Do you use supplements?

@phl92
Niacin is another NO booster. However, very high levels of niacin will often result in a very uncomfortable niacin-flush. It is not supposed to be harmful but it can be extremely unpleasant (a burning sensation with a reddening of the skin). The flush might happen about 30 minutes after taking a large dose of niacin -- something like 30 mg or more. It might even be less for some ppl.

I don't know about your doctor, but many know very little about nutrition. Some have taken 1 class in general nutrition but a majority of them take none at all. I have 1 pharmacist here that I sometimes consults with about supplements and nutrition. It's not really her area of expertise but at least she has a good working knowledge of the stuff I'm asking about whereas my doctors are usually clueless. Some of them seem to be only marginally aware of the side effects of the drugs that they prescribed. Pharmacist tend to be much better sources of this kind of information

I never take more than 3 or 4 grams of arginine + citrulline per day. If you are diabetic or pre-diabetic it might require more. The NO boosters might even help somewhat with type 2 diabetes.

The first effect I feel with the NO boosters is an increase in libido (sex drive). Will often feel this after a few days (or a week). These nutrients are sometimes used for the treatment of ED or as a natural alternative to Viagra.

The other benefits of an increase of NO and hGH might take a lot longer to notice. Maybe weeks, months or longer. You may experience an improvement in blood flow and lowering of blood pressure. Increases in athletic performance. Perhaps less body fat and somewhat more muscle mass and less muscle soreness.

www.healthline.com

Potential Health Benefits of Nitric Oxide Supplements

Supplements that increase nitric oxide in the body may provide certain benefits, such as better blood pressure. Learn more about them.
www.healthline.com www.healthline.com
 
Due to the corona virus pandemic that forces me to work from home, I suddenly have a lot more time to exercise, like 3 hours everyday. My daily supplement is three 40oz glasses of smoothie (avocado, blueberry, strawberry, banana, kale, pineapple) with a very well balance diet consists of salmon, lobster, some steak and chicken. I also load up with a lot of green bean, broccoli, cauliflower, beans and lentils. I eat about 2 lbs of veggie a day and I feel great. I do, however, take B12 in the morning at the recommendation of my physician but that's about it. No needed with supplements for me.
 
bobleenov1963 said:
Due to the corona virus pandemic that forces me to work from home, I suddenly have a lot more time to exercise, like 3 hours everyday. My daily supplement is three 40oz glasses of smoothie (avocado, blueberry, strawberry, banana, kale, pineapple) with a very well balance diet consists of salmon, lobster, some steak and chicken. I also load up with a lot of green bean, broccoli, cauliflower, beans and lentils. I eat about 2 lbs of veggie a day and I feel great. I do, however, take B12 in the morning at the recommendation of my physician but that's about it. No needed with supplements for me.
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Commendable diet but you might want to add a vitamin D supplement (2000 IU or more) for the next month or 2 unless you are in a tropical zone and getting an adequate amount of UV from the mid-day sun.

As detailed in post #43, vitamins D will help boost your immune system during the flu season and this pandemic. Also good for bones, teeth, gums and it provides other health benefits.

You are getting some vit D from the salmon (and fortified milk?) you eat but you might still be getting less than 500 IU per day since it is not found in significant quantities in most food... even in a very healthy diet.

Are you eating garlic (for your immune system)? As long as this pandemic and the flu is a threat, elderberry is also a wise choice. Green tea might help a bit as well.
 
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SystemicAnomaly said:
Commendable diet but you might want to add a vitamin D supplement (2000 IU or more) for the next month or 2 unless you are in a tropical zone and getting an adequate amount of UV from the mid-day sun.

As detailed in post #45, vitamins D will help boost your immune system during the flu season and this pandemic. Also good for bones, teeth, gums and it provides other health benefits.

You are getting some vit D from the salmon (and fortified milk?) you eat but you might still be getting less than 500 IU per day since it is not found in significant quantities in most food... even in a very healthy diet.

