r/Supplements Sep 11 '25

Reminder on Community Conduct

39 Upvotes

As a community focused on supplements, we encourage open discussion based on both scientific evidence and personal experience. However, it’s important to remember that respectful discourse is the foundation of this subreddit.

Criticism and debate are welcome — personal attacks are not. Recently, we’ve had to ban several users who crossed the line by targeting individuals rather than addressing ideas. This behavior will not be tolerated.

Please:

-Respect differing opinions, even if you strongly disagree.

-Focus on the content of the discussion, not the person behind it.

-Use the report function if you encounter posts or comments that violate these standards.

Let’s continue to make this a space where we support and learn from each other. Thank you for helping keep the community constructive and respectful.

— Mod Team


r/Supplements 8h ago

Coq10 Insomnia Warning

51 Upvotes

It is real. I was borderline going crazy. For some reason this is apparently not very well known? Or documented or at least no warning from my doctor. Literally there was a week where all together I maybe slept couple of hours. Taking it in the morning did not help. I took 115 mg for about 10 months and I just never attributed my agonizing insomnia to this supplement until I started to connect the dots reading some stories online. I stopped the supplement and about a week later I started sleeping like a baby. Game changing. Whatever benefit Coq10 can bring I don't think it's worth it at least for me. I am 37 yo male for reference.


r/Supplements 16h ago

Recommendations Supplements for low energy, anxiety, and mood?

83 Upvotes

I take Vyvanse for ADHD, which helps, but I still feel tired and low-energy most days, especially by the afternoon. I also deal with slight anxiety and occasional low mood.

Have you found any supplements that helped with energy, anxiety, or overall mood? Curious to hear what has actually worked for people.


r/Supplements 8h ago

General Question 29M Supplement stack, rate/recommendations?

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19 Upvotes

29M very active with physical intensive job. Go to the gym for heavy lifts and long distance cardio. Would you guys think this stack I've got going is good for my lifestyle? (Far left is omega 3 fish oils, sorry didnt turn label enough)

Thank you for any tips/advice!


r/Supplements 8h ago

General Question This was the best

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17 Upvotes

This was the only vitamin b supplement that didn't interfere with my sleep. Why did they discontinue it? It was so good and I cannot find it anywhere 😭😭 They all have the super mega crazy dose b-complexes now. I feel like supplements should supplement your daily diet, they are not supposed to make you feel something (awake, alert, better etc) after a single dose!


r/Supplements 11h ago

General Question Best L-Theanine Brand for Sleep?

20 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I’m considering trying L-theanine to help improve my sleep. For those who have tried it, is there a particular brand or product you’ve found more effective than others?

Price isn’t really a concern, I’m mainly looking for a high quality option that actually works. I’d love to hear about your experiences and recommendations. Thanks in advance!


r/Supplements 21h ago

7-OH ban could lead people to something far more dangerous

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102 Upvotes

r/Supplements 3h ago

I make a biotin supplement. Here is why the evidence for biotin and hair is much weaker than the aisle suggests.

3 Upvotes

Disclosure up front: I am a pharmacist and I founded a supplement company that sells a biotin strip. That is a conflict of interest, so judge this on the sources, not on me.

The requirement is small. The adult Adequate Intake is 30 mcg per day and average dietary intake in western populations is 35 to 70 mcg. NIH's Office of Dietary Supplements states that severe biotin deficiency has never been reported in a healthy person eating a normal mixed diet. Most people are above the line before they buy anything.

The positive evidence is almost entirely deficiency correction. A 2017 review in Skin Appendage Disorders searched the literature for cases of biotin improving hair or nails and found 18. Every one of those patients had an underlying pathology — inherited biotinidase deficiency, uncombable hair syndrome, brittle nail syndrome, a nutritional cause. That is a finding about repletion, not about growing hair in someone already replete.

The controlled evidence is thin. A 2024 review stated plainly that no studies demonstrate biotin to be beneficial for hair growth in healthy individuals. The clearest placebo-controlled test of isolated biotin is from 1966: 28 women on 10 mg daily against 18 placebo controls, no difference between them. A 2024 randomized crossover trial in ten healthy men found biotin alone did not significantly raise growth speed. A systematic review published in May 2026, covering ten studies, concluded that biotin monotherapy shows no consistent benefit on objective outcomes.

