Vitamins and Supplements on top of Protocol???

[leetrub16]

So before I found this site I want crazy with the vitamins and bought a shit load of Life Extension Brand off Amazon.com. My cabinet looks like a GNC. Currently on top of my protocol I take the following:

Vitamins
1.potent multivitamins
2.Omega Fish Oil
3.Green Tea Extract
4.Vitamin D 5000mg (take 2 a day due to very low blood levels)
5.Vitamin B Complex
6.CoQ10
7.L-Arginine
8.Vitamin C - additional 1000mg
8.Acetyl-L-Carnitine
9.Carnosine
10.Milk Thistle (haven't started)

Supplements
1.Whey Protein
2.Amino Energy
3.Glyco-Maize - Post workout simple carbs.


Is all this crap necessary? What do you guys take? Do you have any recommendations? I really need some sort of a boost before I hit the gym. I was taking no-explode for a while but the crash was too hard. Amino Energy works very well for me. However, with my current nutrition plan with 3J I have to be very strict with the carb intake each day.

I'm not looking to become a meathead from any of this, but to live the life I never thought I could. I assume you all just want to be healthy men with a shit load of testosterone running through your body like other guys have naturally. Of course, all the positives that come along with that as well from energy, increase libido, more strength and endurance, decrease in diseases that cause pre-mature death etc..



Thanks guys.

 

[thepower]

In my humble opinion-

If your taking all that, then it means you have the money to afford all of that on a monthly usage basis & you might not be trusting that the diet plan your on meets nutritional needs.

Anyhow, all one really needs if their diet is on point is protein powder, Co Q10 & vitamin D. All the other stuff on your list is just a extra expense. Take for example this stuff - Glyco-Maize - Post workout simple carbs. You could simply mix a scoop of protein power in water, then pour it over your kids favorite sugary cereal and get the same benefits without the extra expense.

Im just from the school of thought that Id rather get what I need from whole foods instead of further fattening up the pockets of the supplement companies if I dont need to.

 

[cjw2021]

get a good b complex from thorne. google thorne b complex...it has all the coenzyme (active) forms of b vitamins. Then get calcium d glucarate 500 mg twice a day which will deactive estrogen and its metabolites and toxins. Then some sublingual pregnenolone, I take 20mg twice a day. That will help preserve the hairline if u have a tendency to mbp. Walmart has acetyl-l-carnitine an alpha lipoic acid combo I take. Other than that make sure shbg is low and free t3 levels are good. arginine/orthinine combo is always good. I take 2.5mg timed release melatonin at night. some benefit from sublingual dhea but be conservative w it. I don't like green tea extract because it is a dht inhibitor. Liquid vitamin d seems to work best. I take a liquid multi.

I don't go nuts on whey protein drinks. In fact I don't even take them. They may be beneficial but I prefer not to put extra load on my kidneys since they probably end up filtering that.

 

[cashout]

So before I found this site I want crazy with the vitamins and bought a shit load of Life Extension Brand off Amazon.com. My cabinet looks like a GNC. Currently on top of my protocol I take the following:

Vitamins
1.potent multivitamins
2.Omega Fish Oil
3.Green Tea Extract
4.Vitamin D 5000mg (take 2 a day due to very low blood levels)
5.Vitamin B Complex
6.CoQ10
7.L-Arginine
8.Vitamin C - additional 1000mg
8.Acetyl-L-Carnitine
9.Carnosine
10.Milk Thistle (haven't started)

Supplements
1.Whey Protein
2.Amino Energy
3.Glyco-Maize - Post workout simple carbs.


Is all this crap necessary? What do you guys take? Do you have any recommendations? I really need some sort of a boost before I hit the gym. I was taking no-explode for a while but the crash was too hard. Amino Energy works very well for me. However, with my current nutrition plan with 3J I have to be very strict with the carb intake each day.

I'm not looking to become a meathead from any of this, but to live the life I never thought I could. I assume you all just want to be healthy men with a shit load of testosterone running through your body like other guys have naturally. Of course, all the positives that come along with that as well from energy, increase libido, more strength and endurance, decrease in diseases that cause pre-mature death etc..



Thanks guys.

In my opinion, that list is overkill.

My simple question for evaluating the incremental value of each and every supplement is "Do I feel any beneficial effect in the short-term and long-term when taking this?"

If the answer is 'yes' then stick with it. Otherwise, drop it.