Are you eating garlic (for your immune system)? As long as this pandemic and the flu is a threat, elderberry is also a wise choice. Green tea might help a bit as well.
Click to expand...

I go out and bask in the sun from 11:30am to 2pm everyday. It is sunny and about 63F everyday here for the past two weeks.

I also eat a lot of garlic as well. My wife uses a lot of garlic when she bakes seafood and chicken. I have problem with cow milk so I drink mostly goat milk and I also eat goat cheese in the morning and late afternoon for snack. Hopefully that will be enough.
 
bobleenov1963 said:
I go out and bask in the sun from 11:30am to 2pm everyday. It is sunny and about 63F everyday here for the past two weeks.

I also eat a lot of garlic as well. My wife uses a lot of garlic when she bakes seafood and chicken. I have problem with cow milk so I drink mostly goat milk and I also eat goat cheese in the morning and late afternoon for snack. Hopefully that will be enough.
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Don't know if goat milk is typically fortified with vit D or not. Personally, I can't stand the taste of milk or cheese from a goat. There might not be much, if any, natural vit D in cow or goat milk. Most, if not all, is fortification (supplementation).

Vitamin D derived from the sun is about UV index, not temp. The temp here is getting up to mid-60s but that doesn't say much about the UV index. Just found out it will be up to 7 today in this area.

If the UV index is anywhere close to that in your area, then you are spending Waaaay too much time in the midday sun. Were you serious? 15-20 mins between noon and 2pm (assuming DST) would suffice with a high UV index. Much more than that could result in premature skin aging / damage or even skin cancer.
 
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@bobleenov1963

The UV index is at its highest during the Spring & Summer months. I had suggestėd 15-20 mins of midday sun at this time of year. The HealthLine article below give a slightly wider range of 10-30 minutes.

This exposure time depends on atmopheric conditions, the darkness of your skin & how close you are to the polar regions -- that is, what your local midday UV levels might be.

www.healthline.com

How to Safely Get Vitamin D From The Sun

Regular sun exposure is the most natural way to get enough vitamin D, but too much sunlight comes with health risks. This article explains how to safely get vitamin D from the sun.
www.healthline.com www.healthline.com
 
With supplements I would be very careful which brands you buy and in particular where the ingredients are coming from, where they are being made and who owns the company.
I tend to prefer to get all my nutrients from organic foods. Supplement wise it’s fish oil, C0Q10, magnesium and bergamot. Sometimes I might take some garlic extracts and olive leaf extract but they are all locally made.
 
Nadalgaenger said:
My list:
1) Turmeric (one of the healthiest things you can consume but bioavailability a challenge)
2) Garlic (one of the healthiest foods in nature)
3) Pomegranate Extract
4) CoQ10
5) Taurine
6) Ginger
7) Berberine
Click to expand...
Tell us more about your experience with Berberine. Not very familiar with that one, but it looks rather interesting.

I've been taking both garlic capsules, several times a day, and eating a little bit of raw garlic for its antiviral action. Can't take too much of the raw stuff because it upsets my stomach.

Right now I'm a trying to figure out how to make my own black "fermented" garlic. Found some in the local Japanese grocery stores but it was ridiculously priced. $24 USD for something like 4 oz of black garlic. When TJs carried it a few years back, it was considerably cheaper than this. Black garlic is very tasty (sweet) and it does not have that strong garlic punch / taste. It is supposed to be more than twice as nutritious as a regular raw garlic.

The effectiveness of CoQ10 is supposed to be enhanced by taking it with some pure grapefruit juice and shiljit.

The bioavailability of turmeric can be greatly increased by using it in cooking -- particularly with black pepper and some fat. If you take turmeric as a supplement, be sure to use it with black pepper (or piperine or bioperine) and some lecithin. If you don't have lecithin, some other healthy fat source might be almost as good.
 
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SystemicAnomaly said:
Tell us more about your experience with Berberine. Not very familiar with that one, but it looks rather interesting.

I've been taking both garlic capsules, several times a day, and eating a little bit of raw garlic for its antiviral action. Can't take too much of the raw stuff because it upsets my stomach.

