Learning from your elders is one of the best choices you can make, and that holds true for supplements just as well as it does for life lessons.
These supplements have been in use for many years. Your grandpa took them. The great Arnold took them. They’ve been a staple since the early days. Some are still common today and some have fallen out of favor.
Creatine Monohydrate:
Contrary to popular belief creatine is not a steroid; it’s not going to cause liver or kidney failure, and it won’t add 20 pounds of muscle to your frame. What it will do is allow you to squeeze out a few extra reps in a set. Now you may think this isn’t a big deal but two extra reps over ten sets is A LOT of extra work. That’ll cause muscle growth and strength gains.
Creatine Monohydrate works by increasing the concentration of Creatine Phosphate available in your body. Creatine Phosphate lends a phosphate to ADP to turn it back to ATP (your primary energy molecule). Creatine Phosphate takes over after initial ATP stores are depleted (takes about five seconds during strenuous activity) and can last from 20-30 seconds. Supplementing with Creatine allows the Creatine Phosphate system to last longer(1) .
Find it here and dose it at 5g a day.
Liver:
Everyone’s heard of their grandmother’s favorite dish, Liver and Onions, but who would think that liver is a phenomenal muscle building tool.
Liver is a great source of complete protein. It contains a full spectrum of B vitamins in very bioavailable forms, and it’s also a great source of many minerals and the vitamins A,C,D,E, and K.
Now if you don’t feel like chowing down on some liver from the grocery store, Universal makes a great dessicated liver pill made from the livers of grass-fed cattle. Take a few tablets daily with meals to ensure good absorption.
Brewer’s Yeast:
Brewer’s Yeast is a deactivated dried yeast that is full of nutrients. It’s low-carb and high-fiber and contains a decent amount of protein. It also tastes great in soups, salads and more. Although it is still popular as a vegan cheese substitute, it’s fallen out of the eye of flashy bodybuilding marketing.
Brewer’s Yeast is one of the best sources of Chromium, a micronutrient linked to fat loss and increased insulin sensitivity(2). It is also a great source of Selenium, which helps your body chelate heavy metals such as mercury(3). It is also rich in Potassium, Magnesium, Sodium, Copper, Manganese, Iron and Zinc. Brewer’s Yeast is also a good source of some B vitamins and choline.
My personal favorite brand is Lewis Lab’s Brewer’s Yeast. It’s grown on sugar beets and has a delicious flavor, unlike many other brands.
These supplements will take you a lot further than many of the new, ool, “super high tech,” flavor-of-the-week supplements with flashy advertising, and they won’t break the bank.
Citations:
1 – Siff, Mel Cunningham. “The Short Term Energy System.” Supertraining. Denver: Supertraining Institute, 2003. 76-81. Print.
2 – Anderson, Richard A., et al. “Elevated intakes of supplemental chromium improve glucose and insulin variables in individuals with type 2 diabetes.”Diabetes 46.11 (1997): 1786-1791.
3 – Raymond, Laura J., and Nicholas VC Ralston. “Mercury: selenium interactions and health implications.” Seychelles Medical and Dental Journal 7.1 (2004): 72-77.
