Supplements who you feel are completely overhyped and overrated?

Early in the Covid panic, I bought some valerian tincture to help me chill out. I took it in some warm water early in the afternoon and it knocked me out so hard. I learned to take it only at bedtime because I was a zombie all afternoon that day. I thought it would take the edge off, but it was quite sedative for me.

Every supplement, except vitamin A, vitamin D and folic acid.

I bought some Ashwaghanda...didn't really feel any different when I tried it initially. Last week I had a very stressful day, took it and it did seem to calm me down a bit. But it could have been placebo, too. I'm not too convinced.

I also have some kelp tablets that I hoped would help w/thinning, lifeless hair...no luck. However, taking MSM, collagen and using rice water and fenugreek topically have made my hair look fantastic. I can't say it's brought back the volume I used to have, but it's growing like crazy and looks glossy and healthier than it has in years.

"Every supplement, except vitamin A, vitamin D and folic acid."

Magnesium supplementation is literally the difference between me living a totally normal life and me leading the life of an invalid, so... no.

R4, I have Parkinson's and adding magnesium l-theonate has done wonders for me too.

Is milk thistle of any benefit to me?

Milk thistle is rubbish

R4 What magnesium supplement do you take?

Hops

Really, r7? No value to the liver whatsoever? I've been taking it but will stop if it's a waste of money.

R7 What are you basing your conclusions on about Milk Thistle being rubbish? Just curious.

My brother dated a doctoral candidate in one of the sciences, I can’t remember which, it was 40 years ago, who told him vitamins in pill form were worthless. They go right through your system. Anyone see that segment about probiotics on 60 Minutes this summer? Absolutely worthless. Get your vitamins from food!

R9 I second the "Hops," and I will add Oat tincture to that.

Well r12 I’m post gastric bypass surgery and if I didn’t take all of my daily vitamins I’d be dead.

Multivitamins. No doctors organization recommends them

My understanding is that cheap synthetic vitamins are worthless. But that high quality vitamins extracted from real food, are absorbed by the body.

All of them!

Except for the melatonin, probiotics and biotin that I take.

Remember the hullabaloo about chromium picolinate helping your diabetes?

Whatever ever happens to that?

R12, are supplements in liquid form better?

I certainly feel it when I don't take my iron or my Vitamin D supplements.

Plus, you can be low on either of those, then take them for a few weeks, get rechecked, and see the numbers go up. That means you are getting something from them.

I have to echo OPs remarks on Valerian and passion flower. I tried two highly rated supplements of each and felt.... nothing. It might as well have been a sigar pill. I wonder of some people simply don't react to the supposed effects of these substances, perhaps due to genetics or something.

I try to avoid supplements in tablet form since I can't imagine them dissolving fast enough to be worthwhile. I prefer capsules and especially soft gels.

I take many supplements every day mostly for my skin, and the supplements collectively make my skin look good, but I can't really point to which ones work and which might be useless. I'm, meanwhile, wary of anything that can't offer obvious results, such as ginkgo biloba supposedly helping with brain performance. Something like that is so subjective, I figure there's no real way to test for it.

R4 - you have a special need for magnesium, but not every normal people need it.

People with vitamin/mineral deficiency should take whatever recommended by their doctors. But healthy people? NO, as they will come out in your piss. So mostly they are overhyped and overrated.

What about fish oil capsules?

In terms of multivitamins, can't they do scientific tests to prove their efficiency or lack there of?

r24 I've been taking a high quality, pharmaceutical grade brand for 3 years and my doctor says my fish oil levels are very impressive.

Melatonin. Might as well be a sugar pill. Does NOTHING.

I take the following OTC vitamins/supplements: Vitamin D3, Potassium, Thiamine, and Magnesium. All of them were recommended by my physicians after several hospitalizations, and my PCP orders blood tests to coincide with my followup visits. I take melatonin, but only after I told my physician assistant that I found it ineffective, and she explained that it may need to reach a certain level in my blood before I'd notice any effect. No one had taken the time to explain its use until I asked my PA about using it for insomnia. I've taken passiflora and St John's Wort in the past (never asked a physician about them) and never noticed any effect.

Agree about St. John's Wart

I tried both Co-Q10 and SAM-e. Both did nothing for me. However, both did no harm.

I forgot why I even tried Co-Q10.

