I Researched 100+ Supplements: The Truth About What Actually Works

[00:02] supplements. You might be wondering, why would I do that? Well, I was doing research for my upcoming book, The New Science of Supplements, and I wanted to what's complete nonsense about supplements. Because the problem with

[00:15] information online is not based on real science. So, in this video, I'm going to break down the supplements that are most effective and most evidence-based, the evidence, and the ones that are in the promising category but not proven yet.

[00:29] All right, so let's go through the supplements. We'll start with the top evidence supplements, basically the supplements that have the most evidence, and particularly evidence from human clinical trials, because that's a higher

[00:41] standard of evidence than relying on animal studies or some observational actual human randomized controlled trials. So, in this list, I'll go have been proven or have a more evidence-based from human clinical

[00:55] trials. Number one, creatine, probably the most researched supplement in the world, has probably a thousands over a thousand studies probably by now. is a muscle-building supplement or it supports physical exercise,

[01:10] but the there you know, biggest evidence for creatine comes from uh increasing power, not necessarily muscle mass or even muscle strength. Uh the biggest benefit of creatine is that it increases muscle power and speed and

[01:24] like an extra gear when it comes to speed and uh power. Uh because it helps to recycle uh or produce like this phosphocreatine that is used for muscle contractions. Then, the second biggest evidence from

[01:38] the human studies is uh reducing muscle damage. So, basically helps with better recovery. And yes, if you recover faster, you have bigger muscle power, uh then yes, it will also translate to bigger strength and um you know,

[01:55] creatine alone without resistance training does not build muscle. So, you need to have some aspect of this resistance training to still like build muscle when supplementing creatine. And the muscle growth effect of creatine is

[02:10] not that large compared to the increased power and even strength for that matter. creatine I would say is the counteracting sleep deprivation. So, um

[02:22] it's gone viral pretty much over the last few years that uh creatine helps to make up for lost sleep in terms of restoring your cognition to a normal baseline. When you're sleep deprived, you know, over 20 hours of being awake,

[02:37] then your cognition drops. Attention, memory, focus drops, and creatine helps to bring it back to baseline. Your brain uses a lot of creatine, so that's why it uh works the way it does work. We'll cover, you know, what is

[02:51] and what's not proven by other supplements later, but we'll continue Astaxanthin, I would say the biggest evidence for astaxanthin is the skin UV protection that uh is a powerful antioxidant, is a

[03:07] carotenoid that protects your skin against the UV radiation. UV radiation is the number one cause of skin photoaging. And uh you know, over the course of decades, you would see a huge difference

[03:21] if uh you're chronically exposed to excessive amounts of UV radiation on uh hyperpigmentation, sunspots, all those things. And astaxanthin, at least based

[03:34] on these uh clinical trials, would reduce some of that uh damage from the Now, this doesn't mean that the sun is bad. Of course, the sun is essential for health, and you need healthy amounts of sun exposure, but um you know, just

[03:47] increasing your skin's resilience against the sun is a good idea. And astaxanthin is one of the most you know, proven and most powerful In terms of skin anti-aging, then it does, you know, by protecting the skin

[04:00] against UV radiation, it also helps to postpone or reduce some of the wrinkle development from excess UV radiation. Uh it's not the you know, it's not as proven as something like retinol or something else

[04:13] there is a decent amount of some human clinical trials showing that it does have some skin anti-aging benefits. Lowers inflammation, so uh arguably lowers the inflammation caused by the excess UV radiation in the skin,

[04:27] helps to also lower some inflammatory markers. inflammation levels, then um you know, if you have like higher inflammation, then um

[04:42] humans. Eye health, so this is interesting as well, because uh the carotenoids, they appear to accumulate a lot in these um organs that have a lot of mitochondria,

[04:58] such as eyes or the brain. And um astaxanthin also has been seen to have benefits on eye health. Uh lipids, so it does lower lipids a So, like uh cholesterol. Haven't seen any evidence for

[05:11] triglycerides, but uh for LDL cholesterol, it at least it does. So, but the effects is is very small, very modest. supplement, and I think it goes very under the radar, uh the

[05:26] garlic, because, you know, it has some side effects, like if you take um blood pressure medication or blood thinners with garlic, then it can cause uh contraindications. So, you know, you definitely don't want to take garlic

[05:39] medications, but for, let's say, a semi-healthy person who's not taking any medications, they just want to, you know, improve their lipids a little bit. They want to improve their blood sugar a little bit, maybe support their blood

[05:51] pressure slightly. Then the garlic has quite a lot of human clinical trials showing that it works for those effects. So, lowering cholesterol and lipids, lowering blood pressure, lowering blood sugar, and supporting

[06:06] applies to all of these supplements, the effects aren't, you know, massive. If you have diabetes, then garlic isn't going to fix it, right? It's not going put you into a normal blood sugar from a diabetic state.

