by Ashley Koff, RD
Question: In your opinion which are the top five supplements that men should take everyday?
Thanks for your question Carlos but to answer it would mean I think all men have the same nutritional needs – and that’s, well, a huge, unhealthy, oversimplification. Your supplement needs are impacted by your sex certainly, but more so your health status, your life stage (not just your age), your family history, your actual nutrition intake, and your personal health goals. So rather than give you 5 supplements for all men, let me give you some tips on how to identify what you need.
Tip #1: have an updated health personal profile – labs, measurements, mental as well as physical health assessment, and family history info. Ideally your doctor can help you with all if this but there are also apps like AskMD that help you amass all of this in one place.
Tip #2: don’t supplement worse than your diet choices – this may sound like a no-brainer but I can’t tell you how many people tell me how “quality” they’ve made their diet only for me to look at their supplements which are full of chemistry lab projects – how do you intend to build strong bones from chalk or concrete or help your immune system with synthetic vitamin isolates?!
Tip #3: identify your personal health goals – reduce negative impact of stress (even the kind that comes from awesome workouts)? What about help support the body’s detoxification efforts? Perhaps it’s that you do great nutritionally at home but need support when you travel and have less access to your quality go-to’s.
Tip #4: consider all the areas of nutrition you get from food: vitamins, minerals, fats, phytonutrients (antioxidants and more). Your supplements should help support you across all of these so essential fats as well as tougher to get vitamins and quality phytonutrients.
Tip #5: what does your actual nutrition intake often miss? Are you dairy-free, gluten-free, grain-free, missing veggies, skipping fruits, dislike herbs and spices etc? Look to the nutrients you could be missing here.
Tip #6: are you taking medications that could reduce absorption of certain nutrients?
And if all of this only confuses you further, I am here to help with a supplement evaluation appointment – many of my clients do this annually or when life stages or health/ health goals change.
OK and because I know you really just want to know – where this typically nets out is:
1) a quality daily supplement that delivers organic minerals especially – I like New Chapter’s Every Man
2) an additional source of magnesium – I advise Natural Vitality CALM
3) a quality source of all the essential fats you would get from fish, in their whole food form – I like New Chapter Wholemega
4) a blend of herbs and spices that help support a healthy immune response – I like New Chapter Zyflammend
5) support for healthy digestion – a quality probiotic (see AKA supplement list www.AshleyKoffApproved.com/ak-list and Symbiotics
For many men, I increase detoxification support with OncoPlex (Xymogen) to get added SGS glucoraphanin & I almost always recommend Coq10 a most potent antioxidant (especially key if you take a statin.)