SAM-e, I tried for depression.

Any weight loss supplement touted by smarmy Dr. Oz. Green Coffee Bean Extract comes to mind.

SAME-e made me super manic!! And I don't have a history of that.

Propolis any good ?

R19, no

The problem is we’ve tried to break down nutrition into vitamins and minerals as if they are the only things that help us.

If I stick a bunch of vitamins in a blender, I won’t suddenly end up with a piece of lettuce or a chicken leg. There’s so much more going on than just vitamins and minerals—most of which we don’t know about and don’t measure.

So that’s why just eating artificially made vitamins without all the surrounding stuff in spinach, for example, doesn’t get absorbed like the natural stuff does.

[Quote] In terms of multivitamins, can't they do scientific tests to prove their efficiency or lack there of?

They work specifically if you have a deficiency in something. Taking 9000x your recommended daily dose of some vitamins (as some pills give you) when you don’t have a deficiency will cause problems.

I’m fact studies show the people maybe reducing their lifespans if they take an multivit daily

Tongkat Ali...for eldergay wood. St. john's wort gave me brain zaps like whatever drug did that back in the day.

Turmeric powder

Melatonin gives me a hangover.

R38 Nooooooo! Not tumeric! Curcumin is supposed to help with inflammation. I just bought a very expensive bottle of it.

Kratom

Tryptophan does make me sleepy. But whatever BS is out there about it being a building block of serotonin, and able to increase your serotonin as a supplement, is total bullshit. I have never felt an increase in well-being, and I've taken tryptophan for ages for sleep. But again, it does work for sleep. For me.

R41 What's Kratom again?

tongkat works as does tribulus and arginine.

Zembrin:

"Zembrin® is an extract of Sceletium tortuosum, an herb traditionally used by the San people of South Africa for over 300 years to support emotional and mental well-being. Take one small tablet per day. Zembrin is the first product with a benefit-sharing agreement disbursing royalties to benefit the San people and ecologically sustainable cultivation in Africa."

Such fucking bullshit. I felt NOTHING.

R24, fish oils are fucking miraculous. Great for the brain, heart, joints, whole body. I take Iwi Brain supplements and basic fish oil softgels from Sundown Pharmaceuticals(?) I believe

Gingko Biloba

R44 has Low T, bless him.

R8: "What magnesium supplement do you take?"

See link. It works like no other brand on my muscles (and I've tried a LOT of brands), causes absolutely NO digestive problems, and they are very speedy with their deliveries (though like everything else, it has slowed down a bit because of COVID-19). I will never switch brands unless forced to!

I also use Ancient Minerals Magnesium Oil on my whole body every morning after my shower, and take several Dr. Teal's Epsom Salt baths a week.

Lysine is an amino acid touted for decades an an anti-herpes supplement. It's gaining traction these days as a potential anti-Covid supplement.

"One possible way to treat COVID 19 could be by blocking amino acids needed to synthesize the virus RNA or its envelop. Such a mechanism already known for herpes simplex viruses (HSV) . This virus duplication is impaired if the cell is not getting amino acid arginine. Amino acid Lysine competes with arginine for absorption and entry into cells. Lysine inhibits HSV growth by knocking out arginine. We can find essential amino acid needed for COVID 19 virus and try to block it. We can also try to see if Lysine works the same way for COVID 19 as well as it works for herpes simplex viruses ."

not now, r48.

Which supplements are good for copious sperms ?

I take magnesium before bed every night. It helps me relax and it helps very much with TMJ.

I’d love a supplement which would enable Americans to understand the different applications of “who”, “whom, “which” and “that”, OP.

Turmeric is great but buy it fresh. The use super harsh chemicals to break down the root and encapsulate it.

Put it in a smoothie.

I supplement Probiotics, vitamin D, a good magnesium and absolutely b12/b complex. DHA

Don’t take anything else unless you have a deficiency. Multis are garbage.

The BEST magnesium- check the reviews

I take magnesium about 2-4 hours before bedtime and that really helps my muscles relax which also helps with sleeping.

Most other stuff, I find is a lot if hocus pocus.

Link

I take NAC for my bronchial issues and it too is being researched for COVID

Anyone have experience taking a collagen supplement for an extended period of time?

An Indian guy gave me a really good recipe for a sore throat.

