Vitamin/ Supplement Combos for Ease of use & Lower Cost

Insights and discussion from the cutting edge with reference to journal articles and other research papers.
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Mark H
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Vitamin/ Supplement Combos for Ease of use & Lower Cost

Post by Mark H »

I find myself taking lots of vitamins. I have made a few combinations so I don't have as many bottles. I wanted to start a thread to see if anyone has any particular vitamin/supplement combination they use. For example, In the mornings I take

GABA
600MG+ GABA
30mg Zinc Picolinate
20mg Manganese
200mcg Selenium


It would be easier and cheaper if it were in one pill form.
I make my own brain stimulator pills to take with meals like this and it makes transportability much easier. :

Ashwagandha, 500 mg,
Bacopa monnieri, 250 mg,
Gotu kola, 500 mg
Hericium erinaceus, (lion’s mane) 500 mg
Rhodiola, 200 mg

By making my own I can choose organic ingredients and control fillers etc.

I was thinking of adding an Evening GABA with 5 HTP maybe? Thoughts, anyone else doing this?
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JasonMy
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Re: Vitamin/ Supplement Combos for Ease of use & Lower Cost

Post by JasonMy »

I was wondering about the best brands to get quality vitamins and supplements myself. I like the multi-vitamin, multi-supplement or multi-herb idea as well. I know Pure encapsulation had a pretty good multivitamin that Dr. Mark Gordon put me on for TBI but it was quite expensive. After a lot of research I have narrowed my Vitamin/Supplements to:
  • Alpha GPC, Bacopa Monnieri, Lion's Mane, Curcumin+Black Pepper, B-Complex (Methyl B12, P5P B6 & Methylfolate), Ashwagandha, Magnesium (Threonate or Glycinate), PQQ, DHA/EPA, TMG, Probiotic (Lactobacillus & Bifidobacterium), Digestive Enzymes (Protease, Amylase, Lipase, Bromelain), Shilajit, Zinc Picolinate, Pregnenolone, Vitamin D3, and Vitamin K2.
I'm sure the list will change in time because I am always trying out new things and removing ones I don't think are doing much. I was wondering what others have determined worked best for them. I was Also wondering if anyone has tried any good Nootropics? The best Nootropic I have tried was Noopept and I also just ordered a bunch of herbs and NAD to try. I have heard there is an issue with the quality of Ayurvedic supplements including the potential for dangerous chemicals being found in them which is another reason it would be good to have the reputable brands posted somewhere.
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Re: Vitamin/ Supplement Combos for Ease of use & Lower Cost

Post by Sara »

I have been compiling a listing of pharmaceutical suppliers which are often recommended in the world of Functional Medicine and they include... Pure Encapsulations, Cytoplan, Thorne Research, Designs for Health, Metagenics, Douglas Laboratories, NeuroScience, Researched Nutritional, Epionce, Nordic Naturals, Emerson Ecologics, ProThera and Xymogen. When pricing is prohibitive I will research on consumerlab.com which identifies (sometimes) more reasonably priced supplements and indicates the level of compliance i.e., does the supplement contain the ingredients that it says it does. You do have to purchase a membership with consumer lab which is typically under $50 per year. Good luck!
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MarcR
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Re: Vitamin/ Supplement Combos for Ease of use & Lower Cost

Post by MarcR »

Mark, Jason, I notice that both of you are supplementing zinc picolinate. You may find this 8-minute video from Chris Masterjohn to be of interest:

Why I DON’T Recommend Zinc Picolinate

Masterjohn believes that the picolinate form likely actively obstructs zinc absorption because it binds so tightly to elemental zinc. I found the other episodes in his recent series to be useful as well:

How to Manage Your Zinc Status
How to Supplement with Zinc
Zinc for Heavy Metals
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Stavia
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Re: Vitamin/ Supplement Combos for Ease of use & Lower Cost

Post by Stavia »

Thank you Marc. Changing my zinc today

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Re: Vitamin/ Supplement Combos for Ease of use & Lower Cost

Post by apod »

Personally, I'm a fan of Zinc L-Carnosine in relatively tame dosages and hesitant to use 5-HTP (heart valve concerns.) It would be cool if there was a company that would print up a 30-90d jar of whatever stack you wanted to take.

