Episode 456: Why Half Your Supplements Are Probably Useless (And Which 4 Actually Matter)

0:01Hi, guys. It's Tony Robbins. You're listening to Habits & Hustle. Crush it. Hey friends, you're listening to Fitness Friday on the Habits and Hustle podcast, where myself and my friends share quick and very actionable advice for you becoming your healthiest self. So stay tuned and let me know how you leveled up.

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1:53All right, you guys. We're here for another Fitness Friday program. That program episode. I know. I know. Fitness Friday fun. I know. And Lerun's joining me yet again. and we pick a topic and we just like blab for a few minutes and then we cut it. So remember guys, very important. We'd love feedback on habits and hustle. The more feedback, the better. Please let us know what you think. If there's something you want us to talk about, all the things and don't forget to subscribe. With that being said, what do you think about the topic that I just chose, which is supplements? Supplements. I mean, the basic thing, and I think people know this most people know this but if you don't just good to remind yourself is like you kind of want a pyramid think of a like maybe a three-tiered pyramid and you want you know the foundation the fundamentals to be like training and nutrition and then as you go up you know sleep or maybe sleep is the foundation you can play around with the bottom but either way the top is supplements meaning the smallest part of the pyramid the last thing you focus on after you've got everything else together should be supplements.

3:04They're kind of icing on the cake. Yes. It should be done in moderation. Yeah. Well, I don't even think done in moderation. I think it's supplemental. I think the word supplements - Literally, by definition. By definition of what supplements are is supplemental. It doesn't take the place of eating properly and eating well and with a lot of different nutrients that our bodies crave a need. It doesn't take the place of exercise. It doesn't take the place of sleep. It helps with overall, you know, your overall. And by the way, a lot of these supplements don't do anything. I think we're living in a time when we are all chasing youth and longevity has become such a huge, huge brand in itself that people keep on creating these products that actually have zero, there's no FDA regulation on any of these things.

3:57There's zero efficacy on these things. And so like, I believe that people need to be super, super careful of where and who they're getting their information and like do their research because a ton of supplements that come my way. I'm like, are you kidding me? Like it's snake oil. You know, like there's certain things I think are really good, but I know the source. And I think that there are certain supplements that are essential because we can't get it in our foods necessarily, or that, like I said, like I think they're doing a very specific thing. But overall, I mean, you can't just be like taking everything willy nilly.

4:33So this is the stuff that I think is really important. Are you ready? And then I want to hear your list. Okay. I think that omega-3 is really important. I think vitamin D with K2 has to be taken together or it's not going to do what you need it to do. It won't digest, absorb. I think that creatine is very important. It's not just for bodybuilders anymore. And I believe, well, protein, that's not really a supplement. And I also do take NAD. I take triniogen. And the reason why I've been taking that is because it's a molecule that our bodies actually make that we actually stop making, I think, after the age of 30 as we age.

5:18But what this does, it's a precursor. So it basically takes the supplement, but it gets your body to make it on its own. That's always a better show. Way better thing. Way better thing to do. Than just taking something that's a supplement. That's it. Yeah. And so a lot of these other things are complete, I hate to say it, completely unnecessary. And it's just like, you're throwing your money down the drain. Yeah. What do you think? Should I riff on those specifically or talk about what I take? No, first I want to hear what you take. So right now I am actually taking creatine. You don't always take it?

5:52No. Why? So creatine is a great supplement. I think it's the most, we've spoken about this before. Most researched. The most researched supplement ever. Ever. Ever. And not just for bodybuilders at all. I think bodybuilding in sports is like a small fraction of that. I want to say one thing about creatine because I just read this study yesterday. They did a huge thing for like a big research just came out, I think a couple of days ago, how creatine actually improves Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's, yeah, I just saw that one. You saw that? I sent that to my brother-in-law who's a neurologist. I have to hear back from him, but yeah.

6:30My mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. So many elderly people. So many elderly people. It's really sad. And so I'm really always on the lookout for anything that can just give her a 0.01 % advantage. That study was super promising. Yeah, it was really promising. The creatine Alzheimer's study, if people are into studies, check that one out. That was really, I looked that up. That was really promising. No, so let me just say that again for people because I think this is really important. if you know of somebody or if you have any type of, I think for, I shouldn't even say that. What I should say is just forget about the muscle, for lean muscle mass, forget about performance.

7:10Let's put that aside. If you're somebody who just wants to have overall better brain health, it helps with your memory and overall cognitive skills, you should start taking creatine. You should start taking it because I think it's very, very helpful. But I would say also, and that's not me, That's the study that we saw. But I do think also knowing where you're getting it from, very important. Yeah, some of them have like heavy metals and stuff in them. Well, you have to make sure, this is another thing, if you're going to take any supplements, make sure they're third-party tested. Make sure that they have a really high regulation.