[06:20] sugar, let's say your hemoglobin A1c is 5.5, then garlic can support it a little bit. But it's not going to give you a But it's not going to give you a hemoglobin A1c of 4.5 in of itself.

[06:33] Glycine, so um amino acid, that's like primarily used for glutathione synthesis as well as collagen synthesis. It has been seen to increase glutathione levels, and because of that, it reduces

[06:48] inflammation, and also supports oxidative stress redox balance. oxidative stress redox balance. So, um a generally very well-rounded, as an antioxidant, but because it increases glutathione, it uh can be

[07:01] thought of it as such. So, it's anti-inflammatory. or it is better to boost your glutathione levels with glycine and NAC as the one the next one in this list than it is to take glutathione because

[07:15] you know, like having too much antioxidants in of itself isn't beneficial either for you. So, you need to have this healthy redox balance. So, a small amount of oxidative stress is good for you, but

[07:28] with a precursor, the body produces as much glutathione as it needs to. Whereas, if you take a straight-up antioxidant, then you can't really But the glycine increases glutathione, reduces inflammation. It also supports

[07:42] liver health. It reduces blood sugar and glycation, so helps to lower hemoglobin A1c and improve sleep quality when taken before bed. NAC, N-acetylcysteine, so

[07:56] increases glutathione, reduces inflammation. Now, NAC as a as a more like a medical utilization in a sense, it yeah, specific effects on especially lung conditions that you don't see from

[08:13] other supplements. So, NAC is kind of unique in that sense that um you know, it technically could be categorized as uh like a medicine, like an almost, but it's not.

[08:27] supplement. And the standard utilization of NAC is acetaminophen overdose, so um yeah, it helps to support the liver. Mucolytics in COPD, chronic obstructive

[08:43] pulmonary disease, so lung condition and chronic bronchitis. So, if you're someone who has lung conditions, then NAC has been seen to support those Even improving fertility and insulin sensitivity in PCOS,

[08:57] uh polycystic ovary syndrome in women. Uh it reduces OCD symptoms, respiratory symptoms. Omega-3s, so uh

[09:09] researched supplements out there, and for some reason wrongly vilified on social media in my opinion, omega-3s are very uh yeah, they have a very broad effect. They target multiple organ systems,

[09:25] including the brain, heart, skin, and your endothelial function. of the most important nutrients for health. Of course, you don't have to get them from an omega-3 supplement. You could eat

[09:40] eating fish enough. And um a daily omega-3 supplement can be worthwhile. But, omega-3s help to lower triglycerides first and foremost. So, high triglycerides are one of the primary drivers of insulin resistance.

[09:55] resistance, before hyperglycemia, the first step before that is high triglycerides. The high triglycerides uh suppress insulin production. They lower uh glucose utilization in the sense

[10:08] because triglycerides, you know, they're they're um backbone. So, they're basically like fat as fuel. They uh they're used as a fat fuel source. So, they suppress insulin production, which then keeps your blood

[10:24] sugar also elevated. So, uh insulin sensitivity means that you have low triglycerides. And uh high triglycerides will result in uh worse insulin resistance.

[10:37] status. So, high omega-3 status is associated with reduced heart disease, mortality. So, I think it's a one of those optimize. If you have low omega-3 status, then it is it means that

[10:53] your like inflammation status will be higher. susceptible to inflammation and oxidative stress. So, uh higher omega-3 status just means that your body, your blood is also less

[11:05] uh kind of a little bit more thin rather be bad for clotting. And um yeah, it just is a I think a big priority to optimize the

[11:18] inflammation. So, contrary to popular belief, omega-3s lower inflammation. It's been shown by a ton of randomized human clinical trials. they are like sub-optimal category. Of course, you want to take an omega-3

[11:32] supplement that is high quality, but even your regular, you know, supermarket fish oil doesn't raise inflammation as many people would like to think. clinical trials and lowers depressive symptoms, mostly through lowering a

[11:45] neuroinflammation. So, they're particularly important for the brain, the omega-3s. Taurine, another amino acid that is quite popular, and um taurine is one of those supplements that has quite a lot