Right now I'm a trying to figure out how to make my own black "fermented" garlic. Found some in the local Japanese grocery stores but it was ridiculously priced. $24 USD for something like 4 oz of black garlic. When TJs carried it a few years back, it was considerably cheaper than this. Black garlic is very tasty (sweet) and it does not have that strong garlic punch / taste. It is supposed to be more than twice as nutritious as a regular raw garlic.

The effectiveness of CoQ10 is supposed to be enhanced by taking it with some pure grapefruit juice and shiljit.

The bioavailability of turmeric can be greatly increased by using it in cooking -- particularly with black pepper and some fat. If you take turmeric as a supplement, be sure to use it with black pepper (or piperine or bioperine) and some lecithin. If you don't have lecithin, some other healthy fat source might be almost as good.
Click to expand...
I’ve had no side effects with Berberine. I take it before meals to reduce blood sugar spikes.
It is thought to have anti-inflammatory effect also.

Nice tip on CoQ10. Maybe I will make a point of eating grapefruit with it.
Garlic and turmeric are what I call slam dunk supplements. So many potential benefits and very low cost. I put lots of pepper on my food so hopefully that helps with bio absorption.
 
Nadalgaenger said:
I’ve had no side effects with Berberine. I take it before meals to reduce blood sugar spikes.
It is thought to have anti-inflammatory effect also.

Nice tip on CoQ10. Maybe I will make a point of eating grapefruit with it.
Garlic and turmeric are what I call slam dunk supplements. So many potential benefits and very low cost. I put lots of pepper on my food so hopefully that helps with bio absorption.
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Just to be clear, that should be black pepper rather than cayenne pepper to improve turmeric / curcumin absorption. Black pepper contains piperine. Cayenne pepper has other possible health benefits but does not contain piperine TMK.
 
Nadalgaenger said:
I’ve had no side effects with Berberine. I take it before meals to reduce blood sugar spikes.
It is thought to have anti-inflammatory effect also...
Click to expand...

After further research, I went ahead and ordered a couple of different Berberine products. "Just what the doctor ordered" so to speak.

Since my hip disability (past 3+ years) I've not been able to exercise at the same insane level that I had before. But I was still eating a lot of carbs (but not too much added sugar). That, combined with my age, has resulted in somewhat higher cholesterol & blood sugar levels in the past year. Not super high but still higher than expected. My A1C level was at 5.7 (pre-diabetic range).

Have eliminated fruit juice almost entirely & cut back on the crackers, chips & alcohol. Was able to get away with all that stuff when I was exercising a lot. But, no longer.

Berberine appears to be good for my higher cholesterol & pre-diabetic condition. Also good for the immune system, gut health (biome) and inflammation. Like turmeric, it might help with both inflammation & cognitive function .

Ceylon cinnamon (from Sri Lanka) is also supposed to be very good for helping to regulate blood sugar levels. I got several bottles of organic product from Amazon for a decent price last year. I noticed that a couple of the berberine products also contained Ceylon cinnamon. No doubt to help with the regulation of blood sugar levels.
 
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Znak said:
I've started glucosamine + tumeric as a trial run to see it's effects on my joint health. I'll let you know in a few months if it was worth it haha
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I guess That Thing happened, but was wondering if you were able to figure out if that helps. My elbow joint can be a bit “cranky” sometimes I’m wondering if thus could help
 
megamind said:
I guess That Thing happened, but was wondering if you were able to figure out if that helps. My elbow joint can be a bit “cranky” sometimes I’m wondering if thus could help
Click to expand...
It's tough to give a scientific answer to this haha, I want to lean towards yes. I was still training at home during lockdown and noticed certain joints weren't as achy as usual, but then again I was a bit more sedentary. I know it takes a few months to show benefits but when I occasionally stopped taking it for a few days I would notice things flare up more than usual. It's really tough for me to say if it's placebo or not, but for now, I'll keep taking it. Interestingly enough, and maybe TMI but I have really good poops while using it hahah. My next venture for my achy muscles will be CBD creams!
 
