Which supplements are worth there money?

[allstar]

ya not my thing

 

[Mach]

Glutamine's the biggest waste of money you can find. I, personally feel it works through a placebo effect.

The essentials for me:

Whey... (Optimum Nutrition Pro Complex or Gold Standard)
Creatine monohydrate... (Optimum Nutrition, micronized or PP)
Multi-Vitamin... (1-A-Day Men or Centrium)
BCAA's... (Optimum Nutrition)
Dextrose... (NOW)

I have read that the one a day's are inaccurate and should be taken twice a day (morning/night)

 

[Hypocrisy86]

Supplements ive used that are worth trying/using..

Cytosport cytogainer
Xpand
N.O.Xplode
Monster milk
Purple Wraath
Labrada super charge extreme
MRIs Black powder
Controlled labs glycer grow
Cell mass
Havoc
Mass FX
Novedex XT

more.. to come.

 

[DriDDeRz]

Supplements ive used that are worth trying/using..

Cytosport cytogainer
Xpand
N.O.Xplode
Monster milk
Purple Wraath
Labrada super charge extreme
MRIs Black powder
Controlled labs glycer grow
Cell mass
Havoc
Mass FX
Novedex XT

more.. to come.

Ones ive highlighted in red, are ones i wouldn't mind trying one day
regards to havoc, the stuff is bloody awesome as!

 

[miamiracing]

bloody RPM is the best pre-workout supplement on the market

 

[MetalMX]

Vitamin D - 1000-2000IU per day - its a prohormone.

Vitamin B12 & Folate - Both help to repair you DNA. And we all know DNA determines everything from the color of your hair to the size of your muscles. Also studies have shown that large doses of certain vitamins/minerals particularly Vitamin B12 and Folate can repair DNA and overcome genetic flaws in people who have them.

http://www.healthandfitnesstv.com/dna_2.html

Arginine or NO supplements jam up your DNA repair processes causing DNA to misreplicate. Although you won't find this on any website but trust me on this one guys. Your already produce nitric oxide as a natural by product of exercise but when u pump a hell of a lot more in via supplements this creates problems.

^^^ ill try to write a more detailed explanation of this and possibly some studies

Also Sytemic Enzymes - Vitalzym

http://www.return2health.net/enzymes.html

 

[tim290280]

^^

As I said in your thread there is no sound science supporting the claim that NO causes DNA and other health problems. What little work has been done actually talks about it in terms of its affects on mental health.

But I agree that nitrous oxide or arginine supplements are the biggest waste of money. Right up there with glutamine.


GOOD SUPPLEMENTS:
Whey
Casein
Creatine
Fish oil
BCAA (although I don't see the point if you are taking a complete protein)
EAAs (ditto)
Leucine (although I'm not completely sold on extra supplementation of it over and above protein powders)
Multivitamins
ZMA
Glucosamine/Chrondrotin

 

[PistolPete]

..

 

[PistolPete]

Also, I'm going to X2 Tim's suggestions. All very solid supplements. Basics are best!

I'll add one more though, beta alanine!

 

[Hypocrisy86]

good thing to do

Mix together the following
BCAAs, creatine, with protein.

i mix
BCAAs, creatine, protein , glycergrow (controlled labs), Pure taurine, and d-ribose powder in a shaker, and drink after, and will exclude the protein and drink/sip while working out.
works wonders

 

[Beefcake]

Supplements that work:
Consuming small children in protein shake form every morning
Eating several farm animals throughout the course of the day
Drinking the blood of an alpha male silverback gorilla

 

[tim290280]

^^ You forgot consuming fetus' for stem cells in order to improve cell repair.

 

[Bulkboy]

regards to havoc, the stuff is bloody awesome as!

havoc is not a supplement though, its a steroid.

as far as supplements worth taking, heres my list

protein
creatine
omega
bcaa's
vitamin c
multivitamin

thats it, i would say personally though, that whats done most for me is when i started supplementing with protein powder and creatine.

 

[MetalMX]

^^

As I said in your thread there is no sound science supporting the claim that NO causes DNA and other health problems. What little work has been done actually talks about it in terms of its affects on mental health.

But I agree that nitrous oxide or arginine supplements are the biggest waste of money. Right up there with glutamine.


GOOD SUPPLEMENTS:
Whey
Casein
Creatine
Fish oil
BCAA (although I don't see the point if you are taking a complete protein)
EAAs (ditto)
Leucine (although I'm not completely sold on extra supplementation of it over and above protein powders)
Multivitamins
ZMA
Glucosamine/Chrondrotin

NO causes problems in excess obvioulsly as a natural by product of exercise it won't cause you any harm im talking about actually supplementing with the stiuff. Im not the only person talking about this. Have a look... if you need scientific back up you can ask a guy named Matrix on that forum he can back it up. These are all very new theorys which as far as i have seen/researched/read are very true.

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/male-anti-aging/116747-why-do-l.html

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/male-anti-aging/114485-undermethylation-overmethylation.html

As far as supplements go i would say:

Whey

Creatine

Digestive Enzymes (amylase, protease, lipase, cellulase) + Betaine Hydrochloride and possibly pepsin. because after all its not about how much you eat but how much you absorb.