[11:57] of human clinical trials, as I've uh noted noticed. blood sugar, lowers lipids, lowers inflammation. So, it targets metabolic syndrome, which is characterized by high waist circumference, low HDL

[12:10] uh high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and high triglycerides. So, taurine helps to target the metabolic syndrome uh And taurine also improves exercise performance, so it targets um supports

[12:24] aerobic exercise, strength not so much, but mostly aerobic exercise. Ashwagandha, so another supplement that people like to dunk on social media. say that it causes anhedonia, like emotionless numbness, etc. Now,

[12:40] it might happen for some people, but regardless of that fact, or regardless of that opinion, uh ashwagandha does consistently reduce stress and anxiety in randomized controlled trials. It

[12:52] lowering cortisol and stress. It improves sleep, mostly by lowering cortisol and stress. And it even has been seen to increase VO2 max in human studies. Melatonin, so um another one of my

[13:05] People think of it as sleep hormone, and as a supplement, it has been seen to improve sleep duration and sleep quality, um but it's a powerful doses, larger doses than what's used for sleep, it also lowers inflammation. So,

[13:19] the doses for this anti-inflammatory effects uh are something like 10 mg, which, yeah, is a very large dose, but um trials. And interestingly, it also lowers lipids

[13:32] and blood sugar. Lutein and zeaxanthin, astaxanthin that the main reason people take these carotenoids is for eye health. And there is human clinical evidence that they

[13:47] improve eye health, reduce eye fatigue, and digital eye strain. But they also improve inflammation and lower oxidized LDL. For skin, so all these carotenoids have

[14:00] benefits for the skin. It improves skin anti-aging similar to astaxanthin that they help to protect the skin against UV protect UV they accumulate in the eyes and the brain.

[14:13] So they also improve cognition and attention this supplemental lutein and attention this supplemental lutein and zeaxanthin in elderly people at least. Turmeric. So turmeric lowers inflammation.

[14:26] And the biggest evidence of I'm the biggest evidence for turmeric is the And uh I guess uh subsequent therapeutic effects is uh, joint pain,

[14:39] There are clinical trials showing that it helps with arthritis. But the turmeric also improves metabolic syndrome, so it targets lipids, blood sugar, and inflammation. Berberine, so called nature's metformin,

[14:55] but berberine is not actually that good in lowering blood sugar. Yes, it does so, but it's not uh, like the number one biggest effect of berberine. The biggest cholesterol. So berberine isn't as good it's worse in

[15:09] lowering blood sugar than metformin. But berberine is better in lowering cholesterol than metformin. It's not it's not as effective at lowering cholesterol as a statin, but it's better at it than metformin.

[15:23] Then uh berberine also lowers blood pressure, lowers inflammation, and targets visceral fat. So, berberine has like antibacterial effects or like helps with gut dysbiosis to a certain extent. So, uh you need to be kind of careful

[15:37] with that if you have if you don't have like gut you know might necessarily don't want to like change your microbiome, then uh you could be kind of uh careful with

[15:52] Vitamin D. So, uh very popular supplement. You don't get all the benefits of the sunlight from vitamin D, but arguably it's better to have artificially elevated vitamin D than to be vitamin D

[16:06] deficient, especially in places like you know, Nordic country countries. Then and you know, most people aren't getting enough sunlight, so I mean it's deficient. Um vitamin D supplements do prevent

[16:20] prevent rickets and help with osteoporosis to a certain extent by promoting bone mineralization. Uh vitamin D supplements also raise but only if you're low in vitamin D. So, you know, there's many reasons why you

[16:33] be zinc deficiency, it could be vitamin D deficiency, it could be calorie deficit. Whatever the case is, if the cause is low vitamin D, then uh testosterone. And the vitamin D supplements also

[16:47] And the vitamin D supplements also improve immunity, although sunlight has additional immune benefits. So, um helps to clear out pathogens. HMB. So, it's a byproduct of leucine.

[17:02] And it's, you know, some people think that it's kind of um like a troll supplement in a sense that it it doesn't have any evidence. Kind of a junk supplement, but uh it does have evidence for

[17:14] muscle preservation in older adults. So, um people who are in either frailty state or who are in a more exercise a ton, maybe like

[17:26] or if you exercise a lot in a fasted state, you could benefit from HMB through uh muscle preservation. So, it reduces muscle catabolism, But, it's not going to make you build more muscle as a person

[17:41] who would be eating enough protein, who would be eating regularly, and who example. So, it does increase muscle preservation, muscle strength, and preservation, muscle strength, and muscle mass, mostly in older uh adults.