Just ordered some triple ginseng today online! instead of coffee and Red Bull Energy drinks, I going try a capsule to see if ginseng capsule can replace the caffeine.

In the evenings, I cannot drink a cup of hot coco with collagen in it. Got a great price on 12 collagen jars and need to get rid of them before expiration date. These jars take like 2-3 months each!
 
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Cindysphinx said:
No supplements here, ever.

Personally, I consider them snake oil and a big waste of money for healthy people.
Click to expand...
No vitamin D? Fine if you live in an area with ample sun & a willingness to expose yourself to moderate (to high) levels of UV on a regular basis.

How about extra vitamin C when you are ill? 500 mg every few hours is not always easy to get from food sources w/o consuming a fair amount of sugar.

How about turmeric and other spices / herbs? Do these not count as supplemental? To my mind, I would much rather take herbs / supps that have minimal unwanted side effects than taking powerful pharmaceutical prescription drugs that often have numerous unwanted side effects.
 
SystemicAnomaly said:
No vitamin D? Fine if you live in an area with ample sun & a willingness to expose yourself to moderate (to high) levels of UV on a regular basis.

How about extra vitamin C when you are ill? 500 mg every few hours is not always easy to get from food sources w/o consuming a fair amount of sugar.

How about turmeric and other spices / herbs? Do these not count as supplemental? To my mind, I would much rather take herbs / supps that have minimal unwanted side effects than taking powerful pharmaceutical prescription drugs that often have numerous unwanted side effects.
Click to expand...
I don't need to take vitamin C for colds because I don't get colds. And if I did want more vitamin C to ward off scurvy, I would eat an orange.

I know this is a radical idea, but I get my nutrients from food, not chemicals.
 
This winter I've been supplementing resveratrol a few times a week. While it is anecdotal, I believe it has helped me gain endurance, and I'm intrigued by the claims that it is relevant to longevity. I take it in the morning with fat of some sort.
 
Harry_Wild said:
Just ordered some triple ginseng today online! instead of coffee and Red Bull Energy drinks, I going try a capsule to see if ginseng capsule can replace the caffeine.

In the evenings, I cannot drink a cup of hot coco with collagen in it. Got a great price on 12 collagen jars and need to get rid of them before expiration date. These jars take like 2-3 months each!
Click to expand...
Went back to my coffee and no vitamins routine! Feel better!
 
@comjag
Cindysphinx said:
I don't need to take vitamin C for colds because I don't get colds. And if I did want more vitamin C to ward off scurvy, I would eat an orange.

I know this is a radical idea, but I get my nutrients from food, not chemicals.
Click to expand...
How about vit D? As you get older, your need for vit D and calcium increases (to ward off osteoporosis among other things). Rather difficult to obtain adequate levels from food. Sure you can get more vit D from the midday sun in the Spring & Summer at many latitudes (but not all). But then you run the risk of leathery skin (photoaging) and skin cancer. I, for one, hate slathering on SPF 30.

Getting all nutrients from foods is a great idea, in theory. Often not practical or possible tho. My thinking is that we should get as much of our nutrients as possible from food since food contains many important co-factors (that help to assimilate the "known" nutrients) that are not present in many supplement products. But some full spectrum products often do contain those important helper ingredients.

As you age, the body does not readily assimilate many nutrients as it did when you were younger. You would, as a result, need to consume significantly more calories to be able to assimilate the nutrient levels that you did when you were younger. Some nutrient requirements might be a little bit lower while others are higher as you age. And the body starts losing the ability to produce enzymes, hormones and such, as you age, to assimilate required nutrients.

Another issue in modern times is that of soil depletion. Many of our foods do not have the same nutritional value that they had a century or two ago. Yet another issue is the imbalance of poly-unsaturated fats in the modern North American diet (& elsewhere). Much, if not most, of the food available to us is very high in Omega-6 fats (pro-inflammatory) & relatively low in Omega-3 fats (anti-inflammatory). Estimates have that lopsided balance as 15:1 to 20:1 whereas the ideal should be closer to a 1:1 ratio. You need to eat an awful lot of fish to offset that imbalance. I'm talking about Omega-3 rich fish such as salmon and sardines (and NOT tilapia).

