Pogue's Supplements

Often times people ask me what supplements I personally use. So, I just thought I would outline a list of them for anyone who was curious. I'm not going to post any studies or references in this articles. If you feel like looking them up, be my guest. If there is something I mention that disagrees with what you know, feel free to post it.

Everyday Supplements

These are supplements I take everyday with each meal.

• Multivitamin: From the Earth (w/o Iron) by Vitamin Shoppe
• Mood Support: Lithium Orotate by GRL
• Digestive Support: Vegetarian Enzyme Complex by FutureBiotics & Ulcetrol by NOW
  
• Probiotics: Ultimate 10 Probiotics by Vitamin Shoppe
• Antioxidants: Radox by Syntrax, R-ALA by Higher Power & NAC by NOW
• Prostate/Cholesterol Support: Beta Sitosterol by Vitamin Shoppe & Saw Palmetto Extract by Vitamin Shoppe
  
• EFA: Triple Strength Omega 3-6-9 by Puritan's Pride

So why did I pick these supplements and why do I use them? The multivitamin, From the Earth, has all organic and natural ingredients and a lot of them at a very low price. You only need 3 tablets a day for the serving size, instead of a bag of pills. It has 1gm of Ester-C and the RDA of all the other vitamins and minerals plus a lot of other ingredients that I like. The lithium orotate is a version of the natural trace mineral lithium, often prescribed in cases of depression, bound to orotate, which has shown in some studies to be more bioavailable than other forms and safer since it isn't as toxic as the other version.

The Vegetarian Enzyme Complex is an enzyme formula meant to be taken before a meal to help digest foods. I have digestive troubles often and so it's helpful for me to take this formula. I've tried others, but I like this one, especially because it contains some lactase. I'm lactose intolerant and some foods have lactose in them that isn't listed. So, this is useful in those situations. Ulcetrol is a patented supplement that is a drug in Japan designed to help with acid reflux disease called PepZin GI. It's a combination of zinc and the amino acid Carnosine which has been shown in some studies to help kill the bacteria, h. Pylori, which is responsible for the disease. It also has calcium carbonate and some other ingredients to help with heartburn. The Probiotics help keep intestinal flora in tact and healthy, along with other benefits.

Syntrax Radox, HP R-ALA, and NAC I take in conjunction as my three main antioxidants. It is best to take antioxidants together to help them from converting to pro-oxidants, a little known occurrence which can happen. I feel Radox is one of the best antioxidants on the market with a great amount of ingredients for the price and in the correct quantities and high potency extracts. HP R-ALA is one of the cheapest on the markets with 100 caps of 200mg R-ALA for only $17. NAC is also a very important ingredient which has many applications, including increasing liver enzymes and glutathione in the lungs. It is actually such a powerful liver restorer it is used in the emergency room to revive patients who have overdosed on NSAIDs such as Tylenol.

I use the Beta Sitosterol and Saw Palmetto for it's positive effects on the prostate. After years of using steroidal substances and antihistamine/decongestant use I have had problems with my prostate. These two supplements help clear up these problems and are very quickly noticeable.

The Puritans Pride Triple Strength Omega 3-6-8 product has a very good EFA profile, which includes fish oil, flax oil, borage oil, and other EFAs to provide you with your daily needs.

Occasional Supplements

These are supplements I take on occasion as the need for them arises.

• Allergy Support: Respir-All by NOW, Quercetin+C (Citrus Free) by Vitamin Shoppe & Vitamin A by NOW
  
• Upset Stomach: Ginger Root by Vitamin Shoppe, Peppermint Gels by NOW, Glutamine powder by Vitamin Shoppe & Stomach Ease tea by Yogi tea
  
• Sugar Control: Tri-Chromium by NOW
• Sleep Help: Snooze in w/ Melatonin by Vitamin Shoppe, Melatonin 3mg by Natrol, GABA by NOW, Relax-All by MRM & L-Theanine by Vitamin Shoppe
• Stimulants: Stimulant X by Anabolic Xtreme, Biotest Spike, Ripped Fuel Extreme w/ ephedra by Twinlab (no longer made)
• Cleansing: Colon Enhancer by Vitamin Shoppe

