The Supplement Pyramid

Common questions I am asked regards nutritional supplements.  I have found in nearly twenty years in the fitness profession most gym goers will use or have used supplements.  Some people have had good or even great success when using them.  Others didn’t notice any changes.  Finally many fitness enthusiasts use them in a “Throw Spaghetti at the Wall” fashion by taking many different kinds and having no idea which ones worked or didn’t work.   Because of that I am going to write numerous posts on different kinds of supplements, their benefits and how to use them.  I am also going to divide the supplements into a pyramid that consists of three levels (Health & Vitality, Fat Loss and Performance) so people can pick which ones would be best according to their needs, goals and budget.

Health & Vitality:
This part of the pyramid will be the basics that pretty much everyone should take to improve health and feel better.  It will be the largest list of supplements.  Most of these products are tablet or capsule form and the posts will cover the following:
1.    Multi-Vitamin
2.    Omega-3
3.    Vitamin D
4.    Greens
5.    Pro-Biotics
6.    Digestive Support (HCL)
7.    Magnesium
8.    Zinc
9.    Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)
10.    Joint Support (Glucosamine)
11.    Melatonin
12.    CoQ10
13.    Glutamine

Fat Loss:
The second level of the pyramid will cover products people should use if they want to lose fat and look better. These products are in addition to the basic foundation supplements they should be taking. Many of these products are in powder form (Protein or Meal Replacements) and these posts will include:
1.    Grass Fed Protein
2.    Vegetarian Protein
3.    Meal Replacement
4.    Lean Source
5.    Chromium

Performance:
These are the supplements that are for athletes who want to gain muscle, are within a month of competing and are consistently taking the Health & Vitality supplements.  During competition products, products that assist with muscle gain as well as products that assist with fat burning will be discussed.  Some of these include:
1.    Adreno-Mend
2.    Relora Plex
3.    Generation UCAN
4.    Creatine
5.    Glutamine
6.    BCAAs
7.    Beta Alanine

Look for future posts to discuss each of the above in more detail starting with the foundation supplements and moving up the pyramid accordingly.