 

[wolfman010]

get a good b complex from thorne. google thorne b complex...it has all the coenzyme (active) forms of b vitamins. Then get calcium d glucarate 500 mg twice a day which will deactive estrogen and its metabolites and toxins. Then some sublingual pregnenolone, I take 20mg twice a day. That will help preserve the hairline if u have a tendency to mbp. Walmart has acetyl-l-carnitine an alpha lipoic acid combo I take. Other than that make sure shbg is low and free t3 levels are good. arginine/orthinine combo is always good. I take 2.5mg timed release melatonin at night. some benefit from sublingual dhea but be conservative w it. I don't like green tea extract because it is a dht inhibitor. Liquid vitamin d seems to work best. I take a liquid multi.

I don't go nuts on whey protein drinks. In fact I don't even take them. They may be beneficial but I prefer not to put extra load on my kidneys since they probably end up filtering that.

Which liquid multi do you take?

 

[cjw2021]

vitamin shoppe liquid multi, tho any would work.

 

[Viperbluelx]

I take D3 and B12 based on my labs showing those in the low range. I don't take anything else aside from a protein shake post workout.

 

[TerpVTX]

As Viper implied in his post, you need to look at your labs and see what you are deficient in. I stopped taking multi's recently and just started taking those vitamins that I am deficient in and have been feeling much better. For me it is Vitamin A, D-3 and E. Sometimes a multi can be more harm than good. For example, if your diet already gives you plenty of iron, then the iron provided in most multi is overkill. While most if it can be passed off by the body as waste, it can still stress your organs.

I also take fish oil, garlic tabs and CoQ10. The later two are for cholesterol.

 

[Packgus]

be careful with the vitamin E. There has been studies that showed that too much Vit E can increase your chances of getting prostate cancer.

 

[MoparMuscle]

Just supplements*
Glucosamine HCI with MSM (joints)
CoQ10 (heart etc)
Huperzine A
Taurine (T3 and Cramps)
Green tee (don't always run just right now)
"Unleashed" (free t)
Cranberry extract (kidneys, don't always run)
Opti Men multi (multi I take 2/3 recommended)
Fish Oil (5 g)
PB8 (bacteria)

Other crap I do when needed
ON Whey (40g morning)
ON Casein (40g pre bed)
Carbo plus (take 18g pre/during workout)
BCAA (40g during workout)
Glutamine (5g during workout)
NTKTS (pre w/o supp)

+ 6 solid square meals a day

 

[wolfman010]

protein powder makes me bloated and in general feel like shit for some reason. I must not digest it well. How much protein does someone actually need per day? Any other quick sources of protein anyone can suggest?

 

[MoparMuscle]

Chicken, beef, fish. That's my primary intake. Amount depends on body type, size and goals. I consume about 270g ed on a lean bulk about 80-100g from my 2.5 shakes Ed (first thing morning, last thing night and pre gym). I don't drink any shakes on weekends if I can eat enough. Est dose not include small protines from carb meals etc just whole meats and a few shakes.

I'm a lean 250lb btw

 

[JKB]

protein powder makes me bloated and in general feel like shit for some reason. I must not digest it well. How much protein does someone actually need per day? Any other quick sources of protein anyone can suggest?

You most likely wont have any problems if you try taking Whey Protein Isolate. Dymatize Elite is one of them and its pretty cheap. Another one is Iso Pure but that can be expensive. I have tried other cheap GNC or Vitamin world protein shake powders and they boat me up too and make me feel crappy.

 

[cashout]

You most likely wont have any problems if you try taking Whey Protein Isolate. Dymatize Elite is one of them and its pretty cheap. Another one is Iso Pure but that can be expensive. I have tried other cheap GNC or Vitamin world protein shake powders and they boat me up too and make me feel crappy.

What are you guys mixing your whey with? Water?

I'm curious because I've used just about every kind of whey on the market (b/c I get them free) and I've never had an issue with bloating.

 

[cjw2021]

Mopar how tall you are you? What BCAA powder supp do you use to get 40g? How often do you take huperzine? What do you notice from it?

 

[MoparMuscle]

Mopar how tall you are you? What BCAA powder supp do you use to get 40g? How often do you take huperzine? What do you notice from it?

The huperzine a: memory, focus and I can't find the study but HGH release also. Apparently it's been studied related to alzimers etc (see below). If I find the study about HGH I'll post it.

