While constantly promoting proper nutrition, primarily in the advocation of the Paleo diet, we get a lot of questions about nutritional supplements.
So, I thought I would share with you all what we (the Munsons) actually take.
Now, before you read the rest of this post, I do want to make clear that some of the supplements we take and will be talking about here, we also sell at the gym. That being said, I’m not talking about them here just to sell them. But, you can rest assured that if we sell it, we sell it because we also use it.
The next thing I want to make clear is that no nutritional supplement in existence replaces the need for real food. So, before you consider including any of the nutritional supplements discussed here, or anywhere, please make sure you are already following a semi-strict to strict Paleo diet first.
Its worth repeating, please make sure you have your nutrition in order before adding any supplement to your regimen.
You will probably notice if you click on any of the linked items below that I’ve linked Lucky Vitamin quite a bit. That’s because after all my years of research, I have found Lucky Vitamin to have just about the best balance of low prices (believe me, I’m a deal hound!) and wide and thorough selection. I’m sure with enough effort I could find better deals out there on occasion on certain products, but their service is very good and they’ve pretty much always had what I’m looking for.
We are not necessarily married to any particular brand or label of supplements. For some things, I do have my favorites, but for others I simply shop around and try to find the best deal on a product from a company with a good reputation for quality. If I am really sold on any specific brand or supplement, I will definitely say so.
The last thing I want to say here is that in a perfect world, where all our food came from animals and plants that were 100% healthy and were grown/lived exactly the way nature intended, most (if not all) of what you see below would not be necessary. But, that’s not the world we live in and even though we are trying hard to switch over to 100% grass-fed, free-range, natural animals and produce, we aren’t there yet. So, we do supplement.
1st Tier: Vitamins – Minerals – EFAs (Essential Fatty Acids)
We could probably break this whole 1st Tier into 2 parts; Primary – Fish Oil and Multi-vitamin/mineral, and Secondary – all the rest.
Primary
Fish Oil
This is probably the supplement we take the most of and the one we take with the most consistency.
Omega-3 fatty acids are a vital part of your fatty acid nutritional needs. Specifically, the EPA and DHA Omega-3s which you can only get from diet, most commonly from cold-water fish. You are looking for at least somewhere between 3-5 total grams per day of EPA and DHA combined (even more in some cases). It’s a lot, I know. Most fish oil capsules are a 1g dose but only contain about 300mg of total EPA/DHA. So, that comes out to between 10 and 16 pills per day. WOW, right!?
Matt – 12 per day – 3 at breakfast, 4 at lunch, 5 at dinner.
Pam – 10 per day – 3 at breakfast, 3 at lunch, 4 at dinner.
Alyx (14) – 3-6 per day – 1-2 at each meal
Mia (11) – 3 per day – 1 at each meal
Not really stuck with any brand. If its on sale, we buy Central Market (HEB) EPA & DHA 250 Softgels at HEB. I also like NOW Foods Omega-3 and Ultra Omega-3. I’ve also heard good things about Nordic Naturals and Carlsons Labs, but we haven’t tried any of their Omega softgels.
Multi-Vitamin/Mineral
If your nutrition is good, it probably isn’t really necessary to take a multi-vitamin/mineral everyday and certainly not at the mega doses that a lot of supplement companies are recommending today. For the most part, we take Super Nutrition Opti-Energy Pack (Iron Free Easy Swallow). Recommended dosage is 3 packets (4 tablets – 2 vitamin pills and 2 mineral pills) per day (12 total per day – 6 vitamin pill and 6 mineral pills). We don’t take anywhere near that amount.
Every other day or so, we include 1 vitamin pill and 1 mineral pill with one of our meals (2 people sharing a pack). Pam and I probably take the multi-v/m 3-4 times per week, but we only have the girls taking it 1-2 times per week. Not only is this a more appropriate approach to multi-v/m, it also makes the box go a long way!
Secondary
Magnesium
200-400mg per day, most days of the week. Lots of good brands out there and lots of good forms of magnesium. For the most part, you want to stay away from the oxides and stick with any form of chelate (citrate, malate, aspartate, etc.). Currently we are taking NOW Foods Magnesium Citrate 200mg – 1 per day with dinner for me and Pam.
Vitamin E
200-400 IU per day. Be sure and take your vitamin E with a fat containing meal or along with your fish oil, since vitamin E is a fat soluble vitamin. Currently we are taking NOW Foods E-400 – 1 per day almost every day for me and Pam.
Vitamin C
We get a decent amount from the multi-v/m we take throughout the week, but we also get 1000mg (1g) vitamin C from Alacer Emergen-C, a drink packet we take almost every day. In addition to 1000mg vitamin C, it also contains a host of other energy related vitamins and minerals including important electrolytes. Think of it as a very healthy Gatorade, only better, and without all the sugar! You can find these almost anywhere; Target, Walmart, grocery stores, or at Lucky Vitamin which I linked.
CLA
Conjugated Linoleic Acis is an important (vital) component of fat metabolism (your body’s ability to actually use it’s body fat stores for fuel). 3-4g per day. Currently we take PrimaForce Max CLA. Pam and I each take 3 per day, 1 with each of the day’s main meals.
