- The Huberman Lab Podcast discusses supplements and a rational guide to supplementation.
- The term "supplements" is not ideal because many supplements are not found in food and can have specific benefits.
- The safety and effectiveness of supplements depend on dosage, sourcing, etc.
- A rational guide to supplementation considers various factors and does not assume that all non-prescription compounds can be obtained from food.
- The podcast will provide specific questions to help determine if supplements are necessary and which ones to take.
- Safety and cost will also be discussed.
- The podcast will cover a range of supplements, from foundational ones to targeted outcome supplements.
- The interaction of supplements with other factors, such as behavioral tools and prescription drugs, will be explored.
- The importance of behavioral tools and nutrition as the foundation for mental health, physical health, and performance is emphasized.
- Prescription drugs can be necessary in some cases but can often be replaced or reduced with behavioral tools, nutrition, and supplementation.
- The podcast does not provide medical advice and encourages consulting a physician before making any changes to protocols.
- The purpose of the podcast is to help listeners understand their needs and how to think about supplementation in relation to nutrition and behaviors.

- The video discusses the different categories of supplements and how they interact with nutrition and behaviors for optimal health.
- Supplements include vitamins, minerals, and adaptogens, but many people don't fully understand what adaptogens are or how they are used.
- Supplementation should be considered in the larger context of overall health and specific needs.
- The ideal dosage of a supplement may be 0 milligrams if a person is already getting sufficient sleep and feeling rested.
- Supplements have become more mainstream and are used in health, wellness, and medical communities to improve mental and physical health.
- Foundational supplements, which contain vitamins and minerals, can help compensate for deficiencies in diet.
- Skeptics argue that vitamin and mineral supplements can lead to expensive urine, but it is safe to ingest higher than needed amounts as long as they are not excessively high.
- The decision to take a vitamin mineral supplement should be based on individual needs and affordability.

- The video discusses the importance of considering financial affordability and dietary needs when deciding whether to take vitamin and mineral supplements.
- For individuals who are physically or mentally active, or following an intermittent fasting schedule, taking a supplement may be beneficial.
- It is recommended to take vitamin and mineral supplements with food, especially for water-soluble vitamins like B vitamins, to avoid stomach upset.
- It is important to prioritize obtaining nutrition from non-processed or minimally processed sources, such as fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, rice, and oatmeal.
- Foundational supplements may include vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes, and adaptogens, which are thought to improve the body's ability to handle stress.
- Probiotics and prebiotics can support the gut microbiome, and low-sugar fermented foods like sauerkraut and Greek yogurt are recommended for gut health.

- Fiber is important for supporting the gut microbiome
- 4 servings a day of low sugar fermented foods is the best way to support the gut microbiome
- Most people are not getting enough support for the gut microbiome through their diet
- Prebiotic and probiotic supplements can support the gut microbiome, but excessive amounts can lead to issues like brain fog
- Refrigerated versions of pickles and sauerkraut are necessary to support the gut microbiome
- Adaptogens are important for stress reduction and cognitive function, but are hard to get from food sources
- Broad spectrum foundational supplements that include vitamins, minerals, probiotics, prebiotics, digestive enzymes, and adaptogens are recommended
- Athletic Greens is a sponsor of the podcast and is recommended as a foundational supplement, but there are other options available as well
- The recommendation for supplements is based on budget and individual needs
- If budget allows, investing in foundational supplements is recommended to enhance overall health and performance
- If budget is low or non-existent, focusing on a healthy diet is important for supporting mental and physical health.

- Foundational supplementation includes vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes, adaptogens, and probiotics/prebiotics
- A broad spectrum supplement with high-quality ingredients is recommended for foundational supplementation
- Sleep is crucial for mental and physical health
- Supplements for sleep should be considered if experiencing difficulties falling asleep or staying asleep
- Caffeine intake should be limited after 2 p.m.
- Avoid eating excessively before bedtime
- Myoinositol can help with falling back asleep if waking up in the middle of the night
- Theanine can be beneficial for falling asleep, but may cause vivid dreams for some individuals
- Magnesium threonate and magnesium bisglycinate can aid in easing into sleep more readily and promoting deeper sleep

- Supplements such as magnesium threonate, bisglycinate, and apigenin can be useful for falling asleep and reducing anxiety.
- To find the most effective supplement for falling asleep, it is recommended to try one ingredient at a time for a week and evaluate the results.
- Melatonin supplements should be used cautiously due to potential disruptions to hormone systems and inconsistent dosages in some products.
- There is no dependency on sleep supplements for falling asleep, but they may enhance the depth and duration of sleep.
- It is important to consider the potential placebo effect and dependency on sleep supplements, and periodically take breaks from using them to assess their impact.

