120 replies to this topic

[zoolander]

That's a great resources that you mentioned Funk.

[Shepard]

I think I listed everything correctly.

Changes:

Added Histidine, Enzymes, TMG, SAMe, Citrulline, cordyceps
Removed silymarin, cal/mag formula
Swapped garlic to Kyolic AGE
Swapped DIM to I3C before Meal 3
Swapped fish oil to RxOmega-3
Swapped arginine to AAKG
Increased magnesium dose
Moved magnesium/taurine/chromium to before meals
Added tyrosine/melatonin to a daily supplement
Swapped pantothenic acid to pantethine

[zoolander]

apart from the added supplements which are obviously added for their benefits, any chance for the reasoning behind your decisions

[Shepard]

apart from the added supplements which are obviously added for their benefits, any chance for the reasoning behind your decisions

Removed silymarin, cal/mag formula - I didn't feel the need to supplement with these on a daily basis. Silymarin because of the rest of my regimen and cal/mag because of my diet.
Swapped garlic to Kyolic AGE - On this one, I was swayed by the .pdf article that Funk posted a while back
Swapped DIM to I3C before Meal 3 - This one is purely curiosity. This is still up in the air, but I'm getting bloodwork done at the end of the year and want to see what changes. Moved to before meal to keep it before any potential carcinogenic exposure.
Swapped fish oil to RxOmega-3 - I didn't see any cognitive changes by swapping to a more EPA-favorable protocol. For the time being, I'm going back to a 2:1 ratio.
Swapped arginine to AAKG - Just like to swap things up a bit.
Increased magnesium dose - I don't see any real downsides to this, so I upped it.
Moved magnesium/taurine/chromium to before meals - My gut feeling is that this one isn't going to change much, but I moved them to pre-meal just in case anything would hinder absorption.
Added tyrosine/melatonin to a daily supplement - I'm doing my post-football weight loss, which is why I added the tyrosine daily. I figured out a melatonin balance (TR vs. IR) that doesn't affect me the next day, so I added it.
Swapped pantothenic acid to pantethine - I did this just to see if there were any changes hinting at conversion inefficiency.

[scottl]

Read the label carefully, many pantothene products are 1/2 pantothenic acid if you read carefully.

[zoolander]

nice to see you around scottl. Haven't seen you for a while.

And Shep, cheers for the reply

[scottl]

Shepard was this a typo, I've not seen any premade capsules of NAC less then 500 or 600 mg? If not where do you get it?

NAC............................300mg (time release)

[zoolander]

I think I can answer that one scottl. I cut my NAC timed release (Jarrow) in half with a knife and take 3x the amount in vitamin C

[scottl]

I think I can answer that one scottl. I cut my NAC timed release (Jarrow) in half with a knife and take 3x the amount in vitamin C

Heh. thanks.

[Shepard]

After some consideration, I've decided to cut my regimen fairly drastically. I'll post the final list in a few days, but it's likely to be down to a nice base of vitamin/mineral/FAs and a few choice AA/GI/fruit/herbal supplements.

The reason behind this is that at my age I feel money would be better spent on other endeavors instead of extensive personal supplementation.

[health_nutty]

I'll be interested to see what you come up with Shepard.

[Shepard]

I imagine it will look like this, with quite a few of the food based products I have at the bottom part of my list on the first page minus the concentrates and fruit/vegetable powders.

Ortho Core
Vitamin C/Bioflavonoids
Vitamin D
Vitamin E
B Complex/Methylcobalamin
Benfotiamine
Magnesium
Chromium
Zinc
Enzymes/Probiotics/FOS/Inulin
Inositol/IP6/Glucuronolactone
NAC
NA-RLA
Taurine
Acetyl-L-Carnitine
Propionyl-L-Carnitine
Creatine
Fish Oil
Astaxanthin
Green Tea Extract
GSE/Resveratrol
Blueberry/Pomegranate
Kyolic Garlic
Vinpocetine
Ginger
Gingko Biloba
Cinnulin
Ashwaganda

[health_nutty]

Looks good shep, you are still taking more stuff than me

You did a great job imho in paring it down to the essentials (hard to do isn't it)

I'm surprised you aren't taking beta-alanine. Have you given it a look?

[Shepard]

I'm surprised you aren't taking beta-alanine.  Have you given it a look?