7:45So I take Momentus because they have an NSF regulation and they're third-party tested, which means, I think NSF is like the highest you can have. And so it's a trusted source. So if you don't want to, I don't care what brand you take, but make sure you're not just taking some like, you know, brand that you saw on Instagram that your favorite influencer is taking. Because who knows, they can be getting paid for it. You never know. And I also think that if you're going for creatine, have you heard of whitewash versus acid wash? No. I think that's what it's called. I'm not sure. But the momentous one it has, it's Crea Pure, I think it is.

8:21It's whitewash. I don't even know what that means exactly. but I listened to Dr. Stacey Sims and she said that's very important. Okay. Well, I'll take Dr. Stacey Sims' word for it. Yeah. So I also interrupted you. I'm sorry. Tell me what you take. I'm not sure exactly where I was, but creatine I take, and I think with things like creatine, what's awesome about creatine is because it's such a foundational building block of like everything in our body because it's part of the energy system, the ATP system. Anyway, don't want to go too far into the science and I also don't know it. that well. But I know it's a foundational kind of building block for a lot of your processes in the body.

9:02So it has multiple benefits, like all boats rise with the tide. It's not just for muscles. It's not just for your brain. It's not just for your energy. It's not just for, you know, they give it to women to increase their baby's birth weight. Are you talking about creatine still? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So when you have a supplement, my point is that when you have a supplement that does just these really wide ranging, has these really wide ranging benefits, chances are it's because your body is supposed to have it naturally. And if you were eating as nature intended, you probably wouldn't need to supplement so much because...

9:40Well, you can find creatine, I believe. You get it in meat, right? Red meat. That's what I'm saying. Right? You can get a lot of these things. People don't eat enough red meat. People don't eat enough protein. But the other thing, oh, I find this also. I kind of like, I was remiss. I also forgot. I also take at night, not in the morning, I take magnesium. Yeah. Because our bodies are needed that. Same thing. It does like everything. You know, it does. I don't think there's anything that you could mention that magnesium doesn't enhance. If you're low in it and you supplement with it, that it doesn't improve.

10:13You know, digestive health, energy, skin, hair, and nails, sleep, obviously, is the big one that most people take magnesium for so but i want to say something also so what you take i take magnesium too okay so you take magnesium you take creatine yeah anything else i think that's about actually alpha gpc it's a form of choline which is naturally present in eggs so it helps with brain performance if you were to eat a diet rich in choline which i think eggs is the main eggs and liver are like some of the main source you probably wouldn't need it need it as as much, but I'm just not eating as much as I usually do.

10:49So I'm supplementing with alpha GPC. It's for brain health, essentially. So this is the thing, like you can talk to - Brain performance. There's so many different things out there that say that they are for brain health, but do they really help brain health? Like I have a reason for taking everything. I take like the Truniogen for recovery and for energy and cellular health. I take my vitamin D for, I mean, I think everyone takes vitamin D at this point. I take omega-3. I mean, I take omega-3. I don't take vitamin D, by the way. You don't? No. Why? Because I get a lot of sunlight. So that's interesting.

11:22So they say even with sunlight, because we live in California. Some people are low. Like my wife is low and she's much lighter than me. So it should be easy for her to get it. You know what I will say? But she's low. I'm not. I want to say something else that I think it's important for people to make sure before they even supplement to get it blood panel. Yeah, she just got her blood panel. To see where you're deficient. Yeah. Don't just like randomly, oh, okay, you know, willy-nilly just start taking something. Because you may think that you need vitamin D, but not need it. Or you may think you don't need something and then need it.

11:53And then also get retested again in six months. To see if it's working or your supplement is actually being absorbed. To see if your supplements are even being absorbed. Or if now you're over, you might be over the limit that you should be. That's what happened with me and vitamin D. I was taking like, you know, the 5 ,000 ICUs, like they, everyone, everyone says to take. And then I was taking it for so long that when I got my blood back, I was like, they're like, actually, you're taking too much of it. You got to back off. Yeah, it can be toxic in high enough doses. Most people are just low because again, it goes back to nature.

12:25Like we are not meant to be indoors all the time. Like in nature, you're very rarely indoors and we've evolved for a natural living. So in our society, in modern Western world, we're indoors. Yeah. And that's why we need to supplement with D. And darker skinned people are going to need a lot more. If you're darker skinned and you're living in a colder place, you know, if you're dark and you're living in Europe, you know, Western Europe, or you're living in New York, you're going to need a lot more vitamin D than other people. So there's a, you know, you're working with nature is my point. You should be working with nature and you should learn a little bit about how nature works and use that as a springboard for yourself.

