Before we start this, I need to do some qualification.
The following recommendations are based around essential NUTRIENTS for overall health. I could have added in things like Nattokinase, creatine, etc, but the point of this list is NOT performance enhancement, or longevity.
Rather, the premise is
What are essential nutrients that everyone needs, but may not get in sufficient amounts?
Ideally we get ALL of our macros and micros through diet, but idealism and reality rarely equalize.
This list is SHORT. Its only 3 things. The 3 supplements list are all nutrients that can be obtained through diet, but for various reason, are likely to be under consumed.
These three are also things that my wife and I use DAILY as well. This list is not me reaching to list out a dozen products. Its 3 nutrients in total, all of which I have talked about for years.
What are those 3?
1. Magnesium
I first read about magnesium depletion in soil almost 20 years. Its when I first became aware that magnesium deficiency was common and found in about half the population.
Magnesium is used in more than 300 enzymatic reactions: ATP, muscle contraction and relaxation, nerve firing, glucose handling, and blood pressure.
I WISH I had started supplementing sooner, but live and learn. More than any other supplement, magnesium has a positive impact on my sleep, my recovery, and heavily supplementing with it (along with potassium and sodium) ended my predilection for severe cramping from training.
Magnesium obviously can be obtained through food, but in light of the aforementioned soil depletion, supplementing is a simple and foolproof route. You can eat spinach and almonds and oysters. You can also take a few capsules at breakfast and dinner and be covered daily.
What are the benefits of daily magnesium supplementation?
1. Fills a gap most people already have
If you train, sweat, drink coffee, and endure the normal stresses of life, magnesium gets depleted daily. Low status shows up as tightness, poor sleep quality, muscle cramps, and a struggle to relax. Supplementing with magnesium restocks a cofactor the modern diet under-delivers.
2. Calms the nervous system and supports sleep
I am not claiming magnesium knocks you out like a sleeping pill. The RCT literature on sleep is mixed and a lot of it is small. What is not mixed is the physiology: magnesium is a natural NMDA modulator and it helps GABA signaling. The glycinate form is the one people actually tolerate at night. If you are already a perfect sleeper, skip it. If you lay in bed wired, this is one of the cheapest levers you can pull that could make a real difference.
3. Muscle function
On a basic level, you magnesium helps muscles contract. If you exercise a lot, you need more of it. Magnesium sits in the ATP-magnesium complex. No magnesium, sloppy energy handling at the fiber. Malate in particular is the form I want in an active person because it pairs the mineral with an intermediate in the Krebs cycle.
4. Small but real blood-pressure and metabolic support
Meta-analyses put the blood-pressure drop around 2 mm Hg at typical supplemental doses, larger if you start low or already have hypertension or type 2 diabetes. That is not a drug, but its also not zero. Same story with glucose handling: magnesium is a cofactor in insulin signaling, and higher intake tracks with lower type 2 diabetes risk in the observational data.
5. Migraine frequency
Ive never experienced migraines, but this is an interesting one that is real in some people. Umbrella reviews grade magnesium as having strong evidence for reducing migraine intensity and frequency. Its the same situation of being a cheap lever that could have outsized effect.
The Form matters.
Magnesium Oxide is a laxative with poor absorption. Never buy it.
Magnesium Citrate is only if you need to defecate your bowels.
For daily repletion you want absorbable chelates: glycinate for calm, malate for energy and muscle, and a brain-facing form if you can get it.
Optimize Mag stacks dimagnesium malate, magnesium bisglycinate, and magnesium acetyltaurinate. Pretty much an ideal blend.
I always take it with food. Taking more at once is not better.
I take 3 capsules in the morning, and in the evening.
I recommend Optimize Mag from Myoxience.
2. Collagen
Ive talked about collagen going on a decade.
Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body. Skin, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, bone matrix, gut lining. You make less of it every decade after your twenties. That is not a theory. That is simply the reality of how tissue ages.
The objection has been the same idiotic.: “BUT research says it doesnt build muscle” No SHIT REALLY? MAYBE I TAKE IT FOR OTHER REASONS!?!!!
Yes, its true that collagen is not a complete muscle protein and I am not selling it as one.
However, it is a delivery system for glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline in amounts food protein does not give you unless you are eating skin, tendon, and bone on purpose. Collagen contains abundant bioregulators that affect hundreds of reactions. And we know that collagen production declines over time.
So supplement with it.
1. Skin elasticity and hydration
Meta-analyses of hydrolyzed collagen (dozens of RCTs) show improvements in hydration and elasticity versus placebo, usually after 8 to 12 weeks. A 2025 analysis argued the effect shrinks when you throw out industry-funded trials. Fine. That doesnt contradict the fact that collagen contains abundant bioregulators and your body uses it daily for all its structural proteins.