Cook grated fresh ginger, garlic, a pinch of pepper in water for 3-5 minutes, add sugar and honey to taste.

The guy said he uses 2-3 garlic cloves, but I used a lot less. It's a wonderful tea for cold winter evenings and it really does help with a scratchy throat. I can only highly recommend!

explains the smell...

Adding to R31, When did Dr Oz become such a dirty, dirty whore? And why?

I take magnesium for muscle recovery after hard core exercise but also a couple at night when I need to wind down at bed time, BUT only a couple because any more than that give me horrifying night terrors. Not recommended.

I was cynical about Ashwagandah as I’m more chemical than herbal but am pleased to say that they sent my already healthy libido through the roof and easily doubled the amount of spooge that I produce with each orgasm.

No fucking idea with the affect on my stress levels but in the sex department, no complaints!

Oh, and before anybody asks - I’m 60, but look 60 - just well moisturised.

R49 Thanks for the recommendation. I also take Epsom salt baths after workouts and it helps so much.

Supplement that has worked for me - cod liver oil. Great or my skin and mood. I take the nordic naturals cod liver oil supplement.

Any of you bitches take the Black Seed Oil?

Great for hair, skin and supposedly an immune booster.

Kelly Garrett recommended it to me,

I take 10 supplements, about half every day(C, B complex,D, flax oil, baby aspirin, magnesium) Others(multi, CoQ10, fish oil, lutein, on a rotating schedule, I make up a month's worth of those weekly pill boxes at a time)

I take what I consider to be low levels because I feel our food isn't as nutritious as we've been lead to believe. If I'm right, good for me, if I'm wrong, no harm done(🤞) You have to do the research to make sure you AREN'T overdoing it, it's easy with certain vitamins. Which is why we should never eat polar bear liver.

Magnesium(you Prilosec and Nexium people, please be careful, these drugs lower magnesium levels) and D( no sunbathing for me, have had skin cancer x4) seem to be the darlings of the supplement world lately. Vitamins work better synergistically, so it's better to take them together to boost absorption and to achieve maximum benefits.

And, as in so many things-caveat emptor.

R66 I just bought some black seed oil for the first time, bitch! How do you like it? I am going to start it soon.

R68 So far I like it. Someone recommended it as an immune booster during covid-19 (84)

....

R70 Ignore that shit was posted in wrong thread sorry OP .

St. John's Wort only helps you if you have mild to mild-moderate depression and/or anxiety. If your depression is moderate to severe, it does nothing, but clinical studies have shown it does help milder cases as much as Prozac. But much like other antidepressants, it has contraindications and interactions with a lot of foods and other medications. Most people think that because it's "all natural" they don't have to worry about it.

Every child of celebrity parents

R20 cf.iron, I notice the difference if I don't take a couple of pills on the days of/after my period. I lose blood like it's the Bates Motel, so I need iron otherwise I literally walk around with a slow heartbeat, clammy skin, and craving flesh on my tongue like a zombie. I wish I were kidding.

R3 inspiring and excellent news about your hair.

As someone with dry hair that it thinner than it used to be, I have so many questions. Could you share your haircare routine? I would think the fenugreek reeks a bit, no? And do you mix it together with the rice water in product while you shower, or apply it separately? When do you take the MSM & collagen, and how often/how much?

R19 I was about to ask that, too. Are the sprays better for absorption?

In the past, I have taken high levels of D (like, 10,000IUD) in pill form and noticed a dramatic difference in physical and mental health. I have also taken handfuls of Brewer's Yeast tablets for blood sugar stabilisation and skin health (hey, if it's good enough for Garbo...) that have an effect. How can that be, if they go straight through the digestive system? Is it a placebo effect thing?

I love ashwagandha

I take a Centrum multi..vitamin D..vitamin C..fish oil tablet..calcium tablet with D.. red yeast tablets for cholesterol. I probably could cut back a bit..but I've been taking these for years, without problems.

All supplements are overrated. I get my nutrients from food.

Supplements are so poorly regulated and vary so widely between brands, and our individual bodies each react differently to them. What works wonders for me might not work at all for you.

Personally, Valerian is like an herbal Xanax for me without the lethargy the next day. Some brands don't work at all for me, though.

FDA regulations are a joke. You can still get away with calling a “supplement” that has sugar in it a health food.