- The neural circuits involved in falling asleep can undergo plasticity, allowing for improved sleep even without taking sleep supplements.
- Cognitive enhancement and focus can be improved with supplements, but dependence on them is not necessary for focus.
- Hormone support is important for mental and physical health, and nutrition and behaviors play a role in hormone function.
- Supplements can support hormone function, but it is important to have proper nutrition and behaviors in place before considering supplementation.
- Supplements like Shilajit and Ashwagandha can support multiple hormones and have pro-fertility and pro-libido effects.
- Maca root can increase libido through dopamine-related pathways and indirectly impact testosterone and estrogen levels.

- The Huberman Lab Podcast provides a rational guide to supplementation and discusses various factors to consider.
- The podcast emphasizes the importance of behavioral tools and nutrition as the foundation for mental and physical health.
- Supplements should be considered in the larger context of overall health and specific needs.
- Foundational supplements, including vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes, and adaptogens, can compensate for deficiencies in the diet.
- Probiotics, prebiotics, and fiber are important for supporting the gut microbiome.
- Broad spectrum foundational supplements are recommended, with Athletic Greens being a sponsor of the podcast.
- Sleep supplements can be beneficial for falling asleep, but caution should be exercised with melatonin due to potential disruptions to hormone systems.
- Supplements can enhance cognitive function and focus, but dependence on them is not necessary.
- Hormone support can be aided by supplements like Shilajit, Ashwagandha, and Maca root.

- Maca, ashwagandha, and shilajit are supplements that impact hormone pathways and can increase libido, fertility, and testosterone or estrogen levels indirectly.
- To increase growth hormone, it is best to prioritize quality deep sleep and avoid eating for 2 hours before bedtime.
- Intermittent fasting can increase growth hormone levels, but extended fasting may have negative effects on growth hormone function.
- Few supplements have been shown to significantly increase growth hormone levels, and prescription compounds like peptides and growth hormone are more effective.
- Supplements like Fidogia agrestis can increase luteinizing hormone and indirectly increase testosterone and estrogen levels, but caution is advised due to potential toxicity at high dosages.
- Blood tests are recommended before and after taking hormone-increasing supplements to evaluate their effectiveness and any potential negative effects.
- It is important to start with lower dosages and gradually increase to find the optimal dosage for individual needs and to approach supplementation with a long-term perspective.

- The video discusses the effects of supplements on hormone augmentation, specifically luteinizing hormone, testosterone, and estrogen.
- Phytogeogrestis is a potent supplement that can increase luteinizing hormone, testosterone, and estrogen, but it is broad in its effects.
- Tongat Ali is another supplement known to increase libido and free testosterone.
- It is important to start with the minimum effective dose and adjust accordingly based on individual results and blood work.
- The effects of supplements can vary based on an individual's starting hormone levels.
- Tongat Ali and Fidogia can be taken in combination for greater effects.
- Blood work should be done 8 to 12 weeks after starting Tongat Ali.
- Women should consider the different effects of supplements on hormones throughout their menstrual cycle and adjust dosage accordingly.
- Supplements for cognitive enhancement and focus can be divided into stimulant-based and non-stimulant-based categories.
- Caffeine is a common stimulant supplement that can increase alertness and focus.
- Regular caffeine users can still benefit from its cognitive-enhancing effects.
- Taking a break from caffeine and then using it before important events can enhance its effects.

- Caffeine has pro-cognitive and pro-focus effects, even if taken daily or multiple times per day.
- Drinking caffeine too late in the day can impede sleep and affect cognitive function.
- Sleep and proper nutrition are crucial for focus and cognitive enhancement.
- Caffeine can be ingested as a drink or as a pure supplement, with the latter having a more potent and long-lasting effect.
- Other stimulants like alpha-yohimbine can also enhance alertness and focus.
- Alpha-GPC and L-tyrosine are non-stimulant supplements that can increase focus by augmenting specific neurotransmitter pathways.
- It is important to explore stimulant-based and neuromodulator-based approaches separately before considering combining them.

