Supplements I Take
September 16, 2009The Supplements I Take
-By Mark Ottobre, Author of The Truth About Supplements, Eat Your Way To Abs, Creator of The Alpha Body
How’s your nutrition and diet? Many people who have downloaded Eat Your Way To Abs thought it would be interesting if I’d share with everyone the supplements I use on a daily basis. After writing the book, The Truth About Supplements and training a few champions, they figured, I’d be taking the supplements that really count.
While I don’t recommend you exactly ‘copy’ the supplements I take, this insight will provide a good base for most people.
So with out further or do, my supplementation plan,
- Primal Greens or a Multi Vitamin & Mineral (Poliquin Products)
Lets face it, we could all use some extra veggies in our diets, especially when you consider the fact that most of commercial farm soil is depleted which impacts the nutritional quality on the vegetables it produces (a point which I discuss in Eat Your Way To Abs, Pg 25).
I choose a powdered green product over a multi vitamin and mineral supplement provided the green product is made from organic green vegetables and not just Spirulina (not that there is any wrong with Spirulina, but in a green drink you would be better off with a product that is extracted from a wide range of vegetables instead of just Spirulina.)
I believe green drinks are the single most unrated supplement. Because they don’t fall into the flash sector of sport supplements it seems its not important to the general gym junkie. Well I got news for you, if you want to build muscle or burn body fat at rapid speeds, keeping your body alkalinised is one of the most important things you can do. An acidic (the opposite of alkaline) environment is a catabolic. Therefore if you want you’re body to be in an optimal environment for burning fat and building muscle keeping your body in an alkaline state is of the upmost importance.
Note: Green drinks are by no means a substitute for having green vegetables.
- HCL 4.0 (Poliquin Products)
One of the most important groups of supplements I have come across in recent times are things that aid digestion.
Why?
Because 98% of people don’t make enough HCL
What is HCL?
HCL is basically stomach acid that your body produces when you digest food. HCL gets depleted in many ways, including over-eating, stress, aging and stimulant abuse (this includes caffeine).
If you don’t make enough HCL naturally, your simply not absorbing all the nutrients you could be from the food your eating. You’re also not getting the most out of your supplements. This little known fact was a very exciting discovery for me as it meant I could maximize my food and diet by maximizing my HCL production.
So how can I test my HCL levels to know if I’m deficient?
HCL tests can be costly. Luckily Charles Poliquin gave me a really simple testing method that costs as little as $24 US.
You buy a product called DigestForce which you can get from his store here @ http://us.cpoliquin.com/?Click=1512
Some other ways to increase HCL production without resorting to supplements is by:
- Dressing your salads and veggies with Apple Cider Vinegar
- Have Bitter Herbs before a meal
- Drinking the juice of a lemon before a meal
- Managing stress levels
The instructions on how to do the test are attached.
HCl will aid a healthier gut! And better absorption of your supplements.
I consider HCL to be the second most important supplement next to a green drink.
Why?
Simply because if your not digesting your food effective, your missing out on the nutrients you are eating. Additionally, if your not digesting your food effectively, you wont be assimilating supplements optimally either.
- Fish Oil
How can one ignore the tremendous amount of research and practical evidence given about the positive effects of fish oil? You cant!
Research has found Fish oil can benefit the body in a number of ways from cardiovascular health, inflammation, skin and eye health to neurological health. Because of the vast benefits of fish oil, you simply can’t go past it.
If you need more reasons why you should take fish oil, follow this link to pubmed and type in “fish oil and”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
Personal note: I notice a difference in my skin, hair and nail without taking fish oil.
- Magnesium (Poliquin Products, UberMag)
Magnesium deficiencies are quite common among the general population and even more common amongst people who train hard. Magnesium is reasonably cheap and gives you bang for you buck.
Magnesium supports insulin sensitively, a number of cardiovascular conditions, healthy nerve conduction, bone mineralization and preventing cramps. But perhaps the biggest benefit of magnesium is that it is a sedentary mineral. Translation, it will improve sleep and help you relax from a stressful day (or after training). I take 2 to 3 tabs with the last two meals of the day.
