16 replies to this topic

[wayside]

Hi,

I've been lurking for a while now, reading and learning, and I want to thank everyone here, I've learned a lot.

I started taking krill oil for my joints about 3 months ago, and it has made a noticeable difference (the omega 3 of course has other benefits as well). So I started researching other things, and that led me here.

I decided to put together a regimen to try and meet several goals: cover my basic needs, extra calcium and vitamin D and antioxidants. And do it for $2.00/day.

I later came across the Dietary Supplement Pyramid (click here), which I seem to have followed, purely by accident.

So here it is, along with daily cost:

Vitamins:

Ortho core                   4 caps                                             $0.52
C                           2133 mg  2 caps (133 mg from BoneUp)  $0.15
D3                         2667 IU  2 1000 IU caps + from BoneUp  $0.04
K1                             67 mcg      "
K2                               7 mcg      "
Folic Acid                  267 mcg      "
B12                           67 mcg      "
Benfotiamine            150 mg  1 cap Benfotiamine-V              $0.11
 

Minerals:

Calcium                    667 mg 4 caps Jarrow BoneUp             $0.25
Phosphorus               340 mg (from BoneUp)
Magnesium               333 mg      "
Zinc                             7 mg      "
small amounts of copper, manganese, 
    and boron from BoneUp
Silicon                          5 mg 1 cap (Orthosilicic Acid)           $0.29
(plus from OrthoCore)   


Other:

Blueberry/Pomegranate 2 caps LEF                                      $0.55
                                   (12.5 mg Anthyocyanins,
                                    60 mg Punicalagins each) 
Quercetin                   10 mg (with 1000 mg C from LEF)
CoQ10                     100 mg 1 cap Healthy Origins               $0.19
Fish Oil                   4000 mg 4 caps LEF 1400 EPA 1000 DHA $0.41
Glucosamine             200 mg (from BoneUp))
Curcumin                1330 mg 2 caps Now Foods                   $0.27
Green tea extract      800 mg 2 caps Now Foods                   $0.17
SODzyme/GliSODin 1333 mg 2 caps LEF                              $0.23
Glucosamine           1500 mg 4 capsules Doctor's Best          $0.37 
Chondroitin             1200 mg
MSM                       1000 mg
Artichoke extract       500 mg 1 tab Source Naturals              $0.08

Total:                                                                                $3.63

So I am at $3.63/day.

2007/03/26 Updated.

I don't think $2.00 is enough without using powders, which I am not ready to take the plunge yet.

2007/4/2 Updated.

Increased vitamin C, blueberry, and pomegranate.

2007/06/29 Updated.

Dropped krill oil, added LEF fish oil.
Dropped Pomeratrol and Blueberry extract, added LEF Blueberry extract with pomegranate

Edited by wayside, 30 June 2007 - 12:56 AM.

[JonesGuy]

I don't follow the supplementation route too closely, I'm more 'natural foods' focused. That said, the layout and style of your post are quite impressive and reader-friendly.

[health_nutty]

If you want to really get a high value you can buy powder uncapped and take it with a drink (I take mine with water and a tiny bit of juice). See my routine if you are interested. I'm taking a a pretty full routine at high doses for about $80 a month. Many of the powders have hardly any taste. Let me know if you want more info.

[wayside]

If you want to really get a high value you can buy powder uncapped and take it with a drink (I take mine with water and a tiny bit of juice).  See my routine if you are interested.  I'm taking a a pretty full routine at high doses for about $80 a month.  Many of the powders have hardly any taste.  Let me know if you want more info.

I looked at your routine before, but I didn't realize a lot of that was powder.

I compared some prices on the BAC web site, and it looks like powder is generally 25-33% the price of the same stuff capped. That's an amazing difference.

How much of a hassle is it measuring out the powder? Have you ever tried capping it?

I got a bunch of little tiny ziplocs, and bagged up about 2 months worth of stuff in about 45 minutes or so. How much time do you spend dealing with the powder?

I have to think about this.

[health_nutty]

Wayside,

Sorry I missed your reply. I don't cap anything and I've never tried. Yes, the price difference is really amazing. You can have quite a full routine for the money

Measuring the powder is a snap (they come with 1/5 tsp measurements). I make 3 drinks a day with 2 oz of pomegranate or apple juice and 30 ounces of water. I add the powder, shake, and drink is as my water for the day.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[mitkat]

I don't think you're kidding yourself at all wayside! It sounds like you've got a good handle on your needs and budget, two things one should fully analyze whilst planning an initial regiment.