Green tea polyphenol (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate enhances the inhibitory effect of huperzine A on acetylcholinesterase by increasing the affinity with serum albumin.
Zhang L, Cao H, Wen J, Xu M.
Research Institute for Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China

The green tea polyphenol (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) was investigated for its enhancement effect of huperzine A on inhibiting acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The inhibitory effect of huperzine A on acetylcholinesterase is quite weak in the whole phase. EGCG hardly inhibits the AChE activity within the range 10-300 mg/kg. However, upon addition of EGCG to the huperzine A groups, a remarkably enhanced inhibitory effect was observed. The EGCG also can largely prolong the inhibitory time. These results indicate that addition of EGCG to huperzine A can reduce the dose of huperzine A required compared with huperzine A alone. The enhancement and complementary effect of EGCG on huperzine A activity may partly be due to the antioxidant property of EGCG.

One of the beneficial effects of green tea is to induce a feeling of relief. It is conceivable that this function may be regulated by EGCG in the central nervous system since EGCG is distributed in the brain after oral administration. EGCG can be used as an enhanced supplement for huperzine A to treat Alzheimer's disease.

Green tea polyphenol (-)-epigallocatechin-3-ga... [Nutr Neurosci. 2009] - PubMed - NCBI


Investigation of the mechanism of enhanced effect of EGCG on huperzine A's inhibition of acetylcholinesterase activity in rats by a multispectroscopic method.
Xiao J, Chen X, Zhang L, Talbot SG, Li GC, Xu M.
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and Research Institute for Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Central South University, Changsha 410083, People's Republic of China.

The mechanism of enhanced effect of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on huperzine A's (HUP) inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in rats was investigated. The inhibitory effects of HUP at 10 and 5 microg/kg on AChE activity were quite weak in the whole phase. In contrast, upon addition of EGCG (100 mg/kg) to the HUP 10 and 5 microg/kg groups, remarkably enhanced inhibitory effects with maximum inhibitory percentages of 90.94 and 88.13% were observed under the same conditions. EGCG also can greatly prolong the inhibitory time. The mechanism of the enhanced effects of EGCG on HUP's inhibition of AChE activity was investigated by steady fluorescence spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and ultraviolet spectroscopy. HUP hardly interacted with the main transport protein, whereas there was a very strong binding interaction between EGCG and bovine serum albumin. The enhanced transport of HUP is a possible cause of the enhanced effect of EGCG on HUP bioactivity.

Investigation of the mechanism of enhanced... [J Agric Food Chem. 2008] - PubMed - NCBI


A recent study on Huperzine A.

Treatment with Huperzine A Improves Cognition in Vascular Dementia Patients.
Xu ZQ, Liang XM, Juan-Wu, Zhang YF, Zhu CX, Jiang XJ.
Department of Neurology, Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, No. 10 Changjiang Branch Road, Daping, Chongqing, 400042, China. 2011 Aug 11

In the present study, we tested the efficacy and safety of Huperzine A in treatment of mild to moderate vascular dementia (VaD). This was a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study with 78 patients with mild to moderate VaD. The participants were randomized to receive either vitamin C (100-mg bid) as placebo (n = 39) or Huperzine A (0.1-mg bid) (n = 39) for 12 consecutive weeks. The mini-mental state examination (MMSE), clinical dementia rating (CDR), and activities of daily living (ADL) scores were used for the assessment of cognition. The assessments were made prior to treatment, and 4, 8, and 12 weeks of the treatment. The adverse effects of the treatment were also recorded. After 12 weeks of treatment, the MMSE, CDR, and ADL scores significantly improved in the Huperzine A group (P < 0.01 for all comparisons), whereas the placebo group did not show any such improvement (P > 0.05 for all comparisons). No serious adverse events were recorded during the treatment. Conclusion: Huperzine A can significantly improve the cognitive function in patients with mild to moderate vascular dementia. Further, the medicament is safe.

Treatment with Huperzine A Improves Cog... [Cell Biochem Biophys. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI

6'1" about

Modern BCAA and I miss typed, I do 20g (4 scoops). It's a 8:1:1

 

[JKB]

Cashout. Yea, I mix it with water. And I have never had any problems with most whey proteins either. But the only ones I had a problem with on bloating were GNC and vitamin world brand (dont know why). But other proteins wheather they are casien, isolate or concentrate I have no problems with them.

 

[MoparMuscle]

Try ON brand

 

[DJ77]

You get what you pay for. Supplement company's are not regulated so I stick to the name brands and avoid GNC/generic crap.

To name a few...
Optimum Nutrition
Gaspari Myofusion
BSN
Ect....

 

[Hardtimes]

You get what you pay for. Supplement company's are not regulated so I stick to the name brands and avoid GNC/generic crap.

To name a few...
Optimum Nutrition
Gaspari Myofusion
BSN
Ect....

What makes name brands so ..?