Casein sucks because most people are allergic to dairy and or lactose. (allergies are a hidden cause of a lot of things look it up guys sheesh )

Fish Oil is good for some people bad for others. Those with low cholesterol or triglycerides near the low side its not very good for.

EFA's (Udo's Oil complete omega 3,6,9 needs)

I'd say glutamine works in 5-10g daily doses. improves immunity, reduces intestinal permiability, heals the gut lining. Is useful for periods of high stress e.g. training a lot of days a week which depletes glutamine levels.

Reset A.D. which helps the adrenals handle stress. Lowers cortisol.

SAMe (S-Adenosyl L-Methionine)

Reason why sam-e works is because it replenish glutathione levels in hard working athletes. Creatine is the main fuel that is used up to produce sam-e. So people that are undermethylated need more creatine then usual because of hard traniing and increase need for sam-e production to produce gluthione to combat free radicals. Make sense. All hard working athletes should be on a small dosage of sam-e just to keep things balanced. No wonder athletes end up with depression because of depletion of sam-e. No need for paxil..


Mineral Blend (ZMA decent, this is a lot better)

http://www.nutraplanet.com/product/millennium-sport-technologies/zmk-120-tabs.html

With selenium, chromium, molybdenum, vanadium to name a few.

Also for those who can afford it Intravenous Vitamin C is excellent for recovery/healing and it will increase your gains tremendously. I go to clinic where i get 30grams of Intravenous Vitamin C, B Vitamins + Glutathione (the bodys master antioxidant needed for detoxification).
Afterwards im buzzing around with subnormal energy for a week.

 

[tim290280]

NO causes problems in excess obvioulsly as a natural by product of exercise it won't cause you any harm im talking about actually supplementing with the stiuff. Im not the only person talking about this. Have a look... if you need scientific back up you can ask a guy named Matrix on that forum he can back it up. These are all very new theorys which as far as i have seen/researched/read are very true.

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/male-anti-aging/116747-why-do-l.html

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/male-anti-aging/114485-undermethylation-overmethylation.html

These are the only links of any substance and reference to this "phenomenon" that I've found when searching for info. I'm not saying that it can't occur from NO supplementation, but it is rather unlikely as arginine is part of our daily dietry intake and you said it yourself that NO is produced as a bi-product of exercise. So for a theory to have arisen in the dark (so to speak) without some of the other studies picking up this theory as side-effects sounds like spurious nonsense.

Although I look forward to being proven wrong, as it would be another reason not to waste money on NO products as they don't help build muscle.

As far as supplements go i would say:
Casein sucks because most people are allergic to dairy and or lactose. (allergies are a hidden cause of a lot of things look it up guys sheesh )

I posted something on this recently. The actual rates of dairy/lactose intollerance (which is one in the same) depend entirely on your heritage and exposure to dairy over your lifespan. Those of european descent have very low rates of lactose intollerance (4-12%) while asian and african descendants can be closer to 60%. But this is also relative to exposure. It is your bodies ability to process lactose with the correct enzymes that is the issue. People from African heritage haven't traditionally consumed a lot of dairy and as a result haven't got a large production of the enzymes that process lactose. So the environmental effect of not consuming it can actually play a large part in intollerance. If you haven't consumed a lot then your body down regulates the enzyme production and you will have intollerance. Quite simply consuming dairy will promote the enzyme production, and the level you can consume at will vary from SFA to gallons.

 

[The_KM]

Nitric oxide is garbage, the results are illusive and usually vary depending on what your mind wants to tell you at that given moment. If you have money to place towards supplements, you might as well economize it by spending it on supplements where the "clinically tested" pretext applies.

I've heard blood pressure can fluctuate when you take NO and isn't the best option for people with a severe case of hypertension. Based on what I've read which may not be entirely accurate, is that it fucks with your diastolic and systolic blood pressure. This, then, can lead to vasoconstriction to the brain causing the occasional dizziness during training. I'm not sure if this validated as correct but it's an idea to work upon I guess.

Regardless this shit sucks. Teenagers hype over this stuff because of the misconception that the vascularity and fullness from it is permanent.

 

[Braaq]

^^

As I said in your thread there is no sound science supporting the claim that NO causes DNA and other health problems. What little work has been done actually talks about it in terms of its affects on mental health.

But I agree that nitrous oxide or arginine supplements are the biggest waste of money. Right up there with glutamine.


GOOD SUPPLEMENTS:
Whey
Casein
Creatine
Fish oil
BCAA (although I don't see the point if you are taking a complete protein)
EAAs (ditto)
Leucine (although I'm not completely sold on extra supplementation of it over and above protein powders)
Multivitamins
ZMA
Glucosamine/Chrondrotin

Completely agree with all the highlighted above. These are the "essential" supps that I believe all bodybuilders or athletes should take regularly.
As for Leucine/Isoleucine I have read studies that show that it alone prevents protein degradation as well as promoted protein synthesis, whereas Glutamine supplementation did not. I do agree that with protein supplementation it may not be necessary. But if you were to take a single amino, I would prefer this over the rest.