[17:54] Essential amino acids and branched-chain amino amino acids, people use it for muscle growth, but the only thing that they actually do for regular people would be reducing muscle soreness.

[18:06] B vitamins. So, uh B1 and others, they help to lower homocysteine. Often times, homocysteine can be high because uh methylation issues, and B vitamins will support that.

[18:20] glycemic control, but mostly if you're actually deficient in B vitamins. If you're adequate in B vitamins, then you know, adding extra B vitamins beyond the going to do anything. Caffeine. So,

[18:35] but it contains caffeine. You can also supplement caffeine. Caffeine as um a molecule is a very well-researched, and it also has very proven benefits, mostly for increasing exercise performance,

[18:51] reducing fatigue, and increasing alertness. So, it you know, surprise if know, yes, it might make you feel agitated if you're not used to the caffeine, or anxious, or just, you know, too hyped up. But, um

[19:05] you know, if you use it correctly, then it does increase exercise performance. And if you use use at the right time. And the same reason it is is why it the tension and memory mostly. Now, of course, if you take too much caffeine or

[19:18] might see a decrease in performance because of being too stimulated. that reason. Uh chromium, so a mineral, helps with blood sugar and lipids mostly.

[19:33] Uh here the evidence suggests collagen peptides specifically, not like regular collagen powder. There's slightly uh collagen peptides being more bioavailable,

[19:47] bypassing some digestion to a certain extent and uh having more bioavailable And you know, there is a controversy about collagen peptides that they um you know, don't improve skin

[20:01] anti-aging like wrinkles and elasticity or that they're only effective in industry-funded studies, but you know, I made a video about it last year. but at the same time then you would also have to ignore the effect the the actual

[20:15] studies where they show an effect. So, um you know, it's fair to say that uh collagen does still have evidence for elasticity at least in skin hydration, but

[20:28] it has to be the type of our like the collagen peptide formulation. Joint pain and function as well, there's uh evidence for that. Lowers blood sugar and glycation mostly because of glycine, lowers blood

[20:40] pressure, lowers lipids. So, the glycine component is the big driver there. Magnesium, magnesium lowers blood pressure, lowers inflammation, supports sleep, and reduces stress. So, it can be a good supplement to take

[20:53] if you are deficient in magnesium. If you're not deficient in magnesium, then the evidence doesn't really support that it would help with sleep. It's only very beneficial for sleep if um

[21:05] you are deficient in magnesium. And stress is something that depletes magnesium, so kind of works through both ways. Glucosamine, another people think that it's like kind of a scam supplement, but it does actually

[21:19] improve joint pain. So, there is evidence out for that. Lithium, so a supplement that is used for bipolar disorder, actually medically, and thought to have mental health benefits. So, it does help with

[21:33] mood stabilization, might improve mood, and improve bipolar disorder. Multivitamin, so the biggest evidence for multivitamin is people and enhances episodic memory in elderly people. Now, the age category of

[21:49] older individuals is important because it in in the elderly people, they tend to undereat food, and they have a pretty bad diet. They eat, you know, very like a narrow select of foods, and the

[22:02] foods they eat tend to be worse in quality, like more processed foods and and such. So, they are more likely to be deficient in certain vitamins and minerals. So, it's not that multivitamin is necessary. It's same with like

[22:14] is necessary. It's same with like vitamin D. If you are getting enough of vitamins and minerals from your diet, then it's not going to do anything. But, that, you know, I take a multivitamin every day just so I can, you know, make

[22:27] and minerals. But, you know, it's more mostly effective for older individuals who have a worse diet. Nattokinase, so popular supplement on social media recently. About the biggest

[22:41] evidence for that is is reduced blood viscosity. So, it helps with blood clotting. Nitric oxide boosters, like citrulline. Uh they do lower blood pressure. In exercise, they increase time to fatigue.

[22:55] They uh improve endothelial function, so uh blood flow and uh circulation, and it that reason. Nicotine, so people have become quite addicted to nicotine over the last few years. I see on on social media all the

[23:10] you know, nicotine pouches, nicotine gums, what's ever whatever, the snooze. Nicotine does improve cognition in low baseline cognition. So, if you're under stimulated or, you know, let's say with bad sleep, some sort of, you know,

[23:26] um mental fatigue, then a nicotine will certainly improve the alertness and attention. But, nicotine also reduces sleep quality and uh it's a vasoconstrictive agent, so it means that

[23:38] nicotine before a gym, for example, then it's reduce the blood flow and then you would maybe need to supplement it with a nitric oxide that booster.

