Should NAC be taken year round regardless of being on or off cycle?

[austinite]

Another great post. You are the supplement man!

Should NAC be taken year round regardless of being on or off cycle?

Absolutely. No reason to come off of NAC. You would simply increase the dose on cycle.

[sawyer86]

So 600mg off cycle. What dose on cycle?

[austinite]

So 600mg off cycle. What dose on cycle?

^^ end of This post gives details...

[sawyer86]

Thanks man. Ive been looking for that answer.

[pjbandit]

This is great info, Thank you,

How much dhea and preg do you recommend with people on trt? Also, do you have a specific brand?

Thanks again.

[austinite]

This is great info, Thank you,

How much dhea and preg do you recommend with people on trt? Also, do you have a specific brand?

Thanks again.

Depends on your needs. No less than 25mg of each. Micronized versions are best.

- LEF (Life Extension)
- NuMedica
- NOW Products
- Jarrow
- Xymogen
- BIO-TECH
- McPherson Labs
- Neuro Biologix

[Xaxist]

I don't understand why you say to take only unbiquinol for us over 30 folks.

Regardless of what form of CoQ10 you take as a supplement, the body is able to convert one form to the other form as needed. A balance of ubiquinone and ubiqunol is merited according to all the research I have done and both forms are essential to important pathways in the body.

Could you please elaborate on your opinion?

[austinite]

I don't understand why you say to take only unbiquinol for us over 30 folks.

Regardless of what form of CoQ10 you take as a supplement, the body is able to convert one form to the other form as needed. A balance of ubiquinone and ubiqunol is merited according to all the research I have done and both forms are essential to important pathways in the body.

Could you please elaborate on your opinion?

Elaborated....

http://forums.steroid.com/supplement...d-out-why.html

[Xaxist]

Elaborated....

http://forums.steroid.com/supplement...d-out-why.html

Most of the article is on the generic benefits of CoQ10, but the scientific evidence is interesting:

Originally Posted by integrativeinc.com
When individuals have substandard plasma levels of (total) CoQ10 (<2.0 g/ml), CoQ10 supplementation frequently fails to provide an adequate therapeutic response, even at doses up to 900 mg/day.†18,19 Many individuals respond poorly, if at all. A study by Watson demonstrated a mean plasma CoQ10 level of only 1.7 g/ml in the treatment group with only two of 30 patients (ages 18-75 years old) having a level greater than 2.0 g/ml.18 The Khatta trial, which included fifty-five participants (mean age=64 years), demonstrated a mean plasma CoQ10 level of 2.2±1.2 g/ml, indicating that some patients on treatment had levels as low as 1.0 g/ml.19

A recent clinical study of seven adult men and women (ages 58-78) with low serum CoQ10 levels (mean level 1.4 g/ml) and corresponding left ventricular output decreases investigated their response to Kaneka QH supplementation.4 Follow-up data showed an increase in mean plasma CoQ10 levels from 1.6 mcg/ml to 6.5 mcg/ml, as well as an improvement in left ventricular function from 22% up to 39%.

In an experiment which used an animal model of aging, ubiquinol supplementation was associated with healthier aging (as determined by skin, eye, skeletal and general health) in comparison to aging in both the CoQ10 and control group.†20 The control group in this experiment experienced double the senescence scores in mid-life when compared to the ubiquinol group, while the CoQ10 supplemented group had senescence scores approximately 1.5 times as high as the ubiquinol group.† Increased senescence scores are an indication of the signs of aging.

While not conclusive, this is very enlightening, and taught me alot. Time to do some more research on CoQ10! Great post, and thanks for sharing this.

[austinite]

^ No idea what you're bolding there....

[pjbandit]

Is the vitamin e in the fish oil, enough of a daily dose?

Also, Is it ok take these all together or should it be split between mornings and evenings?


Thanks

[austinite]

Is the vitamin e in the fish oil, enough of a daily dose? Also, Is it ok take these all together or should it be split between mornings and evenings? Thanks

Split.

Enough to protect fatty acids. Take more if you want more benefit.

[shorty09]

Big fan of all ur info great read! i started NAC about a year ago an liver function and overall heath has bee superior compaired to without will def stay on it year round, az for q10 i think it works well but would like to try Ubiquinol jus for my own peace of mind

[austinite]

Big fan of all ur info great read! i started NAC about a year ago an liver function and overall heath has bee superior compaired to without will def stay on it year round, az for q10 i think it works well but would like to try Ubiquinol jus for my own peace of mind

Thank you, shorty. Love hearing good news. Keep it up buddy.

[ppwc1985]

Austinite, is this the right fish oils?

[austinite]

Austinite, is this the right fish oils?

Yes! DO NOT CHEW THEM!! Even though it says so!

[ppwc1985]

Yes! DO NOT CHEW THEM!! Even though it says so!

yea, no that would be really nasty I imagine.

[EquilibriumZ]

But now I purchase everything in powder form and injectables so I save a ton of money.

Can you list the ones that you take which are injectable (besides b12)? I noticed you take lots of supplements, is there a source which sells almost all of those in powder form ?
Thanks

[austinite]

Can you list the ones that you take which are injectable (besides b12)? I noticed you take lots of supplements, is there a source which sells almost all of those in powder form ?
Thanks

Maybe later. Most vitamins/minerals are in powder form. Lots of resources online. I purchase wholesale so my sources would not benefit you

[Trevtrev]

Which Pregnenolone product would you recommend?

[austinite]

Any micronized version should be fine. I use McPherson Labs.

[Trevtrev]

Thanks aust. Looks like the Pregnenolone blood tests are pricey. Is there a standard dose that would be beneficial for the 40+ crowd?

[austinite]

Really depends on your needs. But no less than 25mg and no more than 50mg daily generally. I would start with 25mg for a couple months and see if you notice any difference.

[cbr1krr]

Would you recommend these supplements for someone with Type 2 Diabetes?

[austinite]

Would you recommend these supplements for someone with Type 2 Diabetes?

I don't see an issue. Always consult with your physician, however.

[CaptainDwamn]

My favorite thing about reading this thread is realizing that I'm already taking all the recommended sups here!

[Nij]

What are your thoughts on creatine?

[247365]

Thanks for the info.