- Zinc
Next to Magnesium, Zinc is the second most common deficiency. As a male, zinc is of prime importance and is often the cause of low testosterone (and sperm production in males). So many guys take things like tribulus to increase natural production of testosterone when they’re still not getting adequate zinc.
I always believe in covering your basics, so I take zinc day in and day out. And if you are unsure about if your zinc levels are optimal, there is a really easy way to test. Buy a product called ‘Zinc Tester’ which can be purchased through here: http://us.cpoliquin.com/?Click=1512
Put about 10 to 20 mls in your mouth and hold it for 20 to 30 seconds. If you start to taste metal, you’re good. However, if you taste nothing, you need more zinc.
I take two tabs of zinc twice a day, generally with the first two meals of the day.
- DIM (or equivalent oestrogen support product, Poliquin Products)
Admittedly, I was clueless about this class of supplements until I attended Charles Poliquins Bio-Signature program. After attending I did my own research and have come to the same conclusion as Charles, anti-oestrogen products are essential for male and females (including children).
Why?
Because in today’s environment we are exposed to literally thousands of harmful chemicals daily. These chemicals damage our fragile endocrine system and the effects are much more prevalent in males (this is not limited to humans, across the animal kingdom males are becoming out numbered.)
To give you the skinny on it, there’s a common class of chemicals called Phthalates. Phthalates are used in everything from women’s make-up to food packaging and toys. Phthalates (amongst other chemicals) are damaging.
I recently found an excellent documentary called, “The Disappearing Male”. This documentary explains the scope of the problem in a clear and concise way and really highlights the importance of anti-oestrogen products. I highly recommend watching it and have provided the link below.
Here’s part one of the very interesting (and very shocking) Doco – The Disappearing Male http://www.tagtele.com/videos/voir/51958
I personally rotate between DIM, EstroClear for Men, Calcium D-Glucarate and EstroDefence every week and occasionally ill pair two of them together for a better effect. Anti-oestrogen supplement are now a permanent part of my supplement routine.
- Vitamin C (Powdered form)
Vitamin C is one of those supplements that I simply feel better taking. Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin and also acts as a great anti-oxidant. Because of the high volume of training I regularly expose myself too, I find vitamin C is essential as it protects against oxidative stress and allows me a better recovery.
When researching and writing my book, The Truth About Supplements, I found an interesting fact. Nobel Prize winner, Linus Pauling found that dosing high amounts of Vitamin C could prolong the survival time and quality of life of people suffering from terminal cancer patients. I figure if it did that for the sick, it could work wonders for the healthy!
I buy the Melrose Vitamin C powder. I get the one in the PURPLE bag.
Note: The easy way to know if you are taking too much vitamin C is you get diarrhoea.
- Phosphatidyl Serine (PS) (Poliquin Products)
Phosphatidly Serine or PS is a great brain nutrient and a very effective cortisol lower. I take PS post workouts to bring down cortisol after training so I can recover faster. I find that if I combine PS with magnesium after a work I get the best effect.
Why do I use so many Poliquin Products?
Poliquin products are very high quality (and look, I know everybody says that), but seriously! All his products met the cGMP standards (Current Good Manufacturing Practices Guidelines for nutritional Supplements) and they are actually reasonable priced.
The other reason why I buy Poliquin is because its one of the few companies where you can actually purchase the pure ingredient. Most of the time companies manufacture blends that have contradictory ingredients (e.g. combining a stimulant with a relaxant). The other factor is you simply can’t find his formulas elsewhere. For example, his DIM is probably the best on the market and is a patent blend. His Magnesium, (ubermag) has four different types of magnesium so your body utilises it most effectively.
I don’t want this to start sounding like a sales pitch because its not. If you want to investigate or perhaps buy the products I use you can do so by clicking here http://us.cpoliquin.com/?Click=1512
If not, no problems. I hope you found this of value. I’ll be sending some really interesting stuff about Tapped Vs Bottled Water in the next two weeks. Stay tuned!
Health & Wisdom,
Mark Ottobre,
Author of The Truth About Supplements & Eat Your Way To Abs
http://www.thetruthaboutsupplements.com
http://www.eatyourwaytoabs.com