Right now, I do a B-complex via SeekingHealth + Natural Factors (currently investigating NMN / Benfotiamine.) I take the Seeking Health brand of Zn L-Carnosine. Jarrow CoQ10 + PQQ. Innovix Labs K2. I also take ascorbic acid (grocery store brand.) In bulk powders, I take Thorne Mg bisglycinate and NutraBio creatine. Then, I take Carlson brand D3 and potassium iodide from liquid droppers. This is sort of my glorified multivitamin (although, somewhat lacking in what you might otherwise find in a multi wrt antioxidants and minerals.)

Lately, I'm experimenting with L-Theanine and cycling off my usual plant-extracts like ashwagandha, curcumin, resveratrol, etc. I've been on the lookout for a solid brand of phospholipid-bound DHA.

Aside from the brands already mentioned, I've found NootropicsDepot and NutraBio to have high-quality products at affordable prices.
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Re: Vitamin/ Supplement Combos for Ease of use & Lower Cost

Post by circular »

Taking a different tack on ease of use, a long while ago I bought some 'two story' lazy susans that fit on a pantry shelf. One level has my before breakfast supps, one my after breakfast supps, and one my bedtime supps. It's easy to spin it around and get what I want, and when I have backup supplies they just go right behind the one that's going to run out. No level is filled up, but I like to organize them this way. If I stop a supplement for some reason and think I may come back to it, I just turn it upside down.
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Re: Vitamin/ Supplement Combos for Ease of use & Lower Cost

Post by Indywoman »

MarcR and Stavia, I am on zinc picolinate, not wedded to any form, so watched the Chris Masterjohn video links which I appreciated. However, I have reservations since his two references in the video for why zinc picolinate was not that good in absorption were two studies, one done in 1985, the other in 1987. Older does not mean less accurate, but citing two studies for evidence that are over 30 years old, with no more recent evidence seems problematic. Additionally, the one study was done in 1985 on only 15 students, and Barrie, the author says at the end that:
"The results of this study suggest that zinc absorption in humans can be improved by complexing zinc with picolinic acid" Masterjohn says that plasma (rather than serum) was not tested, but doesn't cite any zinc studies with plasma that would show zinc picolinate is not as good as other forms.
Additionally, Masterjohn says he gets a commission from Jarrow who produces one kind of Zinc (Zinc Balance), and Jarrow does not produce Zinc picolinate.

The second study in 1987 is on rats, not people-always something to be wary about. So my question is, are there more recent studies on larger samplings of humans, and at what kind of evidence sets the high bar for changing supplements? I am increasingly struggling with these issues when they are posted, and wonder about the "evidence bar"?
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Re: Vitamin/ Supplement Combos for Ease of use & Lower Cost

Post by Stavia »

Indywoman, excellent insights. Its such a minefield huh. Who even knows if using it even translates into real clinical outcomes.


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Re: Vitamin/ Supplement Combos for Ease of use & Lower Cost

Post by MarcR »

Masterjohn's point is that there are other sources of zinc with well-established efficacy, so why use picolinate? He interprets the study differently than the researchers and explains why in the video with reference to several graphs.

With human health and nutrition we don't often have the luxury of incontrovertible evidence; my personal mental model is of a balance beam with evidence on either side. On one side we have picolinate; on the other, we have the concerns of a PhD in nutrition who digs deeply into the details as well as several other zinc supplement options. It's an easy choice for me.

With respect to the Jarrow product, Masterjohn is transparent about his tiny interest and explains why he likes it. I don't see an issue there.
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