Yeah, I've looked into it and have tried it before. I think it's a decent supplement and has some uses. I'll probably add it and some other things in a few months when I change to a summer training schedule.

[xanadu]

Yeah, that was a huge regimen you were taking. May I ask why you take so much benfotiamine and what effects you've noticed with it if any? It also seems you are taking a lot of alcar though I've heard of other people taking that much. You and Duke are in the mega club. Did you try piracetam and it didn't work for you?

[Shepard]

My benfotiamine intake is currently 300mg/day. I think that this is a good, safe level for this compound. I was dosing higher at one point where I was experimenting with what most would call a "High GI" diet. I can't pick out specific effects that could be attributed to the benfotiamine specifically, though.

I did try piracetam and it made me feel a little foggy. I played around with lots of various nootropics and feel my sharpest a week or so after stopping all of them. Could be placebo, I don't know. At some point I'll probably come back to it and do a little more concrete testing than what I did before. I do find some useful at certain times of the year, but don't take any on a regular basis other than what is listed.

I guess I should also note that I usually have 2-3 weekend trips/month where I will stop most supplementation completely during those 2-3 days.

[Shepard]

Since I did decide to cut back on some things, I thought I'd update with what I'm currently taking:

Morning:
5mg Lithium (from 150mg Lithium Orotate)
400mg SAMe
2g TMG
1mg B12
1g Pantothenic Acid
1g Acetyl-L-Carnitine
250mg NA-RALA
Green Tea Extract (300mg EGCG)

Meal 1:
10g Lecithin
1Tb fish oil
1oz ACV
1.8g Beta-Alanine
1tsp. Magnesium Ascorbate
3.6g Maca
12g Inulin/FOS mix
1g Glucuronolactone
AOR Multi Basics 3
Jarrow Carotenall
Jarrow FamilE
Vitamin D3
MK-7
~1g GLA (from borage oil)
Astaxanthin
Sulphoraphane
Pomegranate extract
Blueberry extract
Carnosine
Benfotiamine
Pyridoxamine
Chromium
Biosil
Creatine

Meal 2:
10g Lecithin
1Tb olive oil
3g taurine
1tsp. Magnesium Ascorbate
12g Inulin/FOS mix
1g Glucuronolactone
AOR Multi Basics 3
Gingko Biloba
Pomegranate extract
Blueberry extract
Carnosine
Benfotiamine
Pyridoxamine
Chromium
Creatine

Before Bed:
Ashwagandha
P5P
Magnesium
Zinc
Melatonin/Tryptohpan/5-HTP (varied and random, depending on feeling)
3g Taurine
3g Glycine


Varies:
Inositol
IP6
Chlorella
Spirulina

Edited by shepard, 14 November 2007 - 09:19 PM.

[mitkat]

A couple questions:

Lithium Orotate - how long have you been taking it, do you feel there's enough positive evidence to start?

How are feeling from the Inulin/FOS mix?

What is ACV?

[Shepard]

The lithium I think is a decent supplement to try out. At that dose, I think the cost/beneft/risk analysis is favorable. I would imagine I've been on it around 10 weeks judging by the amount left in the bottle.

On the inulin/FOS...I've always been a fan of prebiotics. I don't have any GI issues at ~24-30g/day (depending on yogurt intake).

ACV - apple cider vinegar

[krillin]

No Acetyl-L-Carnitine arginate?

It's been over ten years since the last in vitro paper came out, and still no published in vivo results. I think it's safe to say that it's nothing special.

Edited by shepard, 29 December 2007 - 05:08 AM.

[Shepard]

My updated current regimen:

Upon Waking:
SAMe...400mg
TMG...3g
B12...1mg
P5P....50mg
Folic Acid...800mcg
Lithium...5mg
Vitamin C...2g
Probiotics...1 cap

Meal 1 (coffee and something)
Vinpocetine...10mg
Piracetam...800mg
Gingko Biloba...60mg
Huperzine A...200mcg
Green Tea Extract...250mg EGCG
Deprenyl...1mg
Tyrosine...2.25g

Meal 2
Lecithin...6g
Fish Oil...2g
Ortho-Core...3 caps
Benfotiamine...150mg
Glucosamine...1g
Vinpocetine...10mg
Piracetam...800mg
Gingko Biloba...60mg
Huperzine A...200mcg
Creatine...1.5g

Meal 3
Lecithin...6g
Fish Oil...2g
Ortho-Core...3 caps
Benfotiamine...150mg
Glucosamine...1g
Vinpocetine...10mg
Gingko Biloba...60mg
Taurine...5g
Biosil...5mg
Creatine...1.5g

Before Bed
Melatonin...3mg
P5P...50mg
Vitamin C...2g
Zinc...30mg
Magnesium...400mg
Taurine...5g
Ashwaganda...450mg
Tryptophan...1g
Glycine...4g
Probiotics...1 cap

Edit: I also use Jarrow's Whey and Universal's Torrent around training from time to time.

