Dynamic Dialogue with Danny Matranga - 230: The *ULTIMATE* Supplement Tier List! What is/isn't worth your MONEY!

Episode Date: October 20, 2022

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Welcome in everybody to another episode of the Dynamic Dialogue podcast. As always, this is your host Danny Matranga and today we are going to be going over my supplement tier list. This is a list where we will rank supplements based on their ability to improve markers of performance, to improve markers of performance, health, longevity, muscularity. Now, there are six tiers, the F tier, which is considered to be useless, the D tier, next to useless, the C tier, which we will call situationally advantageous, the B tier, which is good, the A tier, which is great, and the S tier, which I define as being pretty much non-negotiable. and the S tier, which I define as being pretty much non-negotiable. I'll try to give as much context as possible without diving into what I think might be overkill and just fully just

going down the rabbit hole with each and every single one of these supplements, but we'll go ahead and work our way up from the F tier to the S tier, meaning we will start with those that I think are probably less than worthwhile and work all the way up to the ones that I recommend everybody take, regardless of their situation, with the exception of, of course, any contraindications that might be unique to the individual, be them genetic, be them medical, be them, you know, potentially having a less than ideal or optimal interaction with an existing medication. So again, just try to frame this in a more general light. Not everybody can or should take all of these, but we'll work our way from worst to best. Before we dive into

that though, I just need to remind you that I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. So my F tier or the worst tier of regularly purchased consumer supplements are both going to fall into the hormonal modulatory or physique specific category. And they are SARMs and pro-hormones. So these are two supplements that I would not recommend taking. And the rationalization for this is because I don't really think they're supplements in the sense that traditionally, we think of supplements as having

a relatively higher safety profile than pharmaceutical drugs for people grabbing them off the shelf or buying them online. That is why many drugs are over the counter and many drugs are behind the counter, meaning some of them, like Advil, you can walk up and buy with a understandable use case, an understandable dosage criteria and profile, and quite frankly, a pretty understandable risk. Now, these supplements, SARMs and prohormones, are hormone modulators, and you can buy them on the internet. And that,

to me, is relatively concerning because what both of these are essentially are over-the-counter forms of steroids or physique-enhancing agents that modulate your hormones. Now, we'll start with SARMs, selective androgen receptor modulators. And not all SARMs act on the androgen receptor per se. Some supplements that aren't marketed in the SARM category are hormone secretogogs or hormones that act similarly, or let's call them compounds that lead to the secretion of a particular hormone. But with SARMs, what you're doing is augmenting the androgen receptor so as to enhance your body's accessibility to free testosterone. And SARMs were generally marketed as being safe alternative to steroids when they hit the market around, let's say, 2013 to 2016 when they were really big. And the truth is SARMs aren't nearly as safe as they're

often marketed to be. Many of them can lead to hormone suppression, which is a general telltale sign of steroids, which is, of course, like if you take injectable testosterone, your body will suppress production of natural testosterone. And while most SARMs won't create that level of suppression, it's not uncommon to see suppressions in testosterone from SARM usage. And that independently makes it a no-go for me. If you're looking to get steroid-like results, it might actually just be better to take steroids than it is to mess around with things like SARMs and its counterpart here in the F-tier, which are prohormones.

Prohormones are compounds that when ingested and assimilated go from their initial kind of starting point into ultimately the hormone that you're hoping to get your hands on. So with testosterone, you might inject it and you might see, you know, immediate uptake of testosterone from the muscle where you're injecting it into the bloodstream with very few converting steps. But with a pro-hormone, you might ingest it. This is almost always done orally. And then you get conversion ultimately to a lower dosage of the hopeful hormone. So it's not uncommon to see a pro-hormone that will ultimately end up as testosterone, but it doesn't start off as testosterone. And just like SARMs, and oftentimes just like steroids, you can expect to have some suppressive effects. And so I can't think of a use case for SARMs. I can't really think of a use case for

prohormones where I wouldn't rather just get a pharmaceutical agent prescribed by a doctor. So these two are, I think, entirely worth passing on. In my honest opinion, I do know for a fact that they are popular. I don't expect people to stop taking them anytime soon, although I think that the trade-off isn't quite worth it. And I do think that even as a physique-focused athlete, you have better options for improving your physique and not encouraging the use of steroids. But I do think it might be better to use pharmaceutical-grade hormones under the supervision of a medical professional. Okay, moving on to the D tier, which again are those supplements which have a use case

