I can't remember the first time I started using nutritional supplements, but it was sometime in my teenage years. I didn't care about them, because I didn't care about nutrition. I used to drink soda, so that will give you an idea as to how deficient my knowledge was. In fact, I once bragged about the time I drank 6 cans of Pepsi (slightly more than half a gallon, or 4 pounds).

Nowadays, I take the following:

1. Vitamin D - Toxic levels are quite difficult to achieve. 15-90 minutes of sunlight produces 10,000 IU and the variation in time is due to the latitudinal exposure and the amount of melanin in the skin. Dark skinned people need more sunlight than light skinned people. This is why when the human race started to spread into Europe, the skin became lighter. I take 4,000 IU per day. Toxicity starts to happens if one exceeds 40,000 IU per day.

2. Fish Oil - This is a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids. I don't know much about them.

3. Lutein, Zeaxanthin - Both are beneficial for the eyes and are naturally found in spinach. I do eat spinach, but one pill is equivalent to a lot of spinach. I thought they would help prevent retinal detachment, but my eye doctor told me "no". He told me they will help to prevent macular degeneration, though.

4. Pycnogenol - This is an extract of pine bark, which is a proanthocyanidin (a type of flavonoid). Flavonoids include all citrus fruits, cocoa, berries, and a lot more. I'd like to do more research on them, but the books are prohibitively expensive.

5. Coenzyme Q10. I take this because it has a synergistic effect when used with Pycnogenol. In other words, they are more effective when used together, rather than separately. CoQ10 also diminishes in the body with age, which leads to significant heart problems. I consider myself old enough to have "age", so I would suspect my body produces less CoQ10 than the average teenager, for example.

6. Resveratrol - This is found in grape seeds, grape skin, red wine, peanuts, and a lot of other sources. Pycnogenol is much more potent, so I'll discontinue using this when my supply runs out. Resveratrol is also a type of flavonoid.

7. Lecithin, Choline and Inositol - I get these from one product, called "Lecithin Granules". They're good for the nervous system, which is why so many athletes take them (better balance). They also help to prevent memory loss due to aging. This is the only supplement I have been taking for more than a decade. The others are relatively new discoveries.

I don't take vitamin A, C, the 8 B vitamins, E, or the two K vitamins. All are very easy to obtain from regular food sources. I have noticed there are a bunch of slick companies marketing products with huge amounts of vitamin B (Red Bull, 5 Hour Energy). All that really does is make a lot of bright yellow piss.

This will prove to be helpful. I've been exercising a lot lately, but sometimes I feel I could use the boosts some of these might provide. Thanks, Jodo!

I take a lot of stuff every morning.  It might just be the placebo effect, but I do generally feel pretty healthy.  I take a regular multivitamin, gingko biloba, glucosamine/chondroitin, lutein, chromium picolinate, and resveratrol.

I take one dose of multivitamin every day with dinner. These ones, to be specific:

http://veganstore.com/veganlife-multivi … 1/240.html

Not only do they provide high levels of B12 (which may be why I'm so damn cheery) but everything is plant and mineral derived, which is very important for my lifestyle. I can feel the difference, and what's really cool is that after I take them my pee is a hilarious shade of fluorescent yellow/green because of how my body assimilates the B12. Yum!

Many medical studies show that vitamin supplements are of little to no benefit. Of course, that depends on if you're getting enough vitamins naturally. I think most doctors would say that getting your daily intake of vitamins through veggies, fruits, and natural foods is by far the best way. Depending on what you do, I can see why some supplements might be beneficial, but for the most part I believe it's nothing more than a placebo effect.

cheers,

-avatar!

To keep my BMI less than 21, I often intake low-calorie foods and then supplements instead, as (hopefully) it helps to inhibit Homeostasis. My father is a pure pig, and I seem to be genetically pretty fattening (once I stop controlling my weight hard, I gain 4 to 5 kilos in every month). I also need to take in enough calcium to suppress impulses to anger over trifles as the aforementioned pig raged for nothing and abused his wife and children, and genetically or not, I seem to share the same tendency.

If it brings just the placebo effect, it's still better than no effect.

How to better supplement my income would be even more useful than how to better supplement my vitamins.

You're welcome, but you should know my reasoning behind the supplementation. The only one I buy because of a recommendation is the lecithin mix. The others, with the exception of vitamin D and lutein and zeaxanthin, are the result of research into solving problems I might have. So you might not need what I take. However, you are a human, and thus either have, or will have, problems. The only one I would recommend is the lecithin mix because of the universal benefits. If you don't live on or very near the equator, then I'd recommend vitamin D. Pycnogenol, omega-3, resveratrol and CoQ10 are simply preventive supplements just in case something else goes wrong.

One could argue that they are placebos, but they're not filled with water. My reasoning is that the body becomes less capable as one ages and therefore requires more help in the form of vitamins, flavonoids, amino acids, etc. Aging is not some thing that only happens to other people. (You only realize that when you get older yourself.)

  However...

  I had horrific floaters in my left eye a few years ago that made it difficult to drive, or even to watch movies. After supplementation with lutein and zeaxanthin, the floaters have become far less problematic. My eye doctor didn't recommend them; he confirmed my suspicion. He also told me that floaters are the break-up of the vitreous humor, which I didn't know.

  I don't need to take omega-3 because I could get the same thing from fish. But fish is very expensive in the middle of the U.S. - and not that fresh. It's much more cost effective for me to buy the pills.

  Pycnogenol is an antioxidant and since I have no desire to actually eat pine bark, I take the supplement.

It might not be totally vegan (laughs). That's because ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) is made by plants and invertebrates. Considering the ubiquitous nature of our exoskeletal friends, I think it would be hard to ensure all of the D2 comes from plants.

Less costly hospital bills is one possible result of supplementation. Therefore, this can also supplement your income by allowing you to save more of it. The impetus behind part of this is money. I'd rather spend $1000 per year on supplements than $1000 per month on hospital bills. I don't live like the future doesn't exist. It will be here and I want it to be as painless as possible.

Pangea is a completely ethical vegan company and doesn't use any products from animals, big or small. I'm positive that the ergocalciferol is plant-derived. Check the "Supplemental Forms of Vitamin D" on this page:

http://vegetarian-issues.suite101.com/a … egetarians

I used to work in a vitamin store so my general interest in health and nutrition started there, I mainly take stuff for general health and strength training:

Multi-Vitamin
B-100 Complex
Protein (Whey Isolate and Casein)
L-Glutamine
NOX3 (Nitric Oxide Booster)