[LINK] Major guide to supplements

The site varies from entry to entry; I think the good entries are fairly good by my standards, and I link them in my own nootropics page. The main author silverhydra and myself agree on many things and he does have a basic appreciation of the applicability to nootropics of the various statistical/meta points I emphasize. (I don't have their interest in fitness and weightlifting, and I'm not really keen on using affiliate links or selling guides, but those are small sins.)

My site, so obviously biased, but entire spectrum of health and wellness vouches for us: http://examine.com/testimonials/

It is very high. They have a ton of citations in the page for every supplement. For each health claim for each supplement they list an effect size and a level of evidence based on the citations. They call this the human effect matrix and an example for fish oil is here. Not all the pages are as extensive as fish oil, obviously, because it is one of the most-studied nutritional supplements available.

Edit: I see now that you are probably referring to their "Reference Guide" rather than the site itself. I have never read it, I was only commenting on the information available on the site.

What about Rhodiola Rosea?

TL;DR: Supplements are mostly a waste

I don't think this is a useful statement.

Instead I would say that the need for supplements is strongly individual.

You're young, live in the tropics, and work outside all day? Nah, you probably don't need vitamin D supplements. You're old, live beyond the Arctic circle and it's now winter? Yes, taking vitamin D supplements is probably a good idea for you.

Take a blood test and look. Do you need potassium? Maybe, maybe not. Do you need magnesium? Maybe, maybe not. Do you have glucose issues? What do you hormones look like? How's your thyroid?

Everyone is different. There is no good generic advice with regard to supplements. Look, test, figure out what your unique body needs now.

As examine.com points out, creatine increases DHT production and may accelerate hair loss for men predisposed to baldness. This is the reason why I don't take creatine even though I do intensive weight lifting.

Absolutely. Also of importance are zinc and vitamin K.

Still, what you've done is list supplements everyone should consider. The reality is that supplementation depends on contextual health goals, and that is where they shine.

A few simple examples:

Berberine and blood glucose Inositol and PCOS Bacopa and memory Rhodiola and fatigue (as James Miller mentioned) Feverfew and migraines

etc etc. Supplementation, when you apply it to contextual health goals, can be very powerful.

I was wondering why no fish oil, but examine.com finds rather little effect from it-- there's evidence it's good for lupus and for major depression, but it doesn't seem to do much for people in general.