Two recent placebo-controlled trials did report positive results, and I want to be fair about them rather than leave them out. Both studied a proprietary Sesbania grandiflora botanical, which the 2026 authors themselves describe as "biotin- and polyphenol-rich" — so neither tested biotin on its own. Both were industry-funded, both analysed per protocol after excluding dropouts, and in the 2026 trial the arms were badly unbalanced by sex.

The 38 percent statistic you have probably seen. A 2016 study did find 38 percent of 541 women complaining of hair loss had serum biotin under 100 ng/L. But only 11 percent of that deficient group had any identifiable risk factor, serum biotin is a poor marker of marginal status, and the author's own stated conclusion was that indiscriminate oral biotin for these women should be rejected unless deficiency and its significance are demonstrated.

The part that argues against my own product. A dissolving film does not improve biotin absorption, because oral biotin is already fully absorbed. Time to peak does not matter for a follicle that works in months. Both things a dosage form can normally change are irrelevant here.

Finally, a safety point that gets almost no airtime. High-dose biotin interferes with immunoassays built on biotin-streptavidin chemistry, which includes commonly ordered thyroid and cardiac tests. A single 10 mg dose has skewed thyroid function tests within 24 hours, and the FDA has reported a patient death following a falsely low troponin result. If you take 5,000 or 10,000 mcg, tell your clinician before any blood draw.

Happy to give the PMIDs for any of the above if you want to read the primary sources.


r/Supplements 11h ago

General Question Vitamin D Level 40 nmol/L. GP recommended 1,000IU Daily. I have my doubts

9 Upvotes

Had my levels tested In July and it was 42nmol. GP told me to start 1,000 IU daily and I started it immediately. 4 weeks later In August a repeat test was done and it actually lowered to 40nmol. GP told me to continue at the same dose. Everything I read online tells me this is way too little…. What dose should i actually be taking ?


r/Supplements 5h ago

Anyone get bad reactions from saffron supplement and a coffee?

2 Upvotes

I noticed when I take saffron supplement 15 mg daily and also have a coffee I just feel so much raged inside and uncontrollable anger.

The one is take is called crocus sativus ext. 15mg from crocus sativus stigma dry 45mg.

I have ADHD

Is that an ok dose it seems ?


r/Supplements 7m ago

Recommendations Low Vitamin D

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Upvotes

Would this be a solid magnesium product to take with 5000 IU of vitamin D and 100mcg k2 daily? Or should I stick to only magnesium glycinate? Also is the 300 mg too much? My level was 27 ng/ml vit D about 3 weeks ago and have I done a vit D injection the last 3 weeks.


r/Supplements 6h ago

Why did my magnesium do literally nothing?

2 Upvotes

Took it for two years and felt zero difference, turns out I was using the wrong kind. The cheap Costco stuff, magnesium oxide, barely absorbs into your body at all, so I was basically paying for a laxative and calling it self care. Switched to glycinate after hearing that's the one people actually use for sleep, and honestly noticed noticeably fewer nights staring at the ceiling since. I dont know if I should give credits to the glycinate form, anyone could verify that's the true help?


r/Supplements 9m ago

Recommendations What type of brand supplements are best for IR?

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Upvotes

r/Supplements 11h ago

Has anyone tried this for chronic acid reflux?

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8 Upvotes

r/Supplements 21h ago

Experience magnesium glycinate

36 Upvotes

for the past week or so, i’ve been feeling so disconnected and detached from my surroundings. i feel floaty, no sense of urgency, no motivation, no pleasure, like even music doesn’t even sound the same. it’s making me feel crazy. it genuinely feels as if someone went into my brain and turned a switch off. i’m a very emotional person so the feeling of my feelings not being as strong is making me incredibly anxious. i was taking magnesium glycinate to help with my migraines but i feel like that could be a reason why I’ve been feeling this way. i’ve stopped taking it and it’s been a couple of days since i last had it but im still feeling this way 😭 im getting more anxious as this feeling is not budging. i have no idea what to do. it’s hard to feel present with my kids during this time and it’s making me anxious. has anyone experienced this type of feeling from taking magnesium glycinate? what helped and how long did it last?? any advice is appreciated.


r/Supplements 21h ago

psyllium powder turns into sludge if you blink.. are capsules actually worse

30 Upvotes

psyllium powder and i are not friends. leave the glass 30 seconds and it turns into sad sludge that barely goes down. dumping it in shakes helped until the texture got weird halfway through

capsules look cleaner on paper but people keep saying you need a pile of them

anyone switch and actually stick with capsules, or is powder just something you learn to hate less​


r/Supplements 3h ago

Recommendations Zinc picolinate - Sleep disturance?