that's not necessarily, you know, I don't expect a lot of efficacy and I don't see a ton of opportunity for these to provide a big difference. So the first one in this tier is CLA or conjugated linoleic acid. So CLA has been around forever. It is the most common omega-6 fatty acid. We find it in large dosages in vegetable oils, which oftentimes are one of the primary oils that you'll find in the standard American diet. Now, there's 28 different forms of CLA and not all supplemental forms of CLA are equal. But again, this is something that you are going to find in beef fat. It's something that you are going to find in dairy product. And so many people get enough vegetable oil, beef, and dairy in their diet to not even

have to worry about supplementing with CLA. But what many people tout when it comes to CLA specifically is its ability to enhance fat loss. And I have never seen it cause any meaningful effect or help in any way, shape, or form with fat metabolism. And so it's for the reason that you can get a ton of it from your diet, and the fact that supplemental forms don't seem to really deliver on the promise of helping with fat metabolism, that I would just say, stay away from CLA, save your money, and hopefully spend that on other supplements. The next supplement is HMB or hydroxymethylbutyrate. Now, HMB is something that we produce naturally, right? And it's been marketed for a very long time as a muscle building supplement. Okay. There are some interesting studies on HMB that don't necessarily have a high degree of, uh, let's call it similar conclusive, uh, outputs. So you'll, you'll find wild variants in, uh, HMB literature as it pertains to ability to enhance

muscle growth. But most of these studies I would say performed by most of the researchers show it having minimal to no effect. Now, HMB is made from the breakdown of leucine, which is an amino acid that is critical, integral for muscle growth. So it makes sense why people might want to supplement with HMB. And there are some studies that show it can increase exercise performance, reduce muscle breakdown, and even increase growth. But again, like I said, there is a ton of variance and HMB tends to be extremely, extremely expensive. So it's not something that I would necessarily look to take unless you had a massive amount of money to just throw at supplements and you don't mind getting little to no tangible benefit. One thing you oftentimes will see with high dose HMB

supplementation is stomach pain, constipation, and itching, all of which I don't think are worth the trade-off as well. So again, it could be helpful, not necessarily something that I would rush to take, but I don't think it's negative or has as concerning of, let's call them a side effect profile as the SARMs and as the pro-hormones might. Okay. So the next one you've probably heard of, and that's glucosamine, which again, naturally occurs in the body. And oftentimes you will see glucosamine paired with chondroitin, both of which are touted to help with the production and maintenance of healthy joints and healthy cartilage.

It's very hard to find literature that shows a ton of support for supplementing with glucosamine and chondroitin. In fact, a lot of the kind of proponents and advocates for supplementation of glucosamine and chondroitin are anecdotal. There are some studies that indicate taking glucosamine might protect tissue and protect the breakdown of cartilage, especially in athletes. Glucosamine might protect tissue and protect the breakdown of cartilage, especially in athletes. And so it could very well be beneficial and worth taking.

And it's not particularly expensive, right? And you will see it used fairly regularly and sold very commonly. It is a very popular supplement that you can find almost anywhere, whether that be Walmart, Target, Costco, any supplement shop. It's generally pretty widely available because of the prevalence of arthritis and joint-specific pain, but it's not something that I would necessarily think you needed to jump to. And I think its ability to help with the acute reduction of pain is pretty limited. Okay, the next one is L-arginine. L-arginine is an amino acid.

And L-arginine is generally touted for its ability to help expand blood vessels and promote what we call vasodilation. So it's a nitric oxide enhancing vasodilator. But the problem with L-arginine is its bioavailability. A lot of it is degraded in the digestive and assimilation process. So you have to take a lot to get a little. And we've got one on the list that I think is going to be a little bit better at achieving this same outcome. But as far as vasodilators go, arginine is lower on the list. It's not terrible, but it's not nearly as effective as some of the other options. Okay, moving on to our C tier. The C tier is the tier that I think has a much higher use case than the D tier, but we're not quite into the,

I'm probably taking this every day. The first is EAAs or essential amino acids. Now, I didn't even put BCAAs into this list. If I was going to, I'd probably put them in the D or the F tier just because we have better options than those in the A tier, which we'll get to momentarily. But essential amino acids contain all 20 amino acids usually, or you will see just the essential amino acids, right? So you're either getting a fully comprehensive, um, full spectrum dosage of the various amino acids, or you're going to get just the essential amino acids. Now this can be great for recovering from your workout. It can be great for plant-based athletes and dieters who have a hard time getting certain amino acids, which oftentimes aren't found

in plants. Um, so I actually like essential amino acids as a supplemental form of amino acids. I think that they are superior to BCAAs. And so it's for that reason that I have them in the C tier and I like them quite a bit. Now, another one, the other member of the C tier is L-carnitine. And L-carnitine is an amino acid derivative oftentimes touted for its ability to help with body fat loss and body fat reduction because it is a rate limiter in the fat loss process. It also might have a function in the brain that's relatively unique. What it does is it helps us transport fatty acid into the mitochondria.