13:05I think that's too, honestly, no offense, but I think that's a little complicated to work with nature and know how nature works. That's not really how most people would. No, they don't, but I think it would fix a lot. Or like, why don't you just like be like, kind of be kind of like in tune with where you have symptoms. If you feel tired all the time or lethargic, maybe, you know, maybe then you should, well, then you should get a test to see like what you're really low in. And maybe it's because you, you know, maybe I'm not, I'm not a doctor. But you intuitively already do this. Like I know you walk everywhere.

13:38I walk everywhere. That's being in tune with your nature. No, that's because I don't like to sit still and I think better when I move. And so I walk and do my phone calls. But that's instinctual. You're listening to your body. True. Yeah. And so I think better when I walk and that's the other thing. And what's the other reason why I like to walk? Oh, my mood. My mood. Most important thing. Because if I don't move for an extended period of time, my mood dips. My energy dips. Energy begets energy. The more I move, the more energy I have. The less I move, the less energy I have. That's why when people say they're too tired to exercise, I never understand that.

14:23Because if you actually exercise, you will feel way more energetic afterwards. That's a big problem people have is they think they need to give energy to work out. And it's fundamental difference in how fit people see working out and how non-fit, meaning people who don't have the habit of working out, see fitness is that they think they need to go to the gym to give energy. And we know that you go to the gym to get energy. There's energy in you. It's there. Nobody doesn't have any energy in them. Most of the time I work out, most of the time I work out, I'm not in the mood. I'm very rarely interested in like working out.

15:03I'm exhausted. I'm tired. I've got a ton of shit to do. But every single time I've done it, I feel way better and I get more done and I have way more energy. And that workout actually wasn't as bad as I thought. It's the first 5, 10, 15 minutes that suck. But then you get into like, you know, you get into the group. 100%.

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17:14Okay, so let me just finish what I was saying about supplements, and I want to stay on target here. So number one, know the source that you're getting them from, very important. Get your blood tested before you take it so you know what you're actually deficient in, and get it retested six months later. You should be getting your blood tested every six months just to know that you're on point, and don't over-supplement. And the other thing I wanted to say was cycle your supplements because I think your bodies can also become very, this is how I, this is how I see it. Like if I take my allergy, I've got really bad allergies.

17:48And if I take my allergy medication every single day, my body becomes immune to the effects of it. So it doesn't even work. I become desensitized. So I have to cycle everything. I cycle my supplements too. So I'll do like with my allergy medication, I'll do two weeks on, four days off, two weeks on, because if I don't take my allergy medication, it's like I'm a mess. People have been talking about allergies a lot recently. Yeah, well, the allergies, it's really bad right now. But you need to cycle everything. So if you're taking, whatever you're taking, whatever you're supplementing with, you need to like give it a break, like three weeks on, one week off, one month on, one month off, just so your body doesn't get acclimated to anything.

18:27And I find that to be super helpful. Yeah, there's no supplement I take 24-7, 365. I'll always take breaks from supplements if I take them. There's also like, I should say also, there's other things that I kind of like weave in in my routine, but I don't take it as often as I do the omega-3, the creatine, and like the, what was the other one? NAD, what was the other one I said? Magnesium at night. I take, sometimes, I take liposomal vitamin C once in a while, and I take NAC. Do you know what NAC is? It's like the precursor to glutathione, which is like a massively strong, strong best antioxidant.

19:07So I take that sometimes too. Do you feel a difference? No, I don't feel a difference at all with anything, but I will say that to be true that if I was being honest, but that to me is because I think it's like, I was told if you take it all the time again, like it doesn't have the same effect. Yeah. My supplement protocol and philosophy on supplements is always constantly evolving. It's always changing. And so is the science on a lot of Yeah, there's a lot of supplements I might even understand. I'm just like, why? But okay, well, hopefully that was a little bit informative for you guys. This is supposed to be very short to the point episode.

19:43So hopefully you gleaned at least a couple of things, right? Get your blood checked, cycle your supplement so your body doesn't get acclimated to it. Don't over supplement. Don't replace it with your diet and or exercise and or sleep. It's a supplement for a reason called supplementing your stuff. and yeah check out Liron what's your what's your Instagram at beyond fitness la b-e-y-o-n-d-f-i-t-n-e-s-s-l-a thank you you're welcome bye