Edited by shepard, 30 April 2008 - 05:38 PM.

[TianZi]

Wow, that regimen is one huge wall of text. Not even familiar with some of those supplements.

A couple of questions:

What specific probiotics do you take, and why those particular ones? I take one cap daily of GNC's "Super Acidophilus" brand probiotic blend, which includes six other probiotics in addition to acidophilus. Probably sufficient?

Do you cycle off the creatine, or take it daily year round? I've been advised by my former MD (a general practitioner) that creatine may lead to an increased risk of muscle tears if taken for too long without a long break, so when I took it, I cycled on and off in 3 month cycles.

Edited by TianZi, 30 April 2008 - 03:19 PM.

[Shepard]

I take Jarrow's EPS. I take it because I trust Jarrow, it's pretty cheap, and the content seems adequate. I do keep them refrigerated, though.

I take the creatine year-round. I know of no physiological reason why it would lead to muscle tears.

Edit: Although, I did once hear a lifter in my uncle's gym when I was young say that creatine would make you fat if you didn't lift. I think I believed that one until I was 18 or so. He was probably talking about some transient subcutaneous water retention. This is a prime example of how stupid ideas propagate in the gym.

Edited by shepard, 30 April 2008 - 04:26 PM.

[speedlet]

I'm curious: if this is an antiaging regimen, why no curcumin?

[Shepard]

I'm curious: if this is an antiaging regimen, why no curcumin?

You could easily exchange "curcumin" for any other supplement that some view as essential. I think that my regimen is reasonable for my situation. You'll probably see many things missing from my current regimen that a lot of people disagree with. Hint: resveratrol, metformin, various antioxidant supplements, chelating-supplements, etc.

Edited by shepard, 30 April 2008 - 04:44 PM.

[ajnast4r]

Huperzine A...200mcg
Huperzine A...200mcg

thats a LOT of huperzine to be taking at your age (mid 20's right?), dont you think? i've heard a lot of [speculatively] bad things about chronic acetylcholinesterase inhibitor administration in young people.

[Shepard]

thats a LOT of huperzine to be taking at your age (mid 20's right?), dont you think? i've heard a lot of [speculatively] bad things about chronic acetylcholinesterase inhibitor administration in young people.

I've heard the same thing, but I haven't really seen much evidence to warrant the concern. I do still take breaks off of everything fairly regularly. I'd say I average 1/3 of my year off everything.

Edited by shepard, 30 April 2008 - 05:01 PM.

[ajnast4r]

I've heard the same thing, but I haven't really seen much evidence to warrant the concern. I do still take breaks off of everything fairly regularly. I'd say I average 1/3 of my year off everything.

i haven't seen anything concrete either, but the speculative problems 'make sense'... i used to take huperzine but decided this was one of those better safe than sorry situations. every reliable source ive come across recommends against usage by young people, and against chronic usage by ANYONE other than those suffering from dementia.

400mcg of non-racemic (-)-huperzine A is a HUGE dose

[Shepard]

i haven't seen anything concrete either, but the speculative problems 'make sense'... i used to take huperzine but decided this was one of those better safe than sorry situations. every reliable source ive come across recommends against usage by young people, and against chronic usage by ANYONE other than those suffering from dementia.

400mcg of non-racemic (-)-huperzine A is a HUGE dose

Huperzine has some unique properties(1) beyond just AChE inhibition that make it an interesting compound. It is not a blunt hammer, but specifically targets pathways that should help keep the brain happy.

I just based my dosage off of a pharmacokinetic trial in healthy people. But, they used 400mcg in a single dose.

1.
Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2008 Feb;28(2):173-83. Epub 2007 Jul 27.
Non-cholinergic Effects of Huperzine A: Beyond Inhibition of Acetylcholinesterase.
Zhang HY, Yan H, Tang XC.