[23:51] Ginger. Uh ginger, another herb that has anti-inflammatory effects, but surprisingly one of the biggest effects in uh human trials is uh reducing nausea,

[24:03] as well as reducing menstrual pain. But, it does also lower inflammation, lower lipids and body weight in people who are either overweight or with high inflammation. Rhodiola rosea.

[24:15] Rhodiola rosea. So, uh rose this is an adaptogenic herb in terms of physical performance, it does increase strength and power and decreases physical fatigue. We'll get We'll get to what

[24:28] they don't do as well later, but I'm just going through what they actually do, these uh supplements. NAD boosters, like NMN, NR and nicotinamide, they all increase NAD levels.

[24:40] against UV radiation. NR, the biggest effect of NR is lowered the best supporting evidence is that the endurance. That is But, it mostly does it in elderly people again who have low

[24:56] NAD levels or uh poor endurance to begin with. As an athlete, you're probably not going to notice a lot from NMN for endurance. to be an anti-aging supplement. It doesn't have any real evidence that it

[25:09] even in animals, but it does lower cholesterol, it does lower blood pressure, it does reduce inflammation and blood sugar uh in human clinical trials, but uh these people are primarily diabetic

[25:22] individuals or overweight individuals. Resveratrol also hinders exercise with that. You definitely don't want to take it exercise. Pycnogenol, so this is a this kind of a

[25:35] tree bark and uh improves lipids, improves vascular disorders, lowers inflammation, and interesting I find. Probiotics, so there's a bunch of

[25:49] could take. The most evidence-based of the most beneficial probiotic strains are Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Saccharomyces boulardii, and Bifidobacterium longum. These are the

[26:04] ones that have the most evidence from human studies. And uh yeah, probiotics, you know, they're not miracle supplements. You some gut problems might benefit more from probiotics, but

[26:17] uh the most researched effect, most consistent effect of probiotics is uh diarrhea. Irritable bowel syndrome as well has uh some evidence, uh H. pylori infection, and just general uh

[26:31] but that is very context-dependent and case-specific. Prebiotics, so inulin, beta-glucans, psyllium husk, pectin, and resistant starch.

[26:45] So, prebiotics actually have a bit more evidence for the general population than So, they lower cholesterol, help with constipation, lower blood sugar, reduce inflammation, reduce homocysteine, and support weight loss.

[26:58] Inositol. So, inositol is um It is also kind of sweet-tasting like glycine, and you get it from like grapefruit in the largest quantities. Inositol

[27:12] cholesterol the most, but the effects aren't uh massive. There's even actually some studies uh human studies with grapefruit juice being very effective for lowering blood sugar in diabetes.

[27:25] Uh zinc. Zinc uh raises testosterone only if your are low. Fixing zinc status is a very like can be a hidden link in uh

[27:39] like can be a hidden link in uh someone's uh low testosterone. that. Lowers blood sugar and lowers lipids if the zinc status is low. Vitamin C.

[27:53] So, lowers inflammation, supports collagen synthesis, is able to treat and prevent scurvy. So, you know, this um basically scurvy, the bleeding gums disease, sailors disease. It's um basically collagen insufficiency

[28:08] in in the gums. So, which results in uh bleeding. So, uh yeah, vitamin C is important component of collagen synthesis, and uh it's worthwhile to, you know, get enough uh dietary vitamin C.

[28:21] Even more than it it's very safe to just, you know, But, you don't necessarily need to supplement it C. Reduces the duration and severity of

[28:34] common colds, particularly in people under physical stress. So, if you are sleep deprived, you do some sort of shift work, you have like a oil rig job, physically demanding, um security guard, or some construction

[28:47] work, then uh you're more susceptible to colds then uh vitamin C in these cases can be great way to additionally support your immune system. Uh wound healing and glycemic control is

[28:59] also uh shown in humans. Theanine, so amino acid found in tea, improves sleep onset and reduces stress and anxiety. So, theanine is often used as a nootropic, but there is not a lot of

[29:13] like nootropic effects of theanine in and of itself. It doesn't have any like regular uh nootropic effects. It's best if you compare or combine it with caffeine, but it doesn't have that much nootropic

[29:25] effects alone. Vitamin E lowers inflammation in and helps specifically with a lipid peroxidation or the oxidation of cholesterol and other lipids, so can be for sure uh useful.