Now, what I like about L-carnitine, particularly acetyl L-carnitine, is that it appears to be the most effective for the brain. Injectable L-carnitine is probably the best for fat metabolism. You also have things like L-carnitine, L-tartrate, which I also like a lot as well. And that can help with the absorption of L-carnitine, that particular blend. And it's been shown to help with performance, soreness, and recovery, which is why it's in Legion's Recharge supplement. So I really like L-carnitine for its ability to reduce DOMS, not so much for its ability to enhance fat loss, but I do quite like it for its recuperative properties. So for those of you who

train really hard, I don't dislike the inclusion of something like L-carnitine, L-tartrate into the mix to maybe potentially provide some unique neuroprotective cognitive enhancing effects that would more be the acetyl L-carnitine. But again, we've got that L-carnitine, L-tartrate, which can help with muscle recovery. What's going on, guys? Coach Danny here, taking a break from the episode to tell you about my coaching company, Core Coaching Method, and more specifically, our one-on-one, fully tailored online coaching program. My online coaching program has kind of been the flagship for Core Coaching Method for a while. Of course, we do have PDF programming, and we have app-based programming. But if you want a

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of those probiotic strains, the bacterial strains that we're after. But again, it's got to be the right supplement. So not all probiotics are created equal, but if you can get the right ones, if you can get strains that are clinically shown to work in humans, this is something that to me is worth the peace of mind knowing just how big of a deal the intestinal microbiome is for the health of the organism. So another member of the B tier that I love is L-citrulline. And we hinted at this when we talked about L-arginine down there in the D tier, and L-citrulline is an amino acid derivative that will ultimately become L-arginine. But through that digestive and assimilative process, we end up with a lot more L-arginine than if we just slam a ton of L-arginine

in the first place. So the primary benefit of L-citrulline is the same. We're getting that vasodilation effect, that blood vessel expanding effect, but you don't have to take nearly as much L-citrulline to end up with a good amount of bioavailable L-arginine. And so that's why you see this in so many pre-workouts because it actually gets you where you want to get a little bit more reliably than slamming back a ton of citrulline. The next one is betaine, B-E-T-A-I-N-E, okay? Usually you're going to see this as betaine anhydrous, right? That tends to be the primary form of betaine. It's also known as trimethylglycine, and it is sourced from beets. And trimethylglycine has some unique benefits, one of which is lowering homocysteine, which

can improve heart health. It's also been shown to reduce fatigue, boost protein synthesis, and increase creatine synthesis within the body. So a very, very interesting supplement for sports performance and recovery, which is kind of the big reason that I like it. And it is included in Legion's Pulse pre-workout. So this is something that I think of all of the supplements that have been studied to potentially have efficacy in terms of improving workout outcomes. I am a big fan of Betaine. Sticking

with another BET name and staying in the B tier before we transition to the A tier, we are going to talk about beta-alanine. So beta- alanine, again, also something that you are going to see quite commonly in pre-workout, just like L-citrulline and just like betaine. Now, beta-alanine is a non-protogenic amino acid. Okay. Now that means it's not incorporated into proteins when it's translated. It is made in the liver and it can be ingested through diet. Foods like beef and chicken tend to have it. But once you ingest beta alanine, it combines with histidine in the skeletal muscle and other organs and it begins to form carnosine. So a lot of supplemental beta alanine is carnosine form

already, right? And beta alanine's main benefit is enhancing muscular endurance during higher intensity exercise. So again, another potentially beneficial compound that you can take to enhance recovery, to enhance workout quality. Moving to the A tier now. So these are the top dogs before we get, of course, to the S tier, which is the must takes. So first on this list are protein powders. Now we could go back and forth about whey protein, casein protein, or plant protein blends. But the truth is, if you find the right protein powder, ultimately what you're going to be using this product for is to get more protein into your diet. Many people tend to be protein deficient.