- Individual ingredients are best for determining what works for each person
- Some people may find certain ingredients uncomfortable or incompatible with their work
- The author personally relies on alpha-GPC and caffeine for cognitive work
- L-tyrosine works well for focus but causes a crash afterward for the author
- Omega-3 fatty acids can support cognitive function and focus, as well as overall brain and body health
- Ingesting 1 to 3 grams of EPA in the form of fish oil can be beneficial for brain and body health and enhance focus
- Food-based or food mimic type supplements, such as whey protein, can be useful but whole foods are important for nutrition
- Supplements for children should be approached with caution and hormone augmentation support should be avoided until after puberty with guidance from a physician
- People in their 50s and 60s can have similar supplement protocols to those in their 30s and 40s

- The speaker believes that people in their 50s and 60s should have similar protocols to those in their 30s and 40s, with the exception of cognitive enhancement.
- Age-related cognitive decline is a reality and increasing dosages or variety of approaches for cognitive enhancement may be beneficial for older individuals.
- Behaviors such as exercise, sleep, and maintaining a healthy relationship with light are important for maximizing cognitive function and overall health.
- Supplementation can be explored to enhance sleep, focus, hormone function, etc., but single ingredient formulations are recommended for better control and effectiveness.
- Supplements are powerful tools within a larger system of factors that contribute to mental, physical health, and performance.
- The speaker encourages subscribing to their YouTube channel and podcast, leaving reviews, checking out sponsors, and following them on social media for more information and support.

- Maca, ashwagandha, and shilajit are supplements that can indirectly increase libido, fertility, and hormone levels.
- Quality deep sleep and avoiding eating before bedtime can increase growth hormone.
- Intermittent fasting can increase growth hormone, but extended fasting may have negative effects.
- Few supplements significantly increase growth hormone levels, and prescription compounds are more effective.
- Fidogia agrestis can increase luteinizing hormone, but caution is advised due to potential toxicity.
- Blood tests are recommended before and after taking hormone-increasing supplements.
- Start with lower dosages and gradually increase for optimal results.
- Tongat Ali and Fidogia can be taken together for greater effects.
- Consider menstrual cycle and adjust dosage accordingly for women.
- Caffeine is a stimulant supplement that enhances alertness and focus.
- Proper sleep and nutrition are crucial for cognitive enhancement.
- Alpha-GPC and L-tyrosine are non-stimulant supplements for focus.
- Omega-3 fatty acids support cognitive function and overall brain health.
- Supplements should be approached with caution for children and after puberty with guidance.
- People in their 50s and 60s can have similar supplement protocols as those in their 30s and 40s.
- Cognitive decline may require increased dosages or variety of approaches for older individuals.
- Exercise, sleep, and maintaining a healthy relationship with light are important for cognitive function.
- Single ingredient formulations are recommended for better control and effectiveness.
- Supplements are powerful tools within a larger system of factors for mental and physical health.