The last thing to consider, especially as you age, is diet & nutritional supplements vs pharmaceutical drugs. To help keep the body in balance, one needs to eat a healthy diet and, where needed, complement this with herbs, spices & some nutritional supplements. This approach should result in far fewer (and milder) unwanted side effects than prescription drugs will provide. As you approach 70, you might find it much more difficult to avoid pharmaceuticals with nasty side effects. If I can find an alternative with diet & supplements, I will certainly take this route.
 
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SystemicAnomaly said:
@comjag

How about vit D? As you get older, your need for vit D and calcium increases (to ward off osteoporosis among other things). Rather difficult to obtain adequate levels from food. Sure you can get more vit D from the midday sun in the Spring & Summer at many latitudes (but not all). But then you run the risk of leathery skin (photoaging) and skin cancer. I, for one, hate slathering on SPF 30.

Getting all nutrients from foods is a great idea, in theory. Often not practical or possible tho. My thinking is that we should get as much of our nutrients as possible from food since food contains many important co-factors (that help to assimilate the "known" nutrients) that are not present in many supplement products. But some full spectrum products often do contain those important helper ingredients.

As you age, the body does not readily assimilate many nutrients as it did when you were younger. You would, as a result, need to consume significantly more calories to be able to assimilate the nutrient levels that you did when you were younger. Some nutrient requirements might be a little bit lower while others are higher as you age. And the body starts losing the ability to produce enzymes, hormones and such, as you age, to assimilate required nutrients.

Another issue in modern times is that of soil depletion. Many of our foods do not have the same nutritional value that they had a century or two ago. Yet another issue is the imbalance of poly-unsaturated fats in the modern North American diet (& elsewhere). Much, if not most, of the food available to us is very high in Omega-6 fats (pro-inflammatory) & relatively low in Omega-3 fats (anti-inflammatory). Estimates have that lopsided balance as 15:1 to 20:1 whereas the ideal should be closer to a 1:1 ratio. You need to eat an awful lot of fish to offset that imbalance. I'm talking about Omega-3 rich fish such as salmon and sardines (and NOT tilapia).

The last thing to consider, especially as you age, is diet & nutritional supplements vs pharmaceutical drugs. To help keep the body in balance, one needs to eat a healthy diet and, where needed, complement this with herbs, spices & some nutritional supplements. This approach should result in far fewer (and milder) unwanted side effects than prescription drugs will provide. As you approach 70, you might find it much more difficult to avoid pharmaceuticals with nasty side effects. If I can find an alternative with diet & supplements, I will certainly take this route.
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Man. This one size fits all science is so frustrating.

No, I don’t need supplemental vitamin D to ward off osteoporosis. I am a black woman with no family history of osteoporosis who does weight bearing exercise, so my risk for osteoporosis approaches zero.

Now, I remember the Great Vitamin D Scare that started a few years ago. People—especially black people — were told that someone decided that 95% of blacks people didn’t get enough vitamin D. Well, if 95 percent of a population is supposedly deficient in a vitamin, doesn’t that suggest that maybe the wrong standard is being applied?

Second, please stop assuming that people who don’t gulp down supplements must be taking pharma instead. Some of us don’t reach for bottles of pills no matter who manufactures them.

Third. I am underwhelmed by the idea that soil depletion means everyone needs supplements. In the developed world, people have greater access to varied, healthy foods than at any time, ever. Look around. Where are the malnourished babies, the cases of rickets and scurvy, the famine? Any otherwise healthy person who eats a healthy diet with minimal meat and loads of fruits and veggies will not have any nutritional deficits that need to be remediated with a supplement.

Sure, there is a need for supplements in special circumstances, like a pregnant woman, maybe an elite athlete. And if someone has a blood test showing a nutritional deficit, they may need supplements to right the ship.

