11 replies to this topic

[aribadabar]

I have been reading this forum for about a year now and was going through ever increasing number of supplements so now I am in a reduction mode and would like to hear Longecity community's picks for proven individual supplements (vitamins and minerals typically included in multis excluded) which have passed the test of time (as of 2014) in terms of efficacy and cost and stood out as the the mainstays of a serious regimen for general well-being and healthy (anti-)aging.

 

From I have gathered so far, these seem to be clear winners (in no order of importance):

 

• Fish oil
• EGCG
• Vitamin D3 (usually not included in multis and since it is really a hormone, not a vitamin)
• Carnosine/Beta-Alanine
• Curcumin
• Milk Thistle
• Aspirin (small dose)
• Lithium (small dose)
• CoQ10
• Inositol / IP-6
• Niacin (instant release) (most multis have niacinamide instead)
• Garlic
• Grapeseed extract
• Pine bark extract
• Apple cider vinegar
• Taurine

 

• Probiotics (a bit of outlier based on the "individual" criterion because it is, by definition, a mix of several strains)

 

I am sure I am missing some. Any that do not belong in the top picks club?

Alternatively, feel free to post your (relatively) undisputed winners.

 

I left out the following due to some controversy/uncertainty:

• R-ALA
• ALCAR
• C60oo
• PQQ
• SAMe
• NAC
• Astragalus
• Resveratrol / Quercetin

 

Edited by aribadabar, 29 July 2014 - 03:02 AM.

[chemicalambrosia]

Personally, I think every regimen should be personalized. So, I suppose the answer to your question depends on your stats and whether you have a good sense of well being and are healthy without these supplements. For example, I don't know if I would take garlic if I didn't have a blood pressure problem or a predisposition to it. I also probably wouldn't take Inositol unless I had depression/anxiety problems. Many of the things on your list aren't normal "maintenance" supplements, IMO. 

[aribadabar]

Thank you for your insight. Would you elaborate on the ones which you would cross out? I thought they are good "insurance policies" even if you don't have any apparent condition at present.

 

Inositol actually was included as a detoxifier (at least that's what is written on my Jarrow's jar    ) along with milk thistle.

 

 

[blood]

I'd add melatonin to your list.

Also: micro-dose lithium and low dose aspirin.

I love pycnogenol, but not sure it could be described as a 'value for money' supplement.

[niner]

Pycnogenol is great, but pricey. Swanson now has a generic pine bark extract that is getting me the same effects I liked from Pycnogenol, so that's what I'm using now. Darryl had a post a while back where he pointed out that grapeseed extract and Pycnogenol were largely the same thing, so that could be a place to economize.

Other things in the list- I don't think young people need CoQ10 and consider milk thistle to be more of a special application compound, not an everyone/everyday thing. In the controversial/uncertain list, I consider ALCAR and c60oo to be high-value essentials for older people.

[Gerrans]

Pycnogenol is great, but pricey. Swanson now has a generic pine bark extract that is getting me the same effects I liked from Pycnogenol, so that's what I'm using now. Darryl had a post a while back where he pointed out that grapeseed extract and Pycnogenol were largely the same thing, so that could be a place to economize.

 

 

I am not sure they are the same thing, just that they might contain the same particular active ingredient.

 

I have looked into Pycnogenol and pine bark extracts, and I agree it is a good bet that bog-standard pine bark extracts might have some of the same benefits as that proprietary brand. Most bark products seem to be health giving, presumably because bark is well defended against insects and decay. I tend to reason that most plants have a large number of beneficial agents in them, and that the fact we do not know about many of them is that they have not been studied yet.

 

For example, watercress has a high reputation for nutrients, but I find the nasturtium leaves in my garden taste strikingly similar. Yet one does not hear anything about them as a health food and does not see their active ingredients put into pills.

 

I definitely think money can be saved on supplements by being hesitant to buy proprietary brands of things that can be had in cheap versions or that are available in food.

Edited by Gerrans, 30 July 2014 - 12:14 PM.

[aribadabar]

Thank you all for the input.

 

 

I'd add melatonin to your list.

Also: micro-dose lithium and low dose aspirin.

I love pycnogenol, but not sure it could be described as a 'value for money' supplement.

 

To be honest, I was hesitant to include it as it may lower body's own production of it so I was taking "don't fix it if ain't broken" approach on melatonin. I take it only when I have trouble going to sleep which is very rarely.

Is it safe for everyday use by everyone or my cautious approach is warranted?

 

Small dose lithim and aspirin are already on the list. 

 

As others mentioned, I also think Pycnogenol is virtually the same as generic PBE (but much cheaper) thus my including it instead.

 

I didn't know that GSE and PBE are essentially interchangeable.

I will check out that post.

