How do you choose your supplement brand?

[conner]

There are so many different brands out there. How do people choose which one is "best" other than going with the one your favorite friendly influencer is pushing?

I feel like is very similar to the pinned post about influencers trying to sell their secret to X, Y, Z. I'm curious though if people have better reasons for why they choose a certain brand than someone they know or follow, telling them what brand to go with.

I'm about to order more creatine and wondering if I should go with a different brand than what I went with last time (Thorne).

 

[jpf]

@conner I like to check labdoor.com to see their report. It tests things like how much protein is in a scoop compared to what is on the label, as well as things like lead and mercury levels. I stick to brands that get an A rating and from there it's just a price comparison.

 

[tongdtbds3]

@jpf Which brands do you stick to?

 

[jpf]

@tongdtbds3 Usually myprotein for protein and creatine, now foods/sports for various vitamins.

 

[amn]

@conner

1. I would be skeptical of anything being pushed by an influencer, as a baseline for all decision-making.
2. Look for NSF sport-certified, or Informed Sport, and/or cGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practice).
3. If the label says "proprietary blend" and doesn't list the exact amounts of every ingredient, walk away.

By restricting yourself to supplements that NSF Sport certified or Informed Sport certified you're ensuring accuracy for the substances you expect to be there, a lack of contamination, and also a lack of any banned substances. For performance supplements, there is a long and sorted history of unscrupulous brands putting in straight-up steroids to make them "work". And it's also common for the quantities of expected ingredients to be way off.

 

[freethinker711]

@conner Fitness is kind of a three-legged stool. With one leg being training, one leg being diet, and one leg being rest / recovery. I feel like the vast majority of people need to focus on these three things and not to worry so much about supplements.

With that said, if you got the above three things nailed down, find yourself a good cheap creatine and a good protein powder. Then you can consider fish oil and vitamin d or maybe a multivitamin. I've heard some folks like pre-workouts but to be honest I just drink coffee in the mornings anyway.

I wouldn't worry too much about what influencers are saying. If someone has provided you with something--for example coaches made a free workout plan that you found effective--and they're promoting a product, then maybe go with that. Otherwise I would put marketing has having almost zero value whatsoever.

To be honest, I primarily take supplements due to my personal health needs and see it a supplement to my health rather than supplementing my training. For example, I had some involuntary spasms in my triceps. Looking into it I found it was somewhat common for people who trained hard and sweat a lot and some people suggest to try magnesium. So I tried it. Almost immediately the spasm stopped. I was doing other things at the same time and I don't know that it was the magnesium, but I think it is. I'm just staying this as an example. If you're getting a lot of inflammation, you might want more fish oil. If you got a lot of gut problems, you might consider a probiotic. Listen to your body and see what you need.

Anyway that's my two cents

https://thefitness.wiki/faq/what-supplements-are-good-to-take/

 

[conner]

@freethinker711 Thanks for the response. I feel like I've got a decent tripod going, but I'm still fairly new to consistency so I'm still dialing things in quite a bit. I definitely appreciate the idea of focusing on these areas, but of course I also want to maximize my progress which has led me down the path of supplements.

Yeah, it's become clear that plenty of the people I follow should be treated with plenty of skepticism especially when they're talking about a product.

Thanks for the wiki page. I'm surprised protein isn't listed there, but I do see other pages dedicated to it, to read through.

 

[freethinker711]

@conner Yeah, if you haven't read the fitness wiki yet, I'd recommend spending all the time you were spending watching influencers and focusing on reading and rereading the fitness wiki. To be honest , it answers the vast majority of questions posted here.

 

[just4paulok]

@freethinker711 Oh this is interesting. I get these spasms all the time after hard workouts, sometimes lasting days. Maybe I need to try magnesium.

 

[farmgal30]

@conner Whatever is cheapest and tastes good

 

[dowthut]

@conner I check out the research and studies and figure out what doesn't have all the junk and fillers in it, this was especially important when choosing a protein powder for me.

 

[geaniebeanie]

@conner I chose Muscle Feast because 5 years ago (give or take) Labdoor had top ratings for them and they had a "Grass fed, hormone free" protein powder. I haven't had any complaints about it, so I've stuck with it for my shake.

8 oz Fairlife fat free milk

1/2 frozen banana

1 scoop Muscle Feast chocolate powder

2 table spoons PB2

1 table spoon ground flax seed.

1/2 cup rolled oats.

Great shake.

 

[mehr]

@conner Whatever the guy at GNC brand is pushing.