I, like many other people, have nasal allergies for which I take OTC antihistamines and sometimes decongestants for. Sometimes when these products don't help to remedy my allergies, I look to alternatives. One of the best I've found is Respir-All by NOW which contains an herbal antihistamine, Quercetin, along with Vitamin C, Zinc, Bromelain and Nettle Root, all of which have been shown to help allergy symptoms. If I still have problems after taking that product, I might take some more of the VS Quercetin+C which has 500mg of quercetin and 1400mg of Vitamin C per serving. Vitamin A is also supposed to help (although I have never really looked into the validity of this) and NOW's product has 25,000iu of it, a huge dose. LEF also recommends B5 which I take sometimes, but I haven't noticed much of a helpful effect.

I also often have upset stomach, due to factors unknown, which I need to see a doctor about soon. The Ginger Root helps after digestion to digest food and calm your stomach, and if you over eat it can help also. The peppermint gels I also read about in a LEF article. They are enteric coated to make it past the stomach into the upper and lower intestines to help with gastrointestinal pain. They do help and your burps have a minty freshness. The Stomach ease tea contains both of these ingredients plus a few more to help with upset stomach and digestive problems, it does help, but I only use it occasionally, mostly because I forget I have it.

The Tri-Chromium product I take if I eat a high sugar treat or meal to help keep my insulin levels in check. I was really looking for a cinnamon product, but cinnamon and chromium is a winning combo for keeping your insulin levels maintained, and the Tri-Chromium product contains a blend of chromium, so depending on your standpoint, you should be getting at least one of the right types. Don't take too much of it in a day as chromium can be toxic (as a minerals can) if overused.

The sleep supplements I use when I can't sleep (obviously) and not nightly. I don't use all of them at once, and try to vary them so as not to grow dependent on them or just one of them. Snooze-In is a very strange product that produces very strange and vivid dreams, which plain melatonin does not. It does knock you out though. GABA works a bit in high doses, but don't expect it to increase GH or anything like that. It's just a simple sleep aid and doesn't cross the blood brain barrier. Relax-All has phenibut in it, a derivative of GABA used in Russia in place of Valium. It works very well to help you relax and fall asleep. It contains several other ingredients, somewhat similar to the Snooze-In product, but with phenibut instead of melatonin. L-Theanine on it's own is a relaxing amino acid that comes from green tea. Always make sure you buy the patented Suntheanine brand, as it has only the L isomer which is what you want. Other brands can sometimes be contaminated with the D isomer, which is what you don't want.

I also take stimulants, but only when I need them, such is if I have a long day or a lot to do. Stimulant X is one of the most powerful stimulants I have ever taken and keeps me up for at least two days normally. Spike is much more tolerable and usually keeps me awake for the day. Spike is now available at your local Walmart in their supplements section, so it's easy to buy since it's not sold widely over the net. I bought mine in a box for $17 for 28 tabs, instead of the normal $30 they charge online, and I also got a neat "Spike Bullet" which is a little keychain holder for a Spike tablet. Since these stimulants work so much better than ephedra, I rarely used any of my ephedra products which I stocked up on before the ban. Ripped Up Extreme was my all time favorite, but both Spike and Stimulant X blow it out of the water.

Colon Enhancer is basically a laxative product that will help you cleanse out your colon using it's main ingredient, Psyllium Husk (it doesn't show on the ingredients for the one I listed, but it's in there). I use the capsules, because I have found most fiber powders, with the exception of Benefiber, to be generally awful. For a standard dose of Colon Enhancer it is 12 capsules which will keep you around the toilet all day. For a maintaince dosage it's 7 caps, which isn't so extreme. It is a good product, but you want to make sure to drink it with a full glass of water so as not to get the capsules of fiber powder expanding in your throat which can cause a choking situation. It's always better to just use a standard fiber product daily than use a product of this type, although it is good to have around when you need it!

You'll notice I don't have any protein powders or creatines listed. Right now I am not training and am not using any types of sports supplements, just the ones listed above. But, regardless, those are my staple supplements which I have been using for sometime now and have had good success with. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them.