[29:39] Vitamin K, but vitamin E is also very easy to find in a lot of foods. Vitamin K, last one here, reduces the risk of fractures. So, vitamin K1 and K2 both Slows coronary artery calcification, both have been shown to do that in

[29:53] clinical trials, and increase uh bone mineral density. All right, let's move categories that uh have the worst evidence for First, uh BCAAs and E essential amino acids.

[30:08] support muscle growth. Only if you are like deficient in these plant-based diet or a very low-calorie diet, only then you could reasonably expect some muscle growth effects from that, but you know, sipping on your

[30:23] EAAs, especially BCAAs, in between your meals is not going to make you build more muscle. Resveratrol and pterostilbene, so um both of them are in the longevity category, but

[30:35] would extend lifespan, especially pterostilbene. There is you know, maybe some for resveratrol, but pterostilbene uh not so much. And the skin anti-aging as well, they don't have evidence for that. AKG,

[30:47] alpha-ketoglutarate, no evidence that it extends lifespan. kind of iffy. And the human studies are done that they these DNA methylation scores, but you know, that's not proof that it's going

[31:01] to extend uh lifespan. It doesn't also improve aerobic It might, you know, there's some evidence that AKG might increase bench press performance. So, if you take few 3 g of AKG before a workout, then it might

[31:16] increase your bench press performance. There's some studies on that. And uh with wound healing, but it's kind of small amount of studies. I think we might talk about it later. Uh beta-carotene, so a carotenoid,

[31:30] which I would consider as uh one of the least effective carotenoids, it might improve your skin pigmentation that it makes your skin more orange, but um it doesn't have the same evidence as

[31:42] lutein and zeaxanthin or astaxanthin for things like skin photoaging or or uh eye health. And carotena- beta-carotene associated with increased mortality in some uh randomized controlled trials,

[31:57] but the evidence is very weak and the effect is also very weak, so it's hard to, you know, distinguish the signal from the noise. It might also not improve immune or inflammation markers. So, um you know,

[32:10] I would, yeah, consider beta-carotene not like a really reliable supplement. it's not going to increase muscle mass and strength in young adults, especially eating frequently. It might only increase the muscle and strength if

[32:25] under-eating calories, or you train fasted, you take the HMB while in a eat three meals a day with enough protein, then it's not going to do it. either. There some studies looking at it, but it doesn't do it.

[32:40] Glutathione, skin anti-aging, really has no effects on that. not going to improve aerobic performance. Uh studies are showing

[32:54] that. Nicotine is not going to improve cognition in normal cognitive states. So, it only does so in in low cognition. So, sleep deprivation or some some other situation like that. Tribulus terrestris, so it's the most famous

[33:10] old-school testosterone booster, but yeah, I mean, it's not going to increase testosterone. There's a large meta-analysis of a lot of different testosterone boosters, and it doesn't raise testosterone. Urolithin A, so

[33:25] another new longevity supplement that's been hyped up recently, in human clinical trials, it doesn't lower inflammation, so muscle mass and fat mass.

[33:37] the last category. Pycnogenol, not going to lower not going to help with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, which are just, you know, studied. Have They It's has been It's been studied. Horny goat weed,

[33:52] so another testosterone booster, and yeah, it's not going to increase testosterone either. It might increase So, it's it's a named such, horny goat weed, because it apparently makes goats horny.

[34:05] Uh but um yeah, we'll see if it's in the last category. Rhodiola rosea, emotional, and mental exhaustion. So, it it's not going to reduce fatigue if

[34:19] uh exhausted. Vitamin E, reduce wrinkles, so oral vitamin E. Now, the last category, so supplements that need more research. There is some papers that show they

[34:32] might have some benefits. You know, one trial is not going to be enough to say but it's, you know, warrants further research. So, spermidine, popular longevity supplement, it

[34:44] supposedly increases autophagy, which it does so in animal studies, but in human studies, the only kind of reliable effect would be maybe increased cognitive function in elderly people and raising DHEA levels,

[34:58] but these are only very small need more papers for sure to say anything conclusive about spermidine. Senolytics, so fisetin, quercetin, and apigenin,

[35:12] they do decrease senescent cells in humans, that's pretty much it. They're They're considered to be targets for Alzheimer's, cancer, and other aging-age

[35:25] diseases, but they might only lower inflammation at the moment, so we'll see how how it turns out in the future clinical trials. NMN and NR improve metabolic health, support exercise performance slightly, but, you

[35:38] know, we need more evidence. Urolithin A, so this is the popular supplement, and there is a study where they showed urolithin A supplementation increased mitophagy markers, so this mitochondrial

[35:51] autophagy in humans, which has a central role in aging and longevity, but it was based on only six individuals, and um it was taken from something like 27 or

