Most supplements are GARBAGE. These are the best ones for ppl over 30.

Today we're talking about supplements that are actually worth the money and exactly WHY they're important.Read time: Approx 5min 17sec

First things first.

Why are most supplements garbage?

It's incredibly easy to spin up a supplement company.

If I wanted to, I could've created a company out of thin air in less time than it took to write up this guide.

And I could say almost anything I wanted about the supplements short of them healing some sort of disease with zero proof and zero consequences.

In other words, most supplement companies are built on 99% marketing and 1% science.

I prefer my supplements to do their marketing by delivering results, and I'm not keen on risking my health or money on a compound some random guy on the internet told me will change my life, so I stick with what's tried and true AND backed by science.

As you might guess that makes the list INCREDIBLY short.

Creatine

Creatine is one of the safest and most researched supplements on the planet. Time and again, it’s been proven both safe and highly effective.

Not to mention it’s one of the cheapest supplements there is.

Creatine works by increasing ATP, the energy molecule your cells use. Increase ATP, and you increase energy for explosive movements/activities, which everyone needs more of as they age.

Creatine isn't just for your muscles. Recent studies show that creatine improves cognition, especially as we age.

Short-term memory and intelligence/reasoning were affected the most. This effect is greater in vegetarians/vegans as they have less naturally occurring creatine in their diets. (most naturally occurring creatine comes from meat.)

Since creatine increases ATP, it makes it easier to hold onto and build muscle mass. Since age-related muscle loss is a huge contributor to injury and disability, any help we can get in that department matters.

As we age and lose muscle mass, our risk of falling increases. The muscles that diminish most quickly are the type II muscle fibers, the ones necessary for quick reactions.

When those go, so does our ability to avoid falls.

Remember which types of activities creatine provides energy for?

Explosive ones, the kind you need to avoid falling.

Creatine also helps with bone density.

Resistance training improves bone density, which you’ll be able to handle more with creatine supplementation.

Creatine is also necessary for the healthy normal formation and turnover of human bone.

The recommended dose for creatine monohydrate (you don't need a different fancy version. They're no more effective but many times more expensive) is 5g.

Some people experience stomach upset when starting to take creatine. As this is fairly common, it's wise to start with a half dose to determine your tolerance and gradually work up to a full dose. If you're unable to handle a full dose, you can take 3g, but it will take significantly longer to reach the levels you need in your blood for it to be effective.

Creatine loading is a common practice but, in the long term, has shown no benefit. The one group of people who should be wary of creatine is those with kidney dysfunction. Be sure to talk to your doctor before taking it.

Magnesium

It's estimated that 70-80% of Americans don't get enough magnesium in their diet.

Magnesium is essential for both bone and teeth structure, as well as hundreds of other enzymatic reactions throughout the body and immune support.

The main issue at the forefront of most people's minds when considering magnesium supplementation is as a sleep aid.

While we don't understand exactly how magnesium influences sleep, we do understand the effect of magnesium supplementation.

Magnesium has been shown to :

• Aid the transition of sleep and increase sleep time

• Improved sleep efficiency

• Reduced early morning waking

• Increase levels of melatonin (double whammy here for sleep)

• Decreased cortisol levels

• Decrease nighttime leg cramps

• Possibly reduce migraines

• Reduce bone loss caused by osteoporosis

The recommended daily amount of magnesium is 400-420mg daily.

There are also different forms of magnesium that will have different effects on the body.If your intention is to improve sleep, as discussed here, the two best forms are magnesium threonate, which crosses the blood-brain barrier, and magnesium glycinate. Both are effective in improving sleep.

The biggest risk for magnesium supplementation is stomach upset and diarrhea, so it's recommended that you start with a smaller dose to gauge your tolerance before taking the full dose.

Vitamin D

About 40% of the people living in the United States are Vitamin D deficient. Those with darker skin are at higher risk than those with lighter skin because the process by which our bodies produce vitamin D happens when ultraviolet light hits our skin, and it's more difficult for ultraviolet light to penetrate darker skin.

Vitamin D plays an incredibly important role in bone health, blood pressure regulation, immune function, and aging.

However, the primary reason I've included vitamin D in this list of must-have supplements for people over 30 is because of the cognitive effects.

Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to both depression and schizophrenia. Does that mean deficiency directly causes either of those conditions?

No.

But it does mean that it likely plays an important role in the regulation of our mental and emotional state.

On the flip side, a recent study DID SHOW a causal link between vitamin D deficiency and dementia.

YES, that means low vitamin D CAN CAUSE DEMENTIA!!!

Which is absolutely insane.

Supplementation for Vitamin D can be tricky because it's a fat-soluble vitamin, which means too much can be toxic.

So I've included both the RDA and tolerable levels charts below to make your own decisions.

All of that being said, the best way to determine what your vitamin D levels are is to get blood work done. I personally have a genetic predisposition to low vitamin D, so my intake is SIGNIFICANTLY higher than what's on the chart.

(The charts below were taken from www.foundmyfitness.com which has tons of great info about vitamin D)

Omega-3

Like Vitamin D, Omega-3 supplementation has some impressive benefits for cognitive health. It's been shown to help with ADHD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, impulsive behavior, and decrease the risk of Alzheimer's.

When I say it helps reduce the risk of Alzheimer's, I'm not talking about a small little blip on the radar. A recent study found that people with omega-3 blood concentrations of 6.1% or higher had a 49% lower risk of Alzheimer's!

That's HUGE!

Not only that, but one study showed a 50% decrease in depression symptoms when supplementing with 1.5-2g of EPA for 6 months.

Again, that's absolutely INCREDIBLE!

Omega-3s and Vitamin D are the closest things we have to the fountain of youth for the brain, and it's not even close.

Regarding supplementation of Omega-3s, it's more straightforward than Vitamin D since there's no upper limit. 1.5-2g is a good place to start. Omega-3s are also abundant in oily fish such as salmon and sardines, as well as some nuts and seeds.

Protein

Protein is an essential nutrient that we need A LOT of if we want to build or maintain muscle.

You can't build muscle if you don't have the building blocks, which come from protein.

The current recommended daily allowance (RDA) is incredibly low. It's just high enough to prevent loss of muscle mass in a relatively sedentary adult.

Not a great recipe for building or maintaining muscle after your 30s.

More recent recommendations that align with reality have come in at 1.6g per kilogram of bodyweight.

You may not be interested in building tons of muscle or looking like a cover model, but muscle is good for more than just eye candy.

Muscle loss is one of the leading causes of disability.

People with moderate to severe muscle loss are 1.5-4.6 times more likely to be disabled than those without it.

You need muscle, and if you want muscle, you need protein.

As most people age, the desire to consume protein naturally decreases, so supplementation can be a big help.

In selecting your supplements, whey protein has been shown to create the strongest protein synthesis (it builds muscle better than other sources).

Summary

Some of the most powerful compounds available for improving our health have been right in front of us. They aren't fancy or exotic, but they are amazing.

That being said, no supplement will ever replace good food choices, exercise, adequate hydration, and a solid night's sleep.They're meant to fill in the gaps.

If you found this supplementation guide useful please share it with your friends and family so they can benefit from it too!

If you'd like to check out the sources for my research, you can find them below.