2. Joint comfort and osteoarthritis symptoms
Pooled RCTs show reductions in knee pain scores (WOMAC, VAS) with collagen peptides. You are not regenerating a new joint. You are giving your tissues the material it is built from and, in some people, lowering pain enough that they move better. That is the outcome that matters.
3. Tendon and connective tissue when you actually train
Collagen plus loading (lifting weights) is the strategy. Trials that pair daily peptides with training show better tendon morphology and modest gains in fat-free mass and muscle architecture. The mechanical properties data is weaker. Translation: take it around the session, train the tissue, give it 12 weeks.
4. Glycine load you will not get from a whey shake
Collagen is roughly one-third glycine. Glycine is a precursor for creatine, glutathione, and bile acids, and it is the residue that makes collagen fibers coil. You can eat brisket and bone broth. Most people will not do that daily. A scoop is the adult version of “eat the whole animal” without the logistics.
Human studies that move skin and joints are usually 10 to 15 grams a day of hydrolyzed peptides, for months.
Equip is grass-fed bovine Type I and III, which is the pair that actually shows up in skin, tendon, and gut tissue. Unflavored, one ingredient, mix it in coffee. Chocolate and vanilla exist if you need them to comply.
And yes, you could “jUsT dRinK bOnE bROtH” and eat tendons. Then do that. I enjoy the morning ritual of collagen and coffee.
I take 10 grams in the morning with coffee, every morning. Sometimes I take more later in the day, mixed with nonfat high protein milk.
I recommend Collagen from Equip.
3. Omega 3 fatty acids (aka, Fish Oil)
Most people are not eating 10 servings of fish a week. So supplement.
Ive seen the counter arguments to fish oil, but bluntly, the overall totality human evidence points towards clear health benefits
But RAY PEAT said otherwise!!!
Okay. So listen to what he said then. I dont care what you do.
My position is simple
There have been upwards of 4,500 filed scientific studies on Omega 3 fatty acids since 1970.
Yes, that many. Its a lot of data.
What does all that research tell us?
There are some consistent and notable benefits which I believe merit including Fish Oil as a daily supplement.
1. Lowers triglycerides
Fish oil (EPA + DHA) consistently reduces blood triglycerides. Examine notes this as a clear effect, while also saying it does **not** appear to reduce actual cardiovascular events.
The usual mechanism is that EPA and DHA cut the liver’s production of triglyceride-rich VLDL particles and speed up their clearance from the blood.
2. Reduces depressive symptoms
To be clear, I am not saying fish oil solves the psychological roots of severe depression.
That said, it does reduce symptoms of depression in mild to moderate cases. Evidence is stronger when EPA is relatively high compared with DHA.
How is that possible? Because EPA specifically appears to help by dampening neuroinflammation and supporting neurotransmitter signaling.
Now maybe you are a happy and positive person, but considering neurological inflammation can still happen from stress, I think the “depressive protective” effect of fish oil is worthwhile.
3. Helps some painful inflammatory conditions
Fish oil can improve pain and related symptoms in certain inflammatory states (for example joint-related pain).
EPA and DHA compete with arachidonic acid and are converted into resolvins and related mediators that help resolve inflammation rather than just block it. Research has also shown a reduction in C-Reactive protein (another systemic inflammatory marker)
4. Improves range of motion
This is rarely mentioned but oddly shows up in human research multiple times. How could be possible? I think its from two factors
-The first is that omega3s are found in synovial fluid, which is the fluid that lubricates all your joints. Better joint lubrication facilitates better joint range of motion
-The second is improved joint comfort because of less inflammatory stiffness
5. Raises serum BDNF
This goes back to brain health. DHA and EPA can increase BDNF expression, which supports synaptic plasticity and neuronal survival. BDNF supports neuronal health and plasticity, which is part of why fish oil is studied for mood and brain function. The human evidence for slight improves in cognition has been repeated across multiple studies.
Overall, you have a supplement that can improve overall cardiovascular health, improve joint health, and improve brain health. And you only need to take 2-4 capsules daily, its a fatty acid, and is easily consumed with food. Whats not to like?
And yes, you could “jUsT eAT fiSH”. Fish is expensive and I dont expect people to eat high quality fish every day. Please stop being retarded.
I recommend Fish Oil from Nordic Naturals
I take 2-4 grams daily. Thats 2 capsules, once or twice a day. With food.
What about PEPTIDES?!?
Technically collagen has peptides. Otherwise, all the peptides and small molecules on the market today are contextual in usage, there is nothing in the entire body of evidence (both clinical and anecdotal) that merits daily inclusion.
Download the peptide guide and join the biohacker telegram group if you want to get into peptide research, but there is nothing in that realm thats mandatory on the level of nutrition.
Thanks for the insighful summary! I use all three.