[36:05] it was taken from something like 27 or 29 people in total. 29 people got the supplement, but only six people were reported to have shown increased autophagy mitophagy markers. So, I would like to see a bigger sample size,

[36:17] especially if you cut down the sample size to, you know, a small If you start from 30 and you end up with only six people reporting those markers, then, you know, it's kind of sketchy. You we would

[36:31] people actually showing increased metabolic markers. And the same with increased endurance at VO2 max. There the studies where it supposedly increased endurance was based on like 6-minute walking test

[36:45] in elderly people, but uh you know, that's not a real test of endurance, I would say. And the VO2 max scores as well were not really that significant. Increased muscle strength, so no effect on grip

[36:57] thing was um thing was um increased lower body torque. So So um I would definitely like to see more studies testing the strength as well.

[37:10] And these studies are done on people who don't exercise. So arguably, if you exercised, you wouldn't see any effects. If you exercised and you took urolithin A, you probably wouldn't see any effects on muscle strength or endurance because

[37:23] the exercise would just get you the results. And adding the urolithin A benefits. The same with mitophagy and autophagy. Exercise already increases autophagy and mitophagy, so you know, if you exercise, you probably

[37:36] don't need to take urolithin A. Alpha-ketoglutarate, so there is some healing, but um no specific skin anti-aging effects. But it has a like a mechanism, potential

[37:50] Increased anaerobic performance, so as I mentioned about the bench press performance. So if you take it before workout, then it might help with And improved bone mineral density as well. There is some studies on on this,

[38:04] well. There is some studies on on this, especially postmenopausal women, but um I would But you know, it could be that it's the calcium in cal- in calcium arginine alpha-ketoglutarate, then maybe the effects aren't there.

[38:17] Boron, so interesting mineral, improves bone mineral density in some studies by improving vitamin D status and lowering inflammation and also increasing testosterone and estrogen

[38:30] globulin, which uh binds to your free So, arguably boron is not going to work if your SHBG is already low and if your bone density is already high.

[38:46] I've taken boron, it didn't increase my testosterone or lower my SHBG. My SHBG was lower when I wasn't taking boron because one of the best ways to lower SHBG is to eat more calories, especially

[38:59] SHBG is to eat more calories, especially eat more carbohydrates. things are just to be researched more and I would say that they work only in like particular conditions. So, if you have high SHBG, then it's useful to add

[39:12] Carnitine support weight loss and increase anaerobic performance. So, uh there is some evidence that it might do so, but more evidence is needed. And interestingly, for carnitine, the oral

[39:26] bioavailable. The injectable carnitine is a lot more effective. So, maybe a lot of the other evidence of carnitine could be also dependent of the way you take it. Next, we have creatine. So, creatine um

[39:42] has some evidence that improves recovery from traumatic brain injury even if you take it prophylactically. So, um it doesn't like prevent TBI or treat TBI, but it speeds up some of the

[39:55] recovery. The same with neurodegeneration, it's neurodegeneration or Alzheimer's. There is some of this some studies on the Alzheimer's patients that they have slightly better memory,

[40:09] you know, it's definitely worthwhile to keep brain area. Causing hair loss, so um creatine that it causes hair loss. Now, for some reason some people swear by it

[40:25] that creatine does cause them hair loss, but in an actual clinical study where they gave people creatine, there was no effect on hair loss. And there was also no effect on DHT, dihydrotestosterone,

[40:37] that is thought to be the causal agent for causal link for hair loss. So, it didn't even raise DHT, so there's no like biological explanation why creatine would have caused hair loss. And the old study that kind

[40:49] of perpetuated the idea that creatine causes hair loss is a pretty old study on some football players and you know, they didn't even look at hair loss. They only looked at DHT.

[41:01] presumed that it's going to cause hair loss. But this the latest clinical trial on this didn't show increased DHT levels. if you don't have prior kidney dysfunction. If you have

[41:16] worse kidney function, which we have very high creatinine levels, uh just poor kidney function, then it's best to stop taking creatine, but you don't need to stop taking creatine if you are with normal working kidneys.

[41:29] there are few clinical trials on reducing skin wrinkles and dryness, it's definitely a smaller amount of studies than collagen, for example. Melatonin, so an interesting effect of melatonin is that it potentially could

[41:45] help with BPA excretion. So, um it stimulates the glymphatic system in the brain that in your sleep pretty much detoxifies the brain, flushes out different toxins, including BPA.