In this episode, I explain how to design a supplementation protocol to support maximum mental and physical health and performance depending on your specific needs, nutrition, lifestyle and finances. When most people hear about “supplements,” they think they are vitamin supplements, but there are many compounds that are powerful and sold over-the-counter that can enhance our health in performance and that can’t be obtained from foods. First, I discuss “foundational” supplements to support overall health, including water and fat-soluble vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes, adaptogens, and prebiotics/probiotics. Then I explain how to use single-ingredient supplements to enhance specific aspects of your physiology, such as aiding sleep, cognitive enhancement, and focus supporting healthy hormone levels (e.g., testosterone, estrogen and growth hormone, thyroid). Finally, I explain when it makes sense to add supplements to your lifestyle and discuss how best to use supplements, including how to determine dosage, sourcing, continuous schedules and cycling, and how to layer different supplements most effectively. This episode will explain how to design the safest, most biologically effective, cost-effective supplementation protocol to meet your particular goals and support your overall health, including vitality and longevity.
For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com.
Thank you to our sponsors
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Timestamps
(00:00:00) Supplements
(00:03:38) Hierarchy of Tools/Interventions, Developing a Supplementation Protocol
(00:12:09) Sponsor: LMNT
(00:15:38) Role of Supplements, Foundational Supplements, Water/Fat-Soluble Vitamins
(00:21:07) Supplement Considerations: Cost, Nutrition & Schedule
(00:25:25) Foundational Supplements, Digestive Enzymes, Adaptogens
(00:28:04) Gut Microbiome, Probiotics/Prebiotics & Nutrition
(00:32:09) Sponsor: AG1
(00:33:06) Supplements for Gut Microbiome, Brain Fog
(00:36:44) Adaptogens & Broad-Spectrum Foundational Supplements
(00:38:35) Core Supplement Questions & Meeting Foundational Needs
(00:43:45) Supplements to Support Sleep: Myo-Inositol, Theanine
(00:50:52) Supplements for Falling Asleep: Magnesium Threonate/Bisglycinate, Apigenin
(00:55:55) Melatonin Caution
(00:58:11) Supplement Dependency?, Placebo Effects
(01:03:53) Nutrition & Behavior for Hormone Health
(01:08:59) Hormone Health: Shilajit, Ashwagandha, L-Carnitine, Maca Root 
(01:12:48) Growth Hormone: Behaviors, Arginine, Prescriptions 
(01:16:04) Testosterone/Estrogen: Fadogia Agrestis; Bloodwork 
(01:23:06) Testosterone Supplement: Tongkat Ali, Libido 
(01:27:24) Menstrual Cycle, Birth Control & Fertility
(01:30:54) Cognitive Enhancement & Focus, Sleep, Stimulants: Caffeine 
(01:36:57) Adrenaline & Stimulants: Yohimbine, Rauwolscine
(01:38:55) Adjusting Neurotransmitters: Alpha-GPC, L-Tyrosine; Layering Supplements
(01:43:58) Cognitive, Mood & Metabolic Support: Omega-3 Fatty Acids
(01:47:25) Food-Mimic Supplements, Protein 
(01:50:09) Kids, Aging & Supplements
(01:55:25) A Rational Supplementation Protocol
(01:58:36) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter
Disclaimer
Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac

the Huberman Lab Podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.

I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine.

Today, we're discussing supplements, or more specifically, a rational guide to supplementation.

Now, to be forthright, I want to tell you that I am not a fan of the word supplements, because it stems from this idea that all supplements are somehow food supplements or designed to compensate for what 1 could otherwise get from food.

Many supplements are compounds that are extremely efficacious, for instance, for enhancing sleep or for enhancing hormone function or for enhancing focus.

And many of those compounds are simply not found in food or are not found in enough abundance in food to have the desired effect.

Now that raises the issue as to whether or not these compounds are good to take, safe to take, and whether or not they are actually beneficial for us.

And the short answer is that like everything else, supplements can either be good for us or dangerous for us, depending on dosage, sourcing, et cetera.

But more importantly, we need to think about supplements and a rational guide to supplementation as taking into account a number of different factors.

And we need to set aside the idea that all non-prescription compounds that fall under this umbrella term supplements are simply things that could be extracted from food, but most people don't either ingest enough of those foods or pay enough attention to their diet in order to obtain them.

In fact, during today's episode, I'm going to give you a number of different, very specific questions that you can answer in order to decide whether or not you should be taking any so-called supplements or not, and whether or not you should be taking 1 type of supplement or another type of supplement more or less than the other.

I'm also going to discuss safety, of course, and I will discuss cost because obviously monetary cost is a serious consideration for most, if not everybody, considering the use of supplements.

During today's episode, I will also discuss which specific supplements are optimal for achieving specific endpoints, such as improved sleep, such as improved focus, and such as improved hormone function, among other things.

I plan to cover the full range of what are referred to as supplements, including so-called foundational supplements that are designed to act as a sort of insurance policy against any deficiencies that might exist within your diet, all the way up to very targeted outcome supplements and compounds.

That is compounds that are non-prescription that are designed to achieve very specific endpoints, such as enhanced focus over the next 4 to 6 hours of physical work or mental work, so on and so forth.

Plan to cover everything in between that as well.

And I promised to cover how supplements interact with other things such as behavioral tools, prescription drugs, when supplements might be a good alternative to prescription drugs, when they might not be a good alternative to prescription drugs, when supplements can serve as an augment to already excellent nutrition and prescription protocols and every feature of supplements as it relates to mental health, physical health and performance.

By the end of today's episode, you should be armed with a number of different questions, as I mentioned before, that will allow you to develop the most biologically effective and cost-effective supplement regimen for you.

And of course, I want to acknowledge that for some people, the total amount or dosages of a given supplement or supplements that you might need to take could be 0.

There are such individuals, but that many people can in fact derive tremendous benefit from supplements in a way that can be more cost-effective than trying to obtain the same non-prescription nutrients from food.