As for NO supps, I take have an EndoRush before every workout. Not because I believe it promotes hypertrophy, I know this is false. I like the feeling mentally and the pump. If I enjoy the way I feel during a workout I believe psychologically it can help you that much more. That is important as well IMO, even though one can train just as effectively without it. If you don't have the money I would not buy it for the reasons stated by KM and tim

The most important thing to remember is that no supplement should replace food, that should be the backbone and standard for your bodybuilding goals. Supplements are just that, they are to supplement your diet not replace it. Eat big, get big. Simplistic but a rather logical approach.

 

[Lymbo]

Which supplements are worth there money?

CLA & ZMA...cheap and they work for both men and woman

 

[akita]

What do you guys think about Hydroxycut?Any users?

 

[tim290280]

What do you guys think about Hydroxycut?Any users?

I think that the research shows too many of these studies:

Title: Two patients with acute liver injury associated with use of the herbal weight-loss supplement hydroxycut.
Personal Authors: Stevens, T., Qadri, A., Zein, N. N.
Author Affiliation: Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH 44118, USA.
Editors: No editors
Document Title: Annals of Internal Medicine

Abstract:

Two case reports are presented of severe hepatotoxicity associated with the use of the weight-loss herbal supplement Hydroxycut, comprised of calcium, chromium, potassium, Garcinia cambogia, Gymnema sylvestre leaf extract, glucomannan, α-lipoic acid, willow bark extract, L-carnitine, green tea leaf extract, caffeine, guarana [Paullinia cupana] extract, silica, gelatin and cellulose. The first patient, a 27-year-old male, presented with 8 days of fatigue and jaundice. He had been taking Hydroxycut for 5 weeks, 3 tablets 3 times per day. Laboratory analysis revealed serum aspartate aminotransferase level of 1808 U/litre (normal 5-50 U/litre), serum alanine aminotransferase level of 3131 U/litre (normal 7-40 U/litre), bilirubin level of 133 µmol/litre (normal 0-26 µmol/litre), alkaline phosphatase level of 171 U/litre (normal 40-150 U/litre), albumin level of 39 g/litre (normal 35-50 g/litre), prothrombin time of 16 seconds (normal 9-13 seconds), and a platelet count of 208×109 cells/litre (normal 150-400×109 cells/litre). The aminotransferase levels peaked on hospital day 2. Four weeks later, results of the liver function tests improved substantially. The second patient, a 30-year-old man, presented with 10 days of jaundice, fever, vomiting and fatigue. For 5 days between the 16th and 11th days before presentation, he had been taking 9 tablets of Hydroxycut per day. Except for jaundice and minimal abdominal tenderness, the results of physical examination were normal. Laboratory analysis revealed a serum bilirubin level of 133 µmol/litre, alkaline phosphatase level of 530 U/litre, aspartate aminotransferase level of 59 U/litre, serum alanine aminotransferase level of 45 U/litre, albumin level of 28 g/litre, a prothrombin time of 15 seconds, and platelet count of 217×109 cells/litre. An abdominal computed tomography scan and endoscopic retrograde cholangiogram were negative. On hospital day 4, liver biopsy revealed cholestatis and portal inflammation. The laboratory abnormalities improved, and the patient was discharged on hospital day 9. Two months later, the results of liver tests were normal.

Admitedly the dosage isn't recommended to be above 8 tablets per day.

Either way the efficacy of it doesn't really seem to be any good:

DIFFERENCES IN BODY COMPOSITION BETWEEN USERS AND
NON-USERS OF HYDROXYCUT
Aaron J. Miller, Adam L. Sturgis, Michael R. McHorney, Michael J. Sinz
University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, WI

Abstract.
The very popular Hydroxycut has been a substance that has been scrutinized for the lack of knowledge about its long term side effects. There has not been, however, a lot of research done on the actual intended effects of Hydroxycut on a person’s body composition. We have taken this issue and have studied the effects of Hydroxycut on someone who uses it as a daily supplement verses someone who does not use it as a daily supplement. Seven Males between the ages of 22 and 23 were tested for body fat percentage using bioelectrical impedance at the beginning and end of a three week training period. Four of the subjects were required to supplement Hydroxycut daily, along with designated exercise. The other three subjects performed the daily exercise but did not supplement Hydroxycut for weight
loss. At the end of the three week trial, we found very interesting data. The mean body fat percentage, during the three week training period, had actually increased for the hydroxycut using group, while the non-using group’s body fat percentage dropped using the paired-t test. The Hydroxycut user group’s body fat percentage went from a mean of 13.01% up to a mean
of 13.12%. The non-user group’s body fat percentage went from 18.1% to 17.37%. There was no significant difference in loss of body fat percentage in this study, but there was enough interesting information to spark more interest on the topic leading to a hope for more studies to come and discover the short-term/positive effects of the supplement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroxycut

Summary = waste of money.