What is your current diet like?

[xanadu]

Buy a capping machine and some gelatine or veggy caps and away you go. Then, it's premeasured and no need to taste it. I save lots of money every year doing that and I still spend well over $1000 a year.

[wayside]

Mitkat,

My diet is OK. I generally avoid fried food (especially fried starches), eat a reasonable amount of veggies and fruits (although I could eat more), and have been cutting back on sugar, wheat, and grains to help me lose weight (my BMI is currently 27.5, although it will be very difficult to get below 25.0 as that puts me at single digit body fat, which is nearly impossible at my age (45) to sustain).

I don't drink soda or any sweetened beverages or juices; I drink 2-3 cups of black tea per day, and occasionally have a beer or martini.

Biggest issue for me is that I can't tolerate dairy very well, except for some kinds cheese maybe. That's why I take calcium, even though normally males my age don't need it.

I exercise regularly - treadmill, lift weights, TKD all year round; ultimate frisbee and biking when it's warm out and my knees don't hurt too much.


Xanadu,

Where did you get a capping machine?

[health_nutty]

Biggest issue for me is that I can't tolerate dairy very well, except for some kinds cheese maybe.

I exercise regularly - treadmill, lift weights, TKD all year round; ultimate frisbee and biking when it's warm out and my knees don't hurt too much.

Try fat free cottage cheese. I take it in my morning smoothies. It has very low lactose and the protein quality is great.

I also play ultimate.

[xanadu]

You can get a capping machine lots of places. I got mine at bulk nutrition. There are some threads here about them so do a search.

[wayside]

I tweaked a few things, and added a few things.

Raised Ortho-Core from 3 to 4 per day.

Added 150 mg benfotiamine, 2000 IU D3.

Added curcumin, green tea extract, and SODzyme/GliSODin (on sale at LEF for $10/bottle).

Added artichoke extract for my wife.

[health_nutty]

Looks good. Thanks for the update.

[wayside]

Thanks. Mostly it's for my own benefit, so I have it all written down somewhere where I can't lose it.

I'm a little concerned about taking 3000 IU of vitamin D. I'm finding a lot of contradictory stuff about what levels are safe, especially long term. The question is, have high levels of vitamin D been studied over long periods of time? Say, 3 years? One site I found claimed that problems from too much vitamin D can take several years to show up. I may back it down to 2000 IU.

[wayside]

Increased to two 1000 mg vitamin C caps, two blueberry extract and two pomeratrol per day.

Decided to stick with 3000 IU vitamin D until summertime, then will probably reduce it to 2000.

[wayside]

Dropped 1 gm krill oil and added 4 gm of fish oil. This raises EPA/DHA from 150/90 mg to 1400/1000 mg. Geez, those things are big though! Each 1 gm gelcap looks way bigger than 2 500 mg krill oil caps.

Dropped the blueberry extract and Pomeratrol to add the LEF Blueberry Extract Capsules With Pomegranate, which have a better form of pomegranate, I believe. I'm giving up 40 mg of resv though.

[wayside]

Just had a physical, and as a result my doctor had me make the following changes:

Reduce Bone-up to 2 caps/days from 4.
Increase vitamin D to 8000 IU/day until my blood levels are where he wants them
Increase fish oil to 8 gms/day
Add DHEA 25 mg/day
Add Cardio B 1 cap/day
Add Thyroid Synergy 2 caps/day
Add Metagenics UltraClear Plus 2 scoops for breakfast

[liorrh]

Wayside,

Sorry I missed your reply.  I don't cap anything and I've never tried.  Yes, the price difference is really amazing.  You can have quite a full routine for the money

Measuring the powder is a snap (they come with 1/5 tsp measurements).  I make 3 drinks a day with 2 oz of pomegranate or apple juice and 30 ounces of water.  I add the powder, shake, and drink is as my water for the day. 

Let me know if you have any questions.

combining supplements in a drink with chemistry knowledge is a bad idea. best case scenario some will be redndred useless junk, worst case is you end up with toxic junk.

I can give some examples to mixing supplements that destroys one or both, but go do your homework.