As we head into today's conversation, I want to emphasize something very important, not just as it relates to supplements, but as it relates to all aspects of mental health, physical health, and performance.

And that is, I take the stance that behavioral tools, that is specific actions that we take and specific actions that we avoid, form the foundation of mental health, physical health and performance.

So things like viewing morning sunlight and exercise are behavioral tools.

They don't require the ingestion of anything.

Within the realm of behavioral tools, there are also some don'ts or do nots that can greatly enhance our mental health, physical health and performance, such as avoiding bright light exposure to your eyes between the hours of 10 p.m.

Or avoiding caffeine too late in the afternoon because even if you can fall asleep after ingesting caffeine in the late afternoon, we know it disrupts the architecture of your sleep in ways that greatly diminish your mental health, physical health and performance the following day, for instance.

So behavioral tools form the foundational layer of all tools for mental health, physical health, and performance.

Second to that, I would say the next layer is in fact nutrition.

No amount of supplementation or non-prescription compounds or prescription compounds for that matter, can never compensate for poor nutrition, at least not for very long, okay?

So this is a key point, even though many supplements are not simply food supplements because they are not designed to compensate for anything that you could otherwise get from food.

That is not to say that you can live on supplements.

You know, I suppose you could live on whey protein and fish oil capsules and vitamin capsules or tablets for a short while, but before long you'd either suffer from boredom to the extent that you'd want to go back to food or some other deficiency would show up.

I think it's the rare individual that tries to survive entirely on food supplements and things of that sort.

Most everybody, and I would hope everybody is paying attention to their nutrition.

So I would place behavioral tools, do's and do nots as layer 1, the deepest layer, the bedrock of all mental health, physical health and performance.

And of course that's going to mean different things to different people with the understanding that there's a huge array of different food choices and nutritional programs.

Nutrition is fundamentally important for macronutrients, for storage of energy in the form of glycogen fats and phosphocreatine stores and so forth, but also for obtaining basic nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients, okay?

So we've got behavioral tools, nutritional tools.

Then on top of that, I would place what is typically called supplementation.

Although today I'm trying to expand that word to include not just things that compensate for food deficiencies or that are layered on top of food as a way to enhance the amount of nutrients that you could get from food.

But as I mentioned before, compounds that are non-prescription that can be for a variety of different purposes and many of which are not available in food.

So I would place supplementation right on top of nutrition.

Then past that, I would say prescription drugs, obviously prescribed from a board certified MD, can serve a very vital purpose in the treatment or augmentation of mental health, physical health and performance goals.

So some people do in fact need prescription antidepressants, other people do not.

Some people do in fact need prescription drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or sleep related disorders, so on and so forth.

The whole issue of whether or not there is an over prescription epidemic or not is a separate conversation for a separate podcast.

I would argue that many prescription drugs do in fact save lives.

This includes the category of prescription drugs related to statins and cardiovascular health related to any number of different things, even sleep disorders and insomnia, narcolepsy, and so forth.

That said, there are many instances in which people can either reduce their dosages of prescription compounds or can replace those prescription compounds with quality behavioral tools, nutrition and supplementation.

But there are many instances in which prescription drugs are the only route by which people can achieve the mental health, physical health, and performance goals that they wish to achieve.

So I would place that as the fourth layer in this stack of layers directed towards mental health, physical health, and performance.

So just to list off again, I fundamentally believe that behaviors, do's and do nots form the foundation of mental health, physical health performance.

That is the specific foods we eat, the amount that we eat, the combinations of foods that we eat in a given sitting and the timing in which we eat our food.

Then on top of that, I would place supplementation, the topic of today's episode, and finally prescription drugs.

And of course, all of these things interact in important and interesting ways, many of which interactions we will discuss during today's podcast, as we drill into the topic of supplementation, developing a rational supplementation protocol, and 1 that is most biologically and cost-effective.

Before moving further into today's episode, I want to emphasize a very important point, which is that I

That is, I'm not a clinician, so I do not prescribe anything, nor am I going to do that today.

I'm a professor, I review the research literature, I describe tools gleaned from the research literature and developed from the research literature.

So I profess many things, but I do not prescribe anything.

And I think it's vitally important that anytime you are thinking of adding or subtracting any behavioral protocols, nutritional protocols, supplementation-based protocols, and certainly prescription drug-based protocols for whatever purpose that you consult a trusted board certified physician.

