How do you choose your recommended brands?
i like Natural Factors...they are made in canada and subject to better regulation than united states based companies(which are basically unregulated). solgar is another company that has been around for a while and seems to be reputable. new chapter organics is another.
i would NEVER buy from a company that uses sensationalized marketing like BSN...a lot of these brands that you find at vitamin shoppe or gnc are just bullshit companies with no meaningful quality control and questionable raw material sourcing.
In regards to how I chose the recommended brands - some were ones I have used myself with good results, some were recommended by experts who've done real testing on them, like Robb Wolf.
Turducken - I just learned all about that recently, how Canada and the US differ in supplement regulation. Pretty crazy! I completely agree with what you're saying about Vitamin Shoppe and GNC. The reliable companies aren't selling in places like that. It's a shame the whole supplement industry is a bit tainted in the US since there ARE good and useful supplements out there.
I find that brand selection process to lack rigor.
Who knows a good resource for choosing quality brands?
sorry about being late to this thread. I would like to know how the recommended brands ranked in Consumer Lab's tests.
http://www.consumerlab.com/
TTt awesome 
Lofland - sorry about being late to this thread. I would like to know how the recommended brands ranked in Consumer Lab's tests.
http://www.consumerlab.com/
Yep...anyone here a member?
I have some criticism of Ring Girl's EXCELLENTLY formatted article.
1. Love the way you prominently put the recommended vendor and dosage;
2. I don't agree with all your choices, and I think you left out Calcium;
3. I don't think CoQ10, AS YOU CAN BUY IT, is worth taking;
4. You seemed to have left off a multivitamin;
5. You don't talk about taking them with food and using food for the micronutrients;
6. You don't tell HOW to take the vitamins, though one could get that info elsewhere, I'd be interested in your delivery system for supplementation;
7. You might have omitted the 'down side', precautions, possible bad effects. You can get that elsewhere;
8. I disagree you should be taking zinc "pills"/Supplements. If you just eat a normal diet around 2000 calories, you get about 200% of the zinc you need and you get co-components that work with the mineral and make it work. Perhaps you could edify me why you need to take zinc as a supplement?
9. Probiotics? Come ON. Humans have all they need to digest food. If you're sick or have problems or try to convert to a diet too soon? That's stupid. Waste of money and used by quacks as a safe (nonfunctioning) aid. You'll get no aid outside of the protein and fat and carb contained in the yoghurt. You did say if you're sick, but again, no need to put on the list;
10. ALA? How, just how do you take 5 GRAMS of that per day? Cost? You'd have to buy bulk powders and figure out a way to choke it down, I'd think;
11. Digestive enzymes. Ridiculous. You do say in disease states. But why put them on the special list;
12. Fish oils are great but go with those which are cheapest, assayed, and not stored in hot semi-tractor trailers for a long time (i.e. fresh). Brands like Barleans are probably great but check Consumer reports and get the cheapest you can find at the top. Any US brand should be OK (actually just check the CU 'danger list' at the bottom for those with no assays and heavy metal contam);
13. Vit D - yes take it. BUT - don't start suddenly taking 5,000 IU. Start at 1,000 IU and double check if you take a multi that it doesn't contain another 1,000 IU. Note where you live (sunlight amt), take it with Calcium (bioavailability and absorption is important with Calcium). Buy the vit D in 1,000 IU size - cheapest you can find. If you can add a liqui-gel calcium supplement it might be absorbed better;
14. Add new supplements to your regime ONE-AT-A-TIME. Otherwise you can't check for effects (if any).
15. Creatine - only if you're working out and want to gain muscle size. Otherwise protein powder. 0.8 gm/lb bodyweight (not counting other protein in foods. Reduce accordingly if you eat a lot of protein-based foods)
I think I'll try the ALA and the NAC combo. :)
HTH. Again, great layout thanks for doing that and for posting here.
^^probiotics and digestive enzymes made a HUGE difference for me^^
^^ Tell us moar, by all means. What was the huge difference? You "felt" better? Were you constipated prior?
I do believe in personal testimony (properly analyzed) over claims of the company.
How much did you take and what brand?
How old are you? M or F?
How long did you take before difference seen? What was seen?
Do you feel worse in less than a week if you stop taking them?
Did you take them together?