But your average American middle aged desk jockey? That person can put down the cheeseburger, get some exercise, eat clean, and they will be healthier than if they start ingesting chemicals.

Cindy — who thinks the least healthy people she encounters are the people in the supplements aisle at Costco
 
SystemicAnomaly said:
@WildVolley

High levels of resveratrol in boiled peanuts as well

mikemalatesta.com

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The best peanut superfood depends on the disease prevention you want to achieve. Learn which peanuts reduce risk of cancer, reduce inflammation, fight heart disease, or other diseases.
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Click to expand...

Interesting. I eat some peanut butter, but not many peanuts directly. I guess dark chocolate and blueberries also contain small amounts of resveratrol, and probably other beneficial compounds that haven't been fully studied or isolated.

My supplement says that the resveratrol in it is from Japanese knotweed root and grapes. I believe that Japanese knotweed has become an invasive plant in much of the United States. I don't know what they do to extract the resveratrol from it.
 
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Cindysphinx said:
...

Cindy — who thinks the least healthy people she encounters are the people in the supplements aisle at Costco
Click to expand...

I'd say my experience doesn't accord with yours. I've found that the healthier people I know (age adjusted) tend to use supplements.

But, this isn't the best sort of evidence as in my experience those who use supplements are usually concerned about their health and therefore also exercise and watch their diets. I'd guess that supplement use is positively correlated with education, income, and exercise, and negatively correlated with obesity. This is the sort of problem that makes observational nutritional studies so questionable; it is easy to get the direction of causation backwards.

I'm an example of this problem as I've been eating a better diet this year and also taking more supplements. In any case, I've seen enough evidence for some supplements to use them at current market prices. I agree with you that cleaning up the diet and exercising is likely better for most Americans, but taking a supplement is definitely easier.
 
Cindysphinx said:
Man. This one size fits all science is so frustrating.

Second, please stop assuming that people who don’t gulp down supplements must be taking pharma instead.
Click to expand...
One size fits all? Where did you get that from? I was suggesting a number of different possibilities for elder folks, in general... Not necessarily all directed at you.

Turning 70 in a few days and I pretty much have been able to stay away from prescription drugs. But I know many people 10 to 20 years younger that are already taking a cocktail of various pharma drugs. Good for you that you are not one of them. But that is not the case for many -- especially for those who are their mid-50s or older.
 
Well, ok. Sorry for aiming my irritation at you.

As I said, I am not a fan of supplements. And I have passed this on to my three adult children, none of whom take supplements and think they are unnecessary.

So I did something right, I guess.
 
Supplements going through your digestive system don't do anything. Get a syringe for your vitamin intake as well. Let's call them booster shots
 
Most of mine are aimed at joint health as my knees are a mess and I'd like to avoid replacements for as long as possible

Collagen
Omega 3 caps
Curcumin/Turmeric
Glucosamine

Plus ZMA and vit D
 
Permitlady said:
Supplements going through your digestive system don't do anything. Get a syringe for your vitamin intake as well. Let's call them booster shots
Click to expand...
Hormones are not meant to go thru the digestive system. However, herbs, spices, vitamins, enzymes and many other nutrients are meant to go through the digestive system.
 
Permitlady said:
Supplements going through your digestive system don't do anything. Get a syringe for your vitamin intake as well. Let's call them booster shots
Click to expand...

This is funny but not true. Most of the serious supplement research involves measuring blood level changes/markers when determining the bio-availability of a digested supplement.

Physicians will often spread false information about the availability of common supplements such as digested Vitamin C. The common claim is that larger doses are just urinated out and never make it into the blood stream. More recent studies show that this isn't true. Higher doses (to a point; I only supplement 500mg at a time) do cause a larger spike in blood levels, but the half-life of vitamin C is short even if it is administered intravenously. Intravenous administered vitamin C can spike blood levels far above those obtainable by digested vitamin C.