The most important aspect of today's episode is not going to be that you discover 1 particular supplement or category of supplements or blend of supplements that is going to transform your mental health, physical health and performance.

No, the purpose of today's episode is for you to understand where you have needs that can be met by supplementation better than any other approach.

And most importantly, how to think about supplementation.

That is how to think about the different categories of supplements that are out there and how those interact with your nutrition and your behaviors so that you can maximize your immediate and long-term health.

What I mean by this is that we have this word, supplements or supplementation, but that means many, many different things.

It means vitamins, it means minerals, it means adaptogens.

Most people probably don't even know what an adaptogen really is.

And in fact, many people talking about adaptogens never actually define what an adaptogen is or it's designed for, or the fact that many adaptogens are also used for other purposes.

So today's discussion is really about you learning how to think about supplementation the same way you would learn to think about nutrition or exercise or anything related to brain and body health for that matter, in a way that lets you navigate this vast space that we call supplementation and develop protocols that are optimal for you.

And indeed, it may be the case that the ideal dosage of a given supplement for you is 0 milligrams.

For instance, if I ask you, are you sleeping deeply and enough each night?

Maybe you need a short nap and that's it, or maybe you don't.

I only need a short nap or no nap during the day to feel rested throughout the day.

Well, then there's really no discussion about sleep supplementation to be had between you and me.

However, if you are not sleeping well, then a big discussion opens up as to what the reasons are.

Is it related to nutrition or when you're exercising or ingesting caffeine?

In other words, no discussion about supplementation can be had in a vacuum.

Rather, Discussions about supplementation need to be considered in a larger context.

So today you're going to learn how to place the discussion and thinking about supplementation in a larger context and think about how specific supplements, that is specific ingredients and combinations of ingredients can indeed be used to buffer and support your overall health and lead you to specific health and performance outcomes.

Before we begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford.

It is however, part of my desire and effort to bring 0 cost to consumer information about science and science-related tools to the general public.

In keeping with that theme, I'd like to thank the sponsors of today's podcast.

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Now, salt, magnesium and potassium are critical to the function of all the cells in your body, in particular to the function of your nerve cells, also called neurons.

In fact, in order for your neurons to function properly, all 3 electrolytes need to be present in the proper ratios.

And we now know that even slight reductions in electrolyte concentrations or dehydration of the body can lead to deficits in cognitive and physical performance.

Element contains a science-backed electrolyte ratio of 1000 milligrams, that's 1 gram of sodium, 200 milligrams of potassium, and 60 milligrams of magnesium.

I typically drink Element first thing in the morning when I wake up in order to hydrate my body and make sure I have enough electrolytes.

And while I do any kind of physical training and after physical training as well, especially if I've been sweating a lot, if you'd like to try Element, you can go to drinkelement, that's lmnt.com slash Huberman to claim a free Element sample pack with your purchase.

Again, that's drinkelement, lmnt.com slash Huberman.

Let's talk about supplements and supplementation and how to develop a rational supplementation regimen.

1 of the things that's really emerged over the last 20 years is that supplements, and there I'm referring to non-prescription compounds designed to augment nutrition, prescription drugs and behavioral protocols, have emerged as a mainstay within the health and wellness, but also the medical communities that are focused on developing mental health, physical health, and performance for their patients and their athletes and for the everyday person.

Essentially what I'm saying is that 20 years ago, a discussion about supplements would mainly take place within the niche communities of health food stores or of particular athletes.

But nowadays, I think almost everyone is familiar with the fact that yes, indeed, there are standard vitamin supplements, but that there are also supplements such as vitamin D3, which are designed to make sure that people have a certain amounts of hormones in their bloodstream because they might not be getting enough sunshine.

Although I'll be very clear over and over throughout this episode that there is no pill replacement for sunshine, nor is there a pill replacement or food replacement for that matter, for exercise or for social connection or for sleep or for simply getting smarter.

Again, there is no pill that's going to replace excellent behavioral protocols.

In fact, a physician friend of mine has a great saying that I think everybody should keep in mind as we wade into this conversation, which is that better living through chemistry still requires better living.

And I think that's a very important phrase to keep in mind when thinking about the optimal supplementation or prescription drug protocol for you.

So what is an ideal supplementation protocol?

Well, I think what we need to do is to take a step back and ask what are different supplements designed to do?

For instance, there are foundational supplements.