TIA
OK, on the Q-10.
http://www.epic4health.com/qgelmega100.html
You need 5-6 capsules per day. These are $39 bucks for 60. So 10 day supply per bottle (100mg each capsule). Better absorption than most. That's $120 bucks/month. (PubMed used doses of 100mg (in smaller people) to 900mg. I split the difference.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16176154
If you are able to take the optimal/maximal amount used in a peer-reviewed study using HUMANS (check) then it might be worth it to try. Twelve healthy males were in the study.
You couldn't measure your plasma levels. You might not even be able to feel it. AND it's about as effective as alpha-tocopherol (Vit E) in protecting lipid membranes, but it can be recycled. Most preps contain Vit E so read labels carefully.
hmmm good research
Widespread -
Dude, you rock! I love all the thought you put into that and all the feedback. Really awesome!!
I actually went back and forth when I was writing the article about food recommendations. Basically the dilemma in writing for the internet is that people don't want to read for TOO long, so you have to stay very focused with the topic. I would consider writing another series of articles in regards to getting nutrients from food and which ones are best for what, but if I start adding in all the stuff you mentioned was missing then it turns into the Moby Dick of supplement articles and nobody's gonna read that.
I take probiotics personally in the form of drinking kefir on a regular basis and it definitely makes a difference for me.
Did you start the ALA and NAC? Have you noticed any benefit? One word of warning about the ALA as was discussed in another thread here by a poster who learned this the hard way and then shared his knowledge with us -- ALA will make your pee smell really bad when you take over the amount your body needs. In fact, some people recommend upping your dosage until it smells and then backing off a little bit, kinda like you do with magnesium supplementation (except it's not smell...well, you know).
Also, yes, great point about adding 1 supp at a time - if I do another supplement article I will definitely add that in with the doctor warning at the end! Thanks!
Ring Girl - Widespread -
Dude, you rock! I love all the thought you put into that and all the feedback. Really awesome!!
...adding in all the stuff you mentioned was missing then it turns into the Moby Dick of supplement articles and nobody's gonna read that.
I take probiotics personally in the form of drinking kefir on a regular basis and it definitely makes a difference for me.
Also, yes, great point about adding 1 supp at a time - if I do another supplement article I will definitely add that in with the doctor warning at the end! Thanks!
Thanks!
Moby Dick of supplement articles...that's why we have editors.
Probiotics...kefir - 'making a difference' is vague. See my post above about clarifying it.
Great point. That's fine, but IF you take any advice I give here freely and PUBLISH it, you must give attribution. You can't make those points as though you thought of them. Obviously, you wouldn't, being a professional, but for the sake of those reading...
Have a great Sunday.
So WSP,
Are you taking the Q-Gel CoQ10, or do you think it isn't worth taking as you said earlier?
You have really done your homework, thank you for the great information.
Also, do you take a multi-vitamin, and if so, which one?
Same with fish oil / Omegas
Thanks!
Moby Dick of supplement articles...that's why we have editors.
Yeah, I am the editor and that's why the article was edited the way it was.
Probiotics...kefir - 'making a difference' is vague. See my post above about clarifying it.
It's TMI - just trust me on this one.
Great point. That's fine, but IF you take any advice I give here freely and PUBLISH it, you must give attribution. You can't make those points as though you thought of them. Obviously, you wouldn't, being a professional, but for the sake of those reading...
Good lord you are in love with yourself, aren't you? lol!
Seriously, though, thanks for your input - it is appreciated.
Ring Girl, don't discount the instant credibility your article will obtain if you attribute the idea of adding one supplement at a time to "WidespreadPanic" on the "MMA Underground Forums" - it could be published by the Journal of the AMA.
Koga - Ring Girl, don't discount the instant credibility your article will obtain if you attribute the idea of adding one supplement at a time to "WidespreadPanic" on the "MMA Underground Forums" - it could be published by the Journal of the AMA.
The NSCA might award him a CSCS on the spot, just for that!
I usually just go by sources I trust to put in research and science behind anything, like Robb Wolf. There is no way I have the time to dig up research on every single supplement available and whether or not it works. Jamie Lewis does a great job of checking up on these things and won't recommend anything that isn't pretty decent, with that said, he doesn't recommend much of anything outside of protein supplements, fish oil, and animal pak multi vitamins, which is pretty much all I've found useful. Robb Wolf is someone I'll take advice from as well if I have a question about somethings value. I never take magazines or websites like tnation for supplement advice... its a sales pitch.
Gunslinger - Not sure if you've read Robb's book, but there is a section toward the end all about supplementation. I used it as reference for both my articles on supplements.