It's quite common and it's quite unfortunate because sarcopenia and muscle loss across the lifespan can be a very serious problem. So having supplemental form of protein, these are often low calories, so they can be beneficial for dieting as well. Affordable supplement. So I can't think of a supplement that I've taken more consistently over the years than protein powder. And they're again, very, very safe. These supplements as we get through the A tier and the S tier are going to have the most robust safety profile as well. So protein powders are on that list for obvious reasons, but the primary of which is most people tend to have a hard time getting enough protein with a busy lifestyle. So this is one that I absolutely

recommend. The next one is zinc. Now there are multiple types of zinc. I tend to lean into zinc picolinate and you can definitely get zinc from whole foods like shellfish, meat, poultry, legumes, nuts, seeds, and dairy products. But a lot of people have a hard time getting adequate amounts of zinc. I have noticed when I take zinc, it helps a lot with my acne and it decreases any skin irritation that I might be prone to, which I find to be quite interesting. Zinc has also been shown to decrease inflammation, reduce the risk of certain age related disease because it enhances our immune capability and capacity. It can accelerate wound healing. And then obviously,

and probably most recently, it's been touted for its ability to enhance your body's ability to modulate its immune system positively. Immunity is all the rage right now, especially post-pandemic. And while zinc certainly can't do everything, it is very, very important for the maintenance of your immune system. So moving on to another mineral, we've got magnesium. And there are multiple different types of magnesium. The most popular of late are magnesium bisglycinate, which is magnesium bound to glycine. And I think magnesium threonate is the one that Andrew Huberman tends to tout quite regularly, particularly for its ability to enhance sleep. Now, zinc has been shown to help with sleep as well, but magnesium and zinc oftentimes

are minerals that we need quite a bit of that we tend to have a hard time getting from our diet. I've seen more magnesium deficiency in my clients than probably any other mineral. But again, zinc can help with reducing blood pressure. It can help with sleep, can help with mood regulation, it can help with managing blood sugar, reducing heart disease, and it might even improve migraine headaches, which is interesting. But the big one is it is a very, very important mineral that we need in a relatively high dosage or amount across the day because of what it is that magnesium does. It is involved in so many different enzymatic processes. And when I say enzymatic

processes, what you need to be thinking is zinc tends to be a catalyst for a lot of very important things that our body does. And not having enough of it or being deficient in it can have a drastic effect on your health, a very suboptimal effect. So making sure that you're getting adequate amounts of zinc across the day can make a big, big difference. Same thing is true of magnesium. You don't need a ton of either, right? But supplementing with them can help.

The next on this list is an electrolyte supplement, and these will oftentimes contain magnesium, but they tend to also contain sodium and potassium. And why I like these a lot for me as an active adult is one, I go into the sauna and I sweat a lot. So I want to replete any electrolytes that I lose from sweat. And then the second is it helps me hydrate early in the day, particularly if I'm going to be training hard early in the day. If I have a lot of hard training scheduled for a day and I know it's going to come earlier, I'm going to want to be hydrated and ready to go. And the easiest way for me to get that hydration and make sure that I'm where I like to be

early on in the day is to have electrolytes mixed in with my water. So that's one that I take and I recommend for most athletes. And it becomes increasingly more and more valuable. The more you sweat, the more humid your climate is, the earlier you train, the more important hydration is, and the more you sweat. So this is one that I think is generally applicable. I went back and forth as to whether or not I thought this could be in the B tier, but I did put it in the A tier because I quite like it. The next is a plain, simple, run-of-the-mill multivitamin. That shouldn't surprise many of you. Now, if you eat a generally well-rounded diet, a lot of these supplements

become less important. And many of the supplements that I mentioned today, like zinc and magnesium, might even be in your well-rounded multivitamin. But multivitamins are quite valuable for people who want something that is very efficient and are looking to cover their bases. They tend to be a supplement where I think you can oftentimes get duped into buying a multivitamin with all of the right dosages on the label, but the forms in which those dosages and vitamins are delivered are suboptimal. So this is one that if you want to take advantage of the benefits of a multivitamin, it's better to get a good one. It might be a little bit more on the premium end and might be a little bit less cost effective because you want to make sure you're getting the best of the best. Okay. And the last one in the A tier, and again, this

