The short list that earns its shelf space
Supplements
Most supplements don't do much, and the industry is built on hoping you won't check. We graded each one honestly: a few are genuinely worth it, several are situational, and some are here mainly so we can tell you to save your money. The grade and the dose are on every entry.
15 entries · roughly 7% of what moves the needle
Supplements
Caffeine
The best-evidenced legal ergogenic and alertness aid there is — powerful, cheap, and safe within limits, with a real cost to your sleep if you mistime it.
Supplements
Creatine
Creatine monohydrate — the most evidence-backed, cheapest, best-studied performance supplement there is. Boring, and it works.
Supplements
Psyllium
A cheap soluble fiber that lowers LDL, steadies blood glucose, and fixes bowel regularity — one of the better-evidenced supplements most people ignore.
Supplements
Iron
The definitive treatment for iron-deficiency anemia — powerful when you're genuinely low, and genuinely risky to take when you're not.
Supplements
Melatonin
A hormone that shifts your body clock — genuinely useful for jet lag and delayed sleep timing, and often mistaken for a knockout pill it isn't.
Supplements
Vitamin B12
Essential to correct if you're actually deficient — vegans, older adults, long-term metformin or PPI users — and inert if you're already replete.
Supplements
Omega-3
Fish-oil capsules do far less for the average healthy person than the bottle implies — the real cardiovascular signal lives in specific high-risk contexts.
Supplements
Vitamin D
Worth taking if you're actually low; largely inert for hard outcomes if you're already replete. A fix for a deficiency, not a longevity lever.
Supplements
Ashwagandha
An adaptogenic herb with small-but-consistent trials for stress and anxiety — and rare, genuine reports of liver injury that make the risk more than theoretical.
Supplements
Magnesium
A reasonable low-stakes add-on when intake is low or sleep quality is mildly off — wildly over-marketed, and not a substitute for fixing the basics.
Supplements
Zinc
Genuinely useful for shortening a cold if started early and for correcting real deficiency — but chronic high-dose supplementation quietly depletes copper, so more is not better.
Supplements
Berberine
A plant alkaloid with genuine but modest effects on glucose and lipids — and a 'nature's Ozempic' reputation it comes nowhere near deserving.
Supplements
Curcumin
Turmeric's active compound, with a modest anti-inflammatory and joint-pain signal — and a serious absorption problem that most products don't solve.
Supplements
Glycine
An inexpensive amino acid with a thin but real signal for better subjective sleep quality when taken before bed — nothing dramatic, and studied only in small trials.
Supplements
L-theanine
An amino acid from tea associated with a calm, focused state — mildly promising for acute stress and, paired with caffeine, for attention. Effects are small and the stakes are low.