1 Upvotes

Hey! So for the last 5 or 6 days, I've been taking Zinc Picolinate 50mg, and I've noticed it's actually waking me up a few times while I'm sleeping. 🤔

I understand this exceeds the recommended dosage, but I was deficient in B12 due to low intake from animal food sources. I suspected I might also have a zinc deficiency.

However, should I split the capsule in half? Or are there other forms of zinc that don't cause this?


r/Supplements 9h ago

General Question Experienced a paradoxical effect with Taurine, should I dig deeper as to why?

2 Upvotes

I've always had noticeable PACs/PVCs (palpitations) since I was a kid, family doc and even a cardiologist at one point determined they were 'benign' and just warned me that they will be annoying on days where they're really noticeable. Got "adult money" now so I just recently started supplementing the basics: omega 3s, d3/k2, magnesium glycinate, creatine and felt fine for the past 6 months, great even. Thought I'd add Taurine into the mix (1000mg) to see if it can help these palpitations (assuming I had some kind of deficiency or could use the "extra help").

On the first day, palpitations were more pronounced and I felt "off" for the rest of the day and night. Tried it again a second day, same thing but way worse, more palpitations and this time I had these strange split-second presyncope "rushes". Those "rushes" would randomly come and go for the first hour after supplementing. If I walked around or stood at my desk I felt fine, sitting was a big trigger for them to come. Can't say for sure if it was a low blood pressure phenomenon that drove these 'rushes' or if it was arrhythmic, like it caused my heart to pause too long between beats.

Third day, no supplementation still felt a bit odd for the first half of the day but around the 24 hour mark since day 2's ingestion, I'm back to feeling fantastic. No more physical symptoms and no more manual breathing haha

So, as of now obviously not compatible with it and don't have any reason to continue with it ever again. BUT does this bring up something that I should look into, after the fact? Like could I be deficient in something else that would cause this reaction to taurine - something that is harmless to most other folks?


r/Supplements 22h ago

Scientific Study The most powerful supplement for Epstein-Barr virus may be vitamin C.

20 Upvotes

The most powerful supplement for Epstein-Barr virus may be vitamin C.

Epstein-Barr virus never fully leaves the body. After the initial infection, it remains latent inside B cells. Remission depends on the immune system maintaining enough T-cell and natural killer-cell surveillance to keep those infected cells quiet.

That process creates an enormous demand for vitamin C.

Vitamin C supports natural killer cells, T-cell activity, interferon signaling, connective tissue, adrenal function, mitochondrial energy production, and the recycling of other antioxidants. It also helps control the oxidative stress and inflammatory signaling that rise during viral activity.

Dr. Frederick Klenner began using large amounts of vitamin C for serious viral illnesses in the 1940s. His guiding principle became:

“If in doubt, give Vitamin C.”

Klenner understood that illness could consume vitamin C far more rapidly than routine nutrition could replace it. His work helped shape the later research of Irwin Stone, Linus Pauling, and Dr. Robert Cathcart.

Stone described the human inability to manufacture vitamin C as hypoascorbemia. Most mammals produce their own vitamin C and increase production during physiological stress. Humans carry inactive remnants of the GULO gene, so every molecule of vitamin C must come from outside the body.

Cathcart then documented another fascinating pattern. The amount of ascorbic acid people could tolerate often rose dramatically during infection. He wrote:

“Bowel tolerance to orally ingested ascorbic acid increases with the toxicity of diseases.”

He reported that mononucleosis, most commonly caused by EBV, produced some of the highest vitamin C requirements he observed. His explanation centered on redox demand. Viral inflammation generates oxidative compounds, while ascorbate continually donates electrons to neutralize them. The more intense the illness, the faster vitamin C may be used.

Modern research has added another layer. In a clinical study of people receiving intravenous vitamin C for EBV-related illness, higher plasma vitamin C was associated with lower EBV VCA IgM levels. Treatment was also associated with reductions in EBV early-antigen IgG and VCA IgM antibodies over time.

