Supplements That Actually Work (And the Ones Wasting Your Money)
Supplements That Actually Work (And the Ones Wasting Your Money)
The supplement industry is a $150 billion-a-year business that sells you 200 things you don't need.
Here's the short list of supplements with actual peer-reviewed evidence behind them. Everything else is marketing wearing a lab coat.
If you spend more than $40 a month on supplements, you're probably overpaying.
The list of supplements that actually work
These five (plus protein powder) cover everything supported by strong evidence.
Creatine monohydrate
The most-researched performance supplement of all time. 1000+ studies. Consistent effect across populations.
What it does: increases your phosphocreatine stores, lets you do an extra rep or two of high-effort work, drives small but real strength and muscle gains over months.
Dose: 5 grams per day, every day. Time of day doesn't matter. No need to "load."
Cost: $15 to $30 for 3 to 6 months of supply.
Side effects: about a 2 to 4 pound water weight increase in the first month (this is good, it lives in your muscles). Rare GI upset at higher doses.
Skip the fancy versions (HCL, ethyl ester, micronized). Monohydrate works, costs less, has more evidence behind it.
Whey protein powder (or vegan equivalent)
Not a "supplement" so much as convenient protein. If you struggle to hit your daily protein target through food, protein powder is the easiest fix.
Dose: 25 to 30 grams per scoop. Use as needed to close the gap.
Cost: $30 to $50 for a 30-serving tub.
Whey isolate digests fast, casein digests slow. Pea or soy protein for plant-based eaters. The exact form matters less than total daily protein.
You do not need protein powder if you already hit your protein target through food. It's not magic. It's just convenient.
Caffeine
The most-used legal performance enhancer in the world. Reliable performance boost when timed right.
What it does: increases alertness, reduces perceived effort, improves strength output, delays fatigue.
Dose: 3 to 6 mg per kg of bodyweight, 30 to 60 minutes before training. A 180-pound (82 kg) lifter would target 240 to 490 mg. Most people land in the 200 to 400 mg range.
Cost: free if you drink coffee. Few dollars a month if you use capsules or pre-workout.
Caveats: tolerance builds in 1 to 2 weeks of daily use. Cycle off occasionally if you want the maximum performance effect. Avoid after about noon if you want to sleep well.
If you want to see where your dose lands on the performance curve (and where it crosses into bad territory):
Vitamin D
Most people are deficient. Deficiency affects testosterone, bone health, immune function, and recovery.
Dose: 1,000 to 5,000 IU per day, depending on your blood levels. Get a blood test if you want to dial it in.
Cost: $5 to $15 for a year supply.
Best taken with a fatty meal (vitamin D is fat-soluble). Time of day doesn't matter.
If you live somewhere with real sunlight and spend time outside, you may need less. If you live in a northern climate or work indoors, you almost certainly need this.
Fish oil (omega-3)
Anti-inflammatory effects, joint health, cardiovascular benefits, possibly mild support for recovery and mood.
Dose: 1 to 3 grams of combined EPA + DHA per day. Read the label carefully because 1,000 mg of "fish oil" usually only has 300 mg of EPA + DHA.
Cost: $15 to $25 a month for a quality brand.
Take with food to reduce fishy burps. Refrigerate the bottle.
Skip if you eat fatty fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel) 2 to 3 times a week. You're already covered through food.
Magnesium (optional but worth considering)
Many people are deficient. Affects sleep quality, muscle function, and recovery.
Dose: 200 to 400 mg per day. Glycinate or citrate forms are better-absorbed than oxide (which is cheap but mostly useless).
Cost: $10 to $20 a month.
Take with dinner or before bed. Magnesium glycinate in particular helps some people sleep better. If you're sleep-struggling, worth trying.
That's the list
Six supplements. Total cost: roughly $40 to $60 a month.
That's it. That's everything with strong enough evidence to recommend.
Everything else on the supplement shelf is either: insufficient evidence, marketing, a more expensive version of something on this list, or active scam.
The supplements you don't need
Here are the popular ones the industry pushes hardest, with the honest reason they're on the shelf.
BCAAs. If you eat enough protein, BCAAs add nothing. Branched-chain amino acids are already in your protein. Buying them separately is paying twice for the same amino acids.
Pre-workout (other than caffeine). Most pre-workout formulas are mostly caffeine plus some non-functional fillers (citrulline malate has weak evidence, beta-alanine just gives you tingles). You can get the caffeine for 95% less by drinking coffee.
Testosterone boosters. Outside of clinical hormone therapy, no over-the-counter supplement reliably raises testosterone in healthy men. The "test boosters" on supplement shelves do not work. The evidence is overwhelming.
Mass gainers. Just a protein powder mixed with sugar. You can make this at home for a third of the price by mixing whey protein with oats and a banana.
Fat burners. Either ineffective or just caffeine in a more expensive form. The serious fat-loss compounds aren't legal to sell over the counter for good reasons.
Glutamine. Mostly debunked for muscle building benefits. May help with intestinal health in specific clinical contexts.
ZMA. Zinc + magnesium + B6. The magnesium might help your sleep. The zinc almost certainly does nothing for your testosterone unless you're severely deficient. Buy magnesium alone for less.
Tribulus, fenugreek, ashwagandha, etc. Marketed as natural hormone boosters or stress reducers. Evidence is mixed at best, mostly weak, often funded by supplement companies. If something works, it'll show up in independent studies. These don't, consistently.
Greens powders. Eat vegetables. They have all the same nutrients plus fiber, for less money.
Collagen. Some evidence for skin and joint benefits. Almost no evidence for muscle building benefits. If you have joint issues, fine. For muscle, your regular protein covers it.
SARMs, "natural" peptides, prohormones, stimulants beyond caffeine. Not on the legitimate evidence list. Some are actively dangerous. The coach in this app will refuse to recommend them.
How to know if a new supplement is legit
Three questions:
Is it on the WADA banned substances list? If yes, that means it has measurable performance effects, but also means it's regulated for a reason. Not for recreational use.
Is the evidence in independent studies, not industry-funded ones? If every paper about a supplement comes from the supplement company's research lab, that's a red flag.
Has it been on the market for 10+ years with consistent results? New supplements get hyped hard and quietly disappear. Anything still in regular use a decade later probably works.
Creatine, protein, caffeine, vitamin D, and fish oil all pass these tests. Most flashy new supplements fail at least one.
What the app recommends (and refuses)
The coach is allowed to recommend from an evidence-backed whitelist: creatine monohydrate, whey/casein protein, caffeine, vitamin D, omega-3, magnesium.
The coach refuses to recommend anabolic steroids, SARMs, prohormones, testosterone boosters, DNP, ephedra, or any banned substance. Asking about them gets a safety-first refusal.
If you ask "should I take X supplement," the coach will tell you honestly whether it has evidence behind it or is marketing.
What to do next
Look at your current supplement spend. Anything not on the short list of 6, consider whether you'd notice if you stopped buying it.
If you take none of the 6 and want to start, prioritize in this order:
- Protein powder if you struggle to hit your protein target.
- Creatine monohydrate (5 g/day).
- Vitamin D (if you don't get much sun).
- Caffeine (if you don't already drink coffee or tea).
- Fish oil (if you don't eat fatty fish often).
- Magnesium glycinate (if you have sleep issues).
Starting with all six adds about $40 a month and gives you everything the supplement industry has actually proven works.