one probably could also be in the B tier, but I like it a lot. And that is ashwagandha. Now, it a lot, and that is ashwagandha. Now, ashwagandha is an Ayurvedic medicinal herb. It's been used for a very long time. It is an adaptogen, and ashwagandha is Sanskrit meaning smell. It means smell of the horse, okay? And it refers to the actual scent of the herb as it's growing. There are a lot of benefits to ashwagandha, but the main, of course, is its ability to help with stress management and anxiety. There's a lot of unique effects that one might see from supplementing with ashwagandha beyond that, right? Maybe it could help with recovery. Maybe it could help with other hormonal modulatory things like the management of testosterone. But the big one here with ashwagandha is going to be

stress management. And I have found that taking KSM-66 ashwagandha really does have a positive beneficial effect on my mood and on the reduction of anxiety. And there are several studies to show this. And with the prevalence of anxiety and stress and mood dysregulation in our culture, I moved ashwagandha from the B tier all the way up to the A tier, but you could definitely make an argument that it could go in either tier. Lastly, guys, we are going to head to the S tier, which are the four supplements I take every day and recommend that my clients do the same, irregardless of their goals, whether they be performance, health, or longevity related. So the first member of the S tier, and this should come as a surprise

to absolutely nobody, is creatine. If you've followed me on any social media or you've been a listener of the podcast for quite some time, you know that I love creatine. I think creatine is incredibly beneficial for performance, for muscle growth, and for recovery. But the emerging benefits of creatine specifically for the brain are quite fascinating and very, very intriguing. Pair that with the fact that it is as well-researched a supplement as there is out there and has an amazing safety profile. It is on my list. One of the things you'll hear me talk about a lot is the importance of maintaining muscle

across the lifespan, right? I'm a big fan of muscle preservation across the lifespan. We want to avoid something known as sarcopenia or muscle loss. I think creatine can help with this even in adults who don't resistance train and the cognitive benefits alone paired with the low cost of supplementing with five grams a day, the recommended dosage is pretty, pretty accessible to most folks. So the next one on the list is a vitamin, but it's oftentimes thought of as a hormone, and that is vitamin D. Now, vitamin D you can get from food, particularly supplemental forms. There's often fortified foods like milk, which will often

contain vitamin D. But perhaps the best way to get vitamin D3, which is the form you want, vitamin D3, right, is through supplemental forms like, obviously, supplements. You can get them from egg yolks, and you can make it yourself if you get enough sun, which is actually hard for some people to do. Even if you think you might get enough, you might not get enough direct sunlight to synthesize adequate amounts of vitamin D. And vitamin D deficiency can be really, really problematic. And many people refer to it as a silent epidemic. The more time we spend inside, the less time we spend in sunlight, in nature, the less of a likelihood it is that we will get adequate amounts of vitamin D. And vitamin D is integral for bone health. It can improve strength. It can help with prevention

of various cancers. And it can help with mood, particularly the management of depression. So we've seen so much research on vitamin D. We know how common deficiencies are. And again, it is very cost effective. So this is one that I recommend. Now, the last member of the S tier is omega-3 fatty acid. A lot of times this comes in a fish oil form, but you can also get it from algae. Omega-3 is an amino or a fatty acid, I should say, that is particularly important for your body and for your brain. Omega-3 has been shown to help moods. It's been shown to help eye health. It's been shown to promote brain development

during pregnancy and early life in children. It can reduce the risk of various diseases. It has a positive effect on blood pressure, on cholesterol. And again, you can get it from your diet by eating cold water fatty fish. However, many people will need to supplement with an algae or animal-based form of omega-3 to get the amount they need because oftentimes cold water fatty fish can be a little pricier than supplemental forms. So those are my

big three, creatine, vitamin D, and omega-3. And an honorable mention for performance would be caffeine. Caffeine can be very effective for enhancing performance when used acutely and when the athlete is not already desensitized to its effects. So we just went from the F tier to the S tier. Those are the supplements I recommend and do not recommend. I'd say B tier and above are worth taking. And the B tier and above would be beta alanine, betaine, citrulline, and probiotics. That's the B tier. The A tier is protein powder, zinc, magnesium, electrolytes, multivitamins, and ashwagandha. And the S tier is creatine, vitamin D, omega-3, with an honorable mention to caffeine for performance athletes who

need to manage fatigue. All right, guys, that's going to do it for this episode. If you enjoyed it, do me a favor. Listen and leave me a five-star rating and review on iTunes. That makes a huge difference. I should say Apple Podcasts because that's actually what they call it now. Spotify accepts reviews too. Ratings and reviews help me grow this podcast and reach more people

and move closer to accomplishing my mission of helping more people live a well-muscled, healthful life that is vivacious, exuberant, and energized. So thanks so much for listening, and I will catch you on the next one.