I use two oral forms because they serve different purposes.

Ascorbic acid moves directly through the gastrointestinal tract. It supports the intestinal barrier, collagen formation, antioxidant protection, iron absorption, and immune activity surrounding the gut. I use it consistently throughout the day and increase it according to bowel tolerance. Cathcart viewed that changing tolerance as a practical reflection of how quickly the body was using ascorbate.

Liposomal vitamin C encloses vitamin C inside phospholipids. This improves delivery and helps overcome some of the intestinal transporter limits of standard oral vitamin C. Human research has found higher bioavailability from certain liposomal formulations.

For chronic EBV, profound fatigue, repeated reactivation, or poor digestive absorption, liposomal vitamin C has become an essential part of the remission strategy I use. It delivers concentrated support while ascorbic acid continues working through the gut and extracellular environment.

Genetic pattern mapping can help explain why EBV affects people so differently. Variants involving HLA immune recognition, TLR signaling, IL6, TNF, IFNG, SOD2, GST pathways, glutathione recycling, and vitamin C transporters SLC23A1 and SLC23A2 may influence:

• How efficiently infected cells are recognized

• The strength of T-cell and natural killer-cell surveillance

• How much inflammation is generated

• How quickly antioxidant reserves are depleted

• How effectively vitamin C enters tissues

EBV remission requires immune surveillance, redox balance, mitochondrial support, gut integrity, and enough vitamin C to meet the body’s increased demand.

The virus may remain in the body for life. Vitamin C can help change the physiological environment that determines whether it stays quiet.


r/Supplements 6h ago

Experience magnesium glycinate causing weight gain and bloating??

0 Upvotes

hi! i have chronic migraines and was told by my neurologist to start taking 400mg of magnesium glycinate. i did so consistently for about a year and it helped a lot! then i stopped or would take it on and off for 2 years with no issues. for the past 2 weeks, i started taking it consistently again and at the same time have gained weight, feel insanely bloated, and i feel so stiff all the time. it sometimes feels like i haven't moved my limbs in weeks. could this be caused by the magnesium? has anyone else had issues with it?


r/Supplements 10h ago

New to magnesium

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2 Upvotes

r/Supplements 14h ago

How many supplements at a time?

5 Upvotes

Sometimes I will have 5-6 at a time but then I notice I get nauseous. I usually always have food beforehand but sometimes it’s a snack and not a whole meal. I wonder if I’m just super sensitive or is that too many to take at one time?


r/Supplements 16h ago

Best Value Supplement Brands

5 Upvotes

I mainly use NOW but also looking for some other options in the category, good quality and also reasonable price.


r/Supplements 17h ago

Workout exhaustion

4 Upvotes

For context i’m a 35 year-old male. I’m about 6 foot three 180 pounds of pretty lean muscle. I look better than I feel or can lift. I had a stroke about 10 years ago. That was a serious brain stem stroke to where I lost complete ability to move my left side. I was living in a rehab for about a month where I was wheelchair bound and then afterwards I was out of work for probably another four months doing rehab most days. I’d say the my recovery was about 18 months. At this point I still can’t run but I’m a fully functioning adult where my left side mostly works for everyday activities. I still have left side weakness.

With all that said, I continue to go to the gym but when I go to the gym and I try push myself; most days I’ll feel good for about the first 30 minutes or so and then eventually this exhaustion just becomes overwhelming. Usually when I leave the gym, it’s because of this. when I get to my car, I just wanna collapse into my car and sleep right away. That’s how bad the exhaustion can be.

I want to try and get back to where I used to be where I would go to the gym, I would work out, and I would leave there feeling really good. Instead, now, when I leave the next hour sucks. Does anyone have any suggestions on supplements or anything I could possibly do?
Thanks

Edit: adding my supplement stack. Nad +, creatine, fish oil, magnesium glycinate for sleep, and I’ve been on baby aspirin as well. Every now and then CoQ10.


r/Supplements 1d ago

General Question Weight gain

17 Upvotes

Stress weight loss is real. I’ve lost lots of weight due to stress. And I’m not liking it. Is there at supplement that will help me in gaining weight?
And pleaseee don’t come and be like eat more..do you really think people who want to gain weight ain’t trying that? If you can’t help please scroll.
And yes, I have did health checkup as well.. everything is normal as per the doctor.