[41:58] So, um yeah, having high melatonin in your sleep is the evidence that it's going to definitely, you know, help with microplastic clearance is not there yet, but it's worthwhile to look at it, in my

[42:10] that it really does lower testosterone either. You know, mel- melatonin levels are high before puberty and they drop low stays low. So, if there's the fear that if you take

[42:25] melatonin then it postpones puberty, which there is some evidence for. So, uh children before puberty, if they take melatonin later. But, uh there's no evidence that the

[42:39] melatonin would lower testosterone in adult males. Uh megadosing 100 mg melatonin is also something that I would definitely want actually a surprising amount of studies using this insane amounts of melatonin

[42:53] like 100, 300, 1,000 mg melatonin. But, um I would like to see more well-controlled studies on that. Macular interestingly, melatonin might also protect the eyes

[43:07] and help to prevent macular degeneration. So, more research on that Lithium improved cognition in neurodegeneration, improved cognition in neurodegeneration, so uh Alzheimer's and uh and dementia.

[43:20] There There is a bipolar patients who have taken lithium do appear to have lower risk of dementia. But, there's no like well-controlled randomized controlled trial testing

[43:34] There are some Some of these are randomized controlled trials looking at the effects of lithium on in Alzheimer's patients whether or not it would reduce the pathology or improve their cognition. So

[43:48] far, they haven't been successful. The most recent meta-analysis on a few didn't include the studies that use lithium orotate. So, they used the different types of lithium. And lithium orotate is thought to be the

[44:03] the effective form. So, I would like to see that analysis being replicated with a lithium orotate. Theanine not going to have nootropic effects alone. So, the

[44:18] theanine works best in conjunction with caffeine and mostly by just balancing this stimulatory effect.

[44:30] nootropic effects in of itself. If you are a more like anxious type of supplement for you. If you're a more mellow person, then theanine probably is not going to do anything and it, you know, maybe you

[44:43] anxiety from caffeine, right? So, depends on the person. Lion's mane needs more research on improving memory memory in mild cognitive impairment and to improve cognition overall. There's no

[44:56] Uh nattokinase there are some trials on nattokinase there are some trials on nattokinase improving atherosclerotic plaque, but uh they've they've used different doses. The low dose low dose studies didn't see

[45:10] an effect. High dose studies did see an effect, so we would I would like to see a study that uses all these different different doses and finds the threshold effect. And, you know, more studies can just see. Omega-3s

[45:23] omega-3s don't harm the skin. They actually increase the skin's resilient against UV radiation. Randomized controlled trials have given people omega-3 supplements for 3 months and their skin had lower

[45:37] and bigger protect- greater protection against UV radiation. So, omega-3s like carotenoids protect your skin against UV radiation. And, um there's also studies on

[45:54] skin conditions where omega-3 supplements help to treat that. Of Of omega-3, but there's no evidence that the omega-3s cause inflammation. If If anything, then they actually lower inflammation.

[46:09] And there's the recent study as well where omega-3s co- where omega-3 supplementation use was associated with increased cognitive decline in Chinese people, but you know,

[46:21] there's observation studies which definitely doesn't prove anything. And um there are other randomized control that show that omega-3s actually support

[46:34] trials are much higher quality of evidence than this one observation study. So, there's no evidence that omega-3s are bad for the brain. They have a lot more evidence to support that

[46:47] they are good for the brain. Rhodiola rosea lowers stress and anxiety There's not enough evidence in my opinion yet, just a few uh studies. Pycnogenol reducing atherosclerotic plaque. So, it

[47:02] There are some studies that it does lower plaque, but it's not that well And that's the same with improved cognition and memory. Shilajit So, a supplement that is also popular

[47:15] nowadays, and people take it for testosterone, but there's no like actual very good human control trials testosterone. So, it's mostly mostly based on like

[47:29] And subjective like anecdotal experience. Vitamin C preventing common colds and tongkat ali increasing testosterone in hyp- non-hypogonadal men. So, tongkat ali

[47:45] the few testosterone boosters that might increase testosterone, but it mostly works in men with low testosterone. All right, that's the end of this list. I know this list had a

[47:57] talked about the supplements that have evidence and I talked a little bit less about supplements that don't have evidence. But, if I didn't mention any likely that it doesn't have that evidence. Because, there are a lot more

[48:09] evidence. So, I'm not going to talk about the supplements that don't have the ones that actually have evidence. Check out the new book, The New Science of Supplements on Amazon. But, if you want to see me rank 100 supplements from

[48:22] worst to best, then check out this video next.