ALA
Alpha Lipoic Acid is a powerful antioxidant and increases muscle uptake of glycogen and utilization of glucose (helps regulate blood sugar). 300-500mg per day. Currently we take PrimaForce Pure ALA. 1 capsule for Pam and myself with dinner.
CoQ10
Coenzyme Q10 is a powerful antioxidant, is highly involved in energy production processes and promotes good heart health. 100-300mg per day. Currently we take TruNature CoQ10 100mg, which I picked up at Costco. 1 softgel per day with breakfast for Pam and myself.
2nd Tier: Protein
Protein Powder
Protein powder and protein shakes is the topic of many discussions regarding nutritional supplements. One thing you will never ever hear us say is that a protein shake is suitable for replacing a real-food meal. Never. Ever. Many of you have asked me before if having a protein shake is ok for breakfast since you are pressed for time, etc., etc., and my answer is always no. Get up earlier or something, but don’t ever think that anything other than real food is acceptable for a meal.
Protein powders and shakes do have their place in the athlete’s regimen, however. There is a window of opportunity (nutritionally and recovery speaking) 30-60 minutes following high intensity exercise where your body is literally starving and screaming for nutrition. During high intensity exercise, you have damaged muscle tissue and depleted the body of fuel resources. There is no better time for rapid uptake of protein and carbohydrates and fats (healthy). Enter protein powder. Take in a high quality whey protein isolate (20-30g for women, 30-40g for men) along with some easily digestible carbs (banana, sweet potato, grapes, etc.) within 30 minutes of training and you will do alot for your recovery process. Follow that with a real-food meal within 1-2 hours and you’re all set for recovery (nutritionally speaking).
There a a lot of good protein powder brands and products out there. Look for a whey protein isolate from a reputable company. If you have questions about a particular product, just ask me or Pam. Currently we use (and, yes, sell) Proto Whey by BNRG but we are also looking into and thinking about switching to Integrated Supplements Whey Protein Isolate.
Protein Bars
There are a lot of protein bars and meal bars on the market right now, and in our honest opinion, they are all garbage, with one exception. The BNRG Power Crunch Bar is the only protein bar we will eat. Instead of consisting primarily of soy and/or callogen like most bars, the Power Crunch bar’s protein content is from whey and milk proteins. The rest of the ingredients is a very small list. And, with the exception of a little wheat flour, we consider it to be Paleo friendly (14g protein, 12g fat, 10g carbohydrate – nicely balanced actually). Even though they taste really, really good, we limit ourselves to 1 per day. They are a decent snack, but not a full meal replacement.
3rd Tier: Other Supplements Worth Considering
If you really, really have your diet dialed in and are looking for an extra edge in your nutritional make up and in your athletic performance, you might consider some of the following.
Mass Aminos – Protein Hydrosylate Amino Acids
Extremely high quality protein supplement. Peptide-bound amino acids (PBAAs) like those found in MASS Aminos have been shown to be absorbed faster, and increase nitrogen retention as much as 16 times compared to a mixture of free amino acids and nearly twice as much as regular food. Dual Anabolic/Anti-Catabolic Effects: The intact protein molecules in MASS Aminos, being more slowly absorbed, provide consumers with longer-term anti-catabolic benefits, whereas the small PBAAs are principally “high-speed anabolic” in nature. When we are training hard, Pam takes 3 tablets with every meal and I take 4 tablets with every meal.
Ultra-40 – Liver Tablets
Ultra 40 is a nutrient dense protein food (in tablet form) derived from raw Argentinean beef liver that is concentrated by vacuum drying at a low temperature. It is free of fats, carbohydrates, and any food additives. Ultra 40 comes from grass fed, steroid free Argentinean beef and is the most potent liver product on the market. The concentration process removes unwanted calories and the addition of B-12 enhances protein metabolism. When we are training hard, Pam takes 3 tablets with every meal and I take 4 tablets with every meal.
Creatine
Creatine is an energy–related nutrient formed in the body from the amino acids arginine, methionine, and glycine. Creatine is directly involved in a process which allows our bodies to rapidly regenerate the energy molecule known as adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. Under periods of high energy demand or physical exertion, the amount of work (both physical and mental) we are able to perform is often limited by our bodies’ ability to rapidly regenerate ATP. There are way to many good creatine products on the market to list them all. Currently we take Creatine Select by Beverly International. We are also looking into Integrated Supplements 100% Creapure Creatine Monohydrate and Con-Cret.
Glutamine & BCAAs
Without getting into all the science, glutamine and the branched-chain amino acids leucine, isoleucine and valine are all important parts of protein synthesis (the building/repairing of muscle). Deficiencies in them can also lead to the breakdown of muscle tissue under high levels of high intensity activity. Think of supplementing with glutamine and bcaa’s as supplying your body abundantly with the most important amino acids used in maintaining an anabolic state (repair and regrowth). Currently we use Glutamine Select by Beverly International, which has both glutamine and bcaa’s in the mix. There are lots of other good brands out there, though, of both glutamine and bcaa’s and mixes of the two.