These are supplements that are designed to establish a foundation or provide insurance along with your nutritional intake to ensure that you're getting all the things that you need in order to have a basic level of mental health, physical health, and opportunity for optimal performance.

Now, this is the 1 category of supplements for which I think it's appropriate, and in fact, advantageous to have multiple ingredients in a given supplement.

Throughout the rest of today's discussion, I'm going to talk about the advantage of mainly focusing on taking single ingredient formulations for a variety of reasons.

But when it comes to foundational supplements, what we're mainly talking about are supplements that contain vitamins and minerals that are designed to compensate for any deficiencies you might have from diet or from lack of adequate diet.

How would such a lack of vitamin and mineral intake arise?

Well, for instance, if you're somebody that practices intermittent fasting or other components of fasting, or if you're somebody who does not get enough vitamins and minerals from vegetables and fruits and grains and meats, well then taking a supplement that can act as a insurance policy against any vitamin and mineral deficiencies in many ways can be advantageous.

Although I will talk about some of the safety concerns in just a few minutes.

Now, I want to acknowledge that as soon as we talk about vitamin mineral supplements, the skeptics immediately raise their hands and say, well, all that vitamin and mineral supplements do is give you very expensive urine.

And there the skeptics are referring to the fact, the reality, that when you ingest high levels of water-soluble vitamins, so think vitamin C and some of the other vitamins, that indeed you will excrete them in your urine.

However, it's also the case that many people are not getting enough of the water-soluble vitamins from their foods.

And it's also the case that many people are.

And it's also the case that ingesting higher than needed amounts of most water-soluble vitamins, provided those levels aren't exceedingly high, is, or at least we should say, can be safe.

And again, this is provided that the levels that they're ingesting are not exceedingly high.

So the typical vitamin mineral supplement is indeed going to cover any gaps or deficiencies that might arise in the water soluble vitamins from your food intake.

But the reality is that most people are getting enough of the water-soluble vitamins from their food if they are paying attention to a couple

And those things are very simple to lay out regardless of whether or not you're a vegan, a vegetarian, a more traditional omnivore eating from both animal-based and plant-based sources, grains, et cetera, or even if you're in the pure carnivore or strict,

I guess it's called the lion diet where it's just meat and salt.

Regardless of what type of nutrition you follow, you will get vitamins and minerals, but you'll get more or fewer of them depending on the nutritional program you follow.

And of course, depending on how often and how much you eat.

Most people who take a vitamin mineral supplement will indeed excrete a lot of the water-soluble vitamins.

They will retain the fat-soluble vitamins.

And there again, the skeptics will raise their hands and say, you do not want to take high levels of fat-soluble vitamins because they will be stored in your system potentially to levels that are dangerous.

Again, provided that vitamin mineral supplements are not taken in excess, it's unlikely that you're going to have such a buildup of the fat soluble vitamins in your system that they're going to be a problem.

So that raises a very specific question that you need to ask, do you want to take a vitamin mineral supplement?

Well, the answer to that will be highly individual, but you really just need to address 2 things.

First of all, is the cost within the range that you can afford and want to pay, Right?

Oftentimes these vitamin mineral supplements can be quite inexpensive, but some of them can be quite expensive.

And you can see the full range of ones that are pennies per day, all the way up to many dollars or tens of dollars per day, because of what are reported to be variations in quality and sourcing and so forth.

I'm not aware of any real differences between the quality of the water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins found in the less expensive versus the more expensive vitamin mineral supplements.

More typically, the cost scales with the dosages of these different vitamins and minerals.

And as could probably be expected, the more expensive to obtain and source vitamins and minerals tend to be in lower quantities in the less expensive versions of vitamin mineral supplements.

So you need to ask yourself, can you afford it financially?

And then you need to ask yourself, are you able to regularly ingest enough foods with enough variety to cover your vitamin mineral needs just from food?

And for some people, the answer is going to be an immediate yes.

They are careful to get enough of the foods that allow them to obtain their vitamin and mineral quota.

And for other individuals, the answer will be no.

I would say for people that are extremely physically and or mentally active, and for people that perhaps are following a intermittent fasting schedule, so they are not ingesting a lot of food in general or restricting their food intake to specific times of day, Well, then a vitamin mineral supplement likely makes sense for them.

However, it's going to be very important to ingest that vitamin mineral supplement with food and ideally early in the day.

So that can set up a little bit of a challenge for the intermittent fasters who are restricting their feeding window to late in the day.