 

What would be your pick for "everyday" liver tonic (if not milk thistle)?

 

I also like ALCAR and C60oo and take them both ( I am 33) but the TMAO concerns for ALCAR and the relative novelty of C60oo made me keep them off the "sure bets" list.

I think I am past the "carefree age" zone (<30) so I added 100mg CoQ10 (as ubiquinone which I think I still can process efficiently nevertheless) to assist PQQ in the mitochondrial maintenance task.

 

Thank you for pointing out the watercress connection, Gerrans!

You probably refer to the the flower Tropaeolum being similar to watercress?

 

 

 

Tropaeolum /trɵˈpiːələm/,^[1] commonly known as nasturtium (/næˈstɜrʃ(i)əm/;^[2] literally "nose-twister" or "nose-tweaker"), is a genus of roughly 80 species of annual and perennial herbaceous flowering plants. It was named by Carl Linnaeus and is the only genus in the familyTropaeolaceae. The nasturtiums received their common name because they produce an oil that is similar to that of watercress (Nasturtium officinale).

 

 

I hope I don't come across as defensive. I just wanted to present the rationale behind some of these picks or their skipping.

 

Keep your suggestions coming  

 

Edited by aribadabar, 30 July 2014 - 05:08 PM.

[Jembe]

Vit D3, magnesium -ate, ashwagandha, c60-oo, ALCAR, K2 MK-4 (Thorne bottle).

[Gerrans]

Vit D3, magnesium -ate, ashwagandha, c60-oo, ALCAR, K2 MK-4 (Thorne bottle).

 

Vitamin D3, good call. Amazing how much one gets in a bottle--and no need to take it when it is sunny. I have not bought a new bottle for 18 months (I take it every other day in the darker months)--hope it does not go off.

[Zaul]

 

Thank you all for the input.

 

 

I'd add melatonin to your list.

Also: micro-dose lithium and low dose aspirin.

I love pycnogenol, but not sure it could be described as a 'value for money' supplement.

 

To be honest, I was hesitant to include it as it may lower body's own production of it so I was taking "don't fix it if ain't broken" approach on melatonin. I take it only when I have trouble going to sleep which is very rarely.

Is it safe for everyday use by everyone or my cautious approach is warranted?

 

Small dose lithim and aspirin are already on the list. 

 

As others mentioned, I also think Pycnogenol is virtually the same as generic PBE (but much cheaper) thus my including it instead.

 

I didn't know that GSE and PBE are essentially interchangeable.

I will check out that post.

 

What would be your pick for "everyday" liver tonic (if not milk thistle)?

 

I also like ALCAR and C60oo and take them both ( I am 33) but the TMAO concerns for ALCAR and the relative novelty of C60oo made me keep them off the "sure bets" list.

I think I am past the "carefree age" zone (<30) so I added 100mg CoQ10 (as ubiquinone which I think I still can process efficiently nevertheless) to assist PQQ in the mitochondrial maintenance task.

 

Thank you for pointing out the watercress connection, Gerrans!

You probably refer to the the flower Tropaeolum being similar to watercress?

 

 

 

Tropaeolum /trɵˈpiːələm/,^[1] commonly known as nasturtium (/næˈstɜrʃ(i)əm/;^[2] literally "nose-twister" or "nose-tweaker"), is a genus of roughly 80 species of annual and perennial herbaceous flowering plants. It was named by Carl Linnaeus and is the only genus in the familyTropaeolaceae. The nasturtiums received their common name because they produce an oil that is similar to that of watercress (Nasturtium officinale).

 

 

I hope I don't come across as defensive. I just wanted to present the rationale behind some of these picks or their skipping.

 

Keep your suggestions coming  

 

 

Where did you get the idea that melatonin (supplement) will lower body's own production? you've read this in a study or it's just a (unfounded) fear that may happen?

 

On topic:

 

Magnesium, it should be in any regimen regardless your aim.

Edited by Nigeria Custom Officer, 02 August 2014 - 01:41 PM.

[aribadabar]

 

 

Where did you get the idea that melatonin (supplement) will lower body's own production? you've read this in a study or it's just a (unfounded) fear that may happen?

 

On topic:

 

Magnesium, it should be in any regimen regardless your aim.

 

 

Read it here on Longecity awhile back. 

 

 

Agree on Mg, intentionally skipped it on the OP since it is a mineral usually included in multis.

[Zaul]

As you can understand "Read it here on Longecity" does not constitute evidence or proof, and all these "Suppress of the body’s own production of Melatonin" i've read here and elsewhere are anecdotal at best.

 

as for Mg in multis, the amount you found in multis are very low and usually not the best type (ex http://is.gd/1eq7wE )

Edited by Nigeria Custom Officer, 02 August 2014 - 03:54 PM.