You can look up a Chinese study of intravenous Vitamin C on treatment of Cyrus. The blinded, placebo controlled study showed benefits from it. Odds are you won't see such treatments in the US as the incentives of our medical system are to systematically exclude low-cost treatment methods. One of the major failings of government funded medical research in the United States is how good quality studies of natural supplements are systematically excluded from funding.
 
But . . . If you think you need extra vitamin C, why not eat an orange? Or two? Or three?

I will never understand. People in this country carry scary levels of debt and have tiny retirement accounts, but spend a lot of money on supplements that no medical test has shown that they need?
 
Cindysphinx said:
But . . . If you think you need extra vitamin C, why not eat an orange? Or two? Or three?

I will never understand. People in this country carry scary levels of debt and have tiny retirement accounts, but spend a lot of money on supplements that no medical test has shown that they need?
Click to expand...

I do eat citrus. I have trees and have gotten a great tangerine crop this year which is just starting to become very sweet.

People aren't supplementing Vitamin C to prevent scurvy. Instead, the theory is that taking larger quantities of C helps protect skin, joints, and the lining of arteries, and helps combat some of the negative effects of aging. Compared to other animals that don't synthesize vitamin C, humans don't consume much per body weight, even if they are eating an orange a day. There are some spectacular increases in lifespan from supplementing vitamin C in animals that can't synthesize it. It isn't believed that humans can benefit to that extent, but there's at least a theoretical reason to believe that it can provide health benefits at super-dietary levels. You may think this theory is bunk, but it hasn't been disproven in any sort of rigorous trial; nor has it been proven.

Also, vitamin C is not a good example if you're worried about people wasting money on supplements. I bought thousands of doses of vitamin C (powdered) for just cents a dose.
 
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My bad. I was unaware that Vitamin C was The Fountain Of Youth. I’m glad we finally found it. We’ve been looking for hundreds of years.
 
If anyone is taking fish oil supplements, consider switching to krill oil. If your doctor ever told you that your last cholesterol test showed a lot of triglycerides, then they might have mentioned something that's a kind of medication similar to fish oil but purified to 100% EPA instead of the usual 40-60%. While there's no generic version of this medication, I've found that of the OTC omega-3 supplements/fish oil supplements, krill oil tends to have a high proportion of EPA per serving.

While not at all scientific, I had my cholesterol tested again and dropped my triglycerides by around 50% after one year of taking krill oil or similar supplements from Costco (CVS and Walgreens are much too overpriced). I used a dose of 2000mg daily.

Also I don't like the taste of krills/shrimps and most fish. So this was easier. There are some fishy burps on an empty stomach but can be managed if you take with a meal.

Edit:
Regarding other supplements

VitC: Taking it in excess doesn't have significant harms, so as long as you're not a pirate and eating something, or anything with vitamin C on a daily basis then that's usually fine. Plus the blood test for vitamin C can be somewhat costly compared to drinking a bit of orange juice daily.

VitD: There IS some danger of harm of taking extremely high amounts of vitamin D. If this is something that concerns you, you should see your doctor to get tested for VitD levels. That said, most people usually are deficient, so taking small amounts such as 1000-5000 IU daily will usually be more safe than larger amounts or none at all.

Also vitamin D is synthesized in an alternative method by exposure to sunlight. There are also different kinds of sunscreens such as mineral sunscreens if you wish to decrease exposure to UV light. They are also marketed as reef safe if that is something that concerns you. Usually they have a white cast instead of clear which people do not like and prefer the chemical sunscreens instead.
 
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Most people can get enough nutrients through food, but since most people eat a lot of processed food there are deficiencies overall. So like vitamin and minerals might be needed, but I would get the lab work to find out which and just try to incorporate foods into the diet to fix it over pills. And as far as macros, unless you are trying to massively bulk, most protein powders and the like are a complete waste of money. Again, diet can give you more than enough for all but those pushing building and high-end athletes.

And all that said, there are some plant and herbal supplements I think can be good to add into a healthy diet that effect hormone and systemic functions.
 
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