Well, many of the water-soluble vitamins, in particular the B vitamins, need to be ingested with food because otherwise they can cause some stomach upset.

Some people like myself can take B vitamins on an empty stomach and feel fine.

Other people feel really lousy when they take B vitamins.

There are a few other things that we'll talk about later, namely zinc and coenzyme Q10 that really should also be taken with food.

But the best time to take a vitamin mineral supplement is with food.

And I believe that if you're going to take a vitamin mineral supplement, that you want to take it with food and you don't want to take dosages of vitamins and minerals from supplements that are exceedingly high for a couple of reasons.

1 is the buildup of fat soluble vitamins that we talked about before.

The other reason is that when People tend to take very high levels of vitamins and minerals from supplements.

They tend to spend less time and focus on making sure that they're optimizing their nutrition or at least trying to get their nutrition right.

What do I mean by getting their nutrition right?

Well, I think regardless of whether or not you're keto, omnivore, carnivore, vegan, or any other nutritional plan, the key thing is to get most, that is about 75 to 80% of your foods or more from non-processed or minimally processed sources.

I think there is agreement across the board that most people should avoid highly processed foods.

Highly processed foods are going to be foods with very long ingredient lists that have very long shelf lives.

It does include snack foods like chips, et cetera, pastries that could sit on the shelf a long time.

But it also includes things like canned soups and number of different other foods that have many, many ingredients, preservatives.

Most people would do well to avoid those kinds of foods and focus most of their intake on things that are non-processed.

So these would be things like fruits and vegetables.

You'll notice that the non-processed foods will tend to have very short shelf life or require refrigeration in some cases, such as meat, eggs, et cetera, or minimally processed foods, such as rice and oatmeal and pastas, beans and things of that sort.

Beans oftentimes can be completely unprocessed as well.

Of course, there's 2 general categories, unprocessed and minimally processed that should make up about 80% or more of your food intake if your goal is health and obtaining adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals.

The so-called foundational supplements include, of course, vitamin and mineral supplements, but has expanded over the last decade or more to also include supplements that have vitamins and minerals, but also things like digestive enzymes.

And again, here we have an example where indeed you can get digestive enzymes from foods.

For instance, eating a bit of papaya or even a little bit of pineapple can assist in the digestion of certain aspects of macronutrients because these are naturally occurring enzymes that help digest things like carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.

And there are other food-based sources of enzymes.

If you just put food-based sources of enzymes and you'll find those.

But nowadays, a lot of the foundational supplements will include papain

or they will include different lipases or anytime you hear the word ACE, by the way, it means an enzyme, An enzyme is designed to break down or to catalyze some sort of reaction in biology and in nutrition in particular.

So you can find foundational supplements that include vitamins and minerals and digestive enzymes.

And nowadays more and more, the quality foundational supplements are also including things like adaptogens.

And here, the name adaptogens is sort of vague and it indeed has no specific operational definition.

This is something really important to understand about supplementation is that companies and indeed podcasts can talk about adaptogens without actually defining what an adaptogen is in an operational way.

When we say operational, what we mean is a definition that everyone in a given arena or space, research for instance, can agree on so that when we talk about the adaptogenic effects of a given compound, we're all talking about the same things.

Well, foundational supplements nowadays include vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes, and

And the adaptogens, broadly speaking, are thought to improve the body and brain's ability to buffer against various stressors.

So these could be things like herbs, like ashwagandha that are designed to reduce cortisol levels.

In that sense, ashwagandha is an adaptogen, but ashwagandha has other effects related to hormone augmentation in both the testosterone and estrogen, and maybe even the thyroid pathways.

this a little bit later when we talk about supplements for hormone augmentation.

So foundational supplements has really expanded to include a lot of different categories of nutrients and micronutrients, vitamins and minerals, digestive enzymes designed to achieve a broad spectrum of effects.

Again, this is the 1 category of supplementation where I think it makes sense to explore multi-ingredient formulations.

And the other thing that's often included

in these so-called foundational supplements are probiotics or prebiotics, which are designed to augment and support the so-called gut microbiome.

The gut microbiome is the collection of trillions of little micro bacteria that exist in all of us.

They mainly exist in the mucus membrane lined tissues of the body.

So that would be your nasal passages, your mouth, the vagina, the urethra, and the gut, the whole way from your mouth, all

Trillions of micro bacteria also live on your skin.

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Developing a Rational Approach to Supplementation for Health & Performance