Supplements

Originally Posted by akatsuki

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Fish Oil - data is still a bit soft depending on what benefit you are looking for - but for anti-inflammation effects. Robb Wolf recommends it as do many others.

Vit D - another rec from other people. Seems to help my mood mostly. Plus Doc said I had low levels.

Protein powder - workout recovery, might be bullshit.

I don't take a multivitamin because of research showing decreased lifespans - those anti-oxidants are reducing your immune response which depends on free radicals.

Here is a nice graphic of different supplements/benefits as tied to their evidence:
http://www.informationisbeautiful.ne...l-supplements/

Cool, thanks for letting me know some of the reasoning. I'm still curious about a number of the ones in the original post I quoted.

Also, thanks for the link, but some of the studies linked to in that site as strong evidence are pathetic. Unless you know how to analyze a study, please don't give any stock to that website.

Originally Posted by sharwood

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Cool, thanks for letting me know some of the reasoning. I'm still curious about a number of the ones in the original post I quoted.

Also, thanks for the link, but some of the studies linked to in that site as strong evidence are pathetic. Unless you know how to analyze a study, please don't give any stock to that website.

Oh, I know the studies suck. The thing is, they all suck... If you are looking for real scientific rigor, you won't find it in nutrition studies.

For those taking ZMA....magnesium citrate + zinc gluconate are the same thing and cost much much less.

I won't name the company, but I work for a pretty major supplement company and can tell you first-hand that virtually any over-the-counter, US-made herbal product is 100% useless and a HUGE scam. The US government doesn't require listing active constituent content (the herbal equivalent of an active ingredient in a drug), so most companies by cheap scrap weed with none of what makes it work. Unfortunately, with the current US laws, providing quality product would be insane from a business perspective.

If you're going to buy herbal supplements, ALWAYS know these things before buying:

1) What are the active constituents of the herb?
2) What amount of the active constituent is present in the supplement?
3) What extraction processes were used to create the product?

Companies that don't go out of their way to advertise all three are usually scamming you with worthless product.

Originally Posted by akatsuki

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Protein powder - workout recovery, might be bullshit.

I literally facepalm'ed at someone saying that using protein for muscle recovery may be "bullshit."

Wow.

Probably more that the "MUST HAVE PROTEIN THE SECOND I STOP LIFTING" belief may well be crap.

^ The 30 mins ''window'' doesn't exist.

Originally Posted by virus646

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^ The 30 mins ''window'' doesn't exist.
It does exist, but it doesn't mean that waiting an hour "won't work," just that your body will go longer without food at a time when it will most readily NOT store it as adipose. Its the physiological equivalent of skipping breakfast. All things equal, sooner is better than later. In fact, that window is the ONLY time I'd advocate taking in simple sugars (namely, dextrose) because glycogen stores are burnt off and the sugar won't be stored as fat (provided you don't eat too much of it!) I make a killer intraworkout shake (save towards the end of a workout) that costs next to nothing, is healthy, and works great: 2 cups of green tea 20g's of unflavored whey protein 60g's pure dextrose powder The juice and brine from 1/2 of a lime The green tea is antioxidant-loaded and the caffeine gives you a push through the workout, the whey addresses muscle repair, the dextrose replenishes glycogen stores, and the lime juice/brine stimulates quicker protein/carb absorption. If you're trying to LOSE weight, sneaking calories in between meals is probably counter-intuitive, but for putting on mass, this stuff is almost mandatory.

Originally Posted by CCAurora

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I won't name the company, but I work for a pretty major supplement company and can tell you first-hand that virtually any over-the-counter, US-made herbal product is 100% useless and a HUGE scam. The US government doesn't require listing active constituent content (the herbal equivalent of an active ingredient in a drug), so most companies by cheap scrap weed with none of what makes it work. Unfortunately, with the current US laws, providing quality product would be insane from a business perspective.

If you're going to buy herbal supplements, ALWAYS know these things before buying:

1) What are the active constituents of the herb?
2) What amount of the active constituent is present in the supplement?
3) What extraction processes were used to create the product?

Companies that don't go out of their way to advertise all three are usually scamming you with worthless product.

Since you are in the know, could you give us some more practical help? Which companies answer these questions on the products' labels or websites? How do we acquire this kind of info?
Or you could just tell us what you would buy for yourself. If you can't say some things publicly, you can always send a pm.

Originally Posted by CCAurora

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It does exist, but it doesn't mean that waiting an hour "won't work," just that your body will go longer without food at a time when it will most readily NOT store it as adipose. Its the physiological equivalent of skipping breakfast. All things equal, sooner is better than later.

Agreed on that. I usually take my first big meal after a workout, it's great so far (following IF protocol right now). I'm just saying that if you don't get that damn shake right after your workout but eat a good meal 1h after, it's all fine really.

Currently using:
Cytosport whey protein- I really do not recommend this protein, ****************, bought on sale at costco
Xtenze BCAA's
costco multivitamin

I just purchased some Collostrum pills, anyone have any experience with those? Apparently they help with digestion, muscle recovery, and have anti-inflammatory properties, but that could be complete BS.

I agree most of this is bullshit. A proper diet should be it and most rec a multivitamin.

quality whey is good, but should be cycled. Creatine is good/bad depending on how you use it.

Most people are just wasting their time and money on this stuff. My uncle is a sports doc and deals with the questions all the time.

I drink whey protein isolate after my work outs. My only other source of protein is real food -- chicken breast, eggs, greek yogurt, etc.

I've been achieving the same gains with this regiment as I did when I was taking a boat load of work out supplements, such as creatine, Animal M-stak, multivitamins (I still think multis are good; im just too lazy to take them), fish oils, and pre-intra workout shakes. Simply stick to protein now.

PreW: coffein+L-arginine Why buy expensive brands with 10-15 components or similar when this two are the only components that actually work. During workout:juice and honey PostW: protein isolates from gold standard 100% whey For vitamins I have Omega3, and VitD and C pending on season, other then that I have 3 different kinds of fruits each day for antioxidants. Almost every brand out there on supplements have 80% of useless components, so why should we buy and pay for that