Dr. Rhonda Patrick’s October 2024 Supplement Routine
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In this member Q&A clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick gives an October 2024 snapshot of her supplement routine. She lists omega-3, vitamin D with K2, a multivitamin, magnesium, sulforaphane, alpha-lipoic acid, benfotiamine, cocoa flavanols, creatine, collagen, PQQ, and conditional additions tied to training or illness exposure.
Dr. Patrick explains that she uses zinc lozenges only during exposure or the earliest signs of illness, often totaling roughly 80 to 100 milligrams per day for a short period. Small randomized zinc-acetate lozenge trials have produced mixed results, with one reporting a shorter cold and another finding no faster recovery with more adverse effects. [1] [2]
The routine is personal and changes over time. Combined products can duplicate vitamin D, magnesium, zinc, vitamin K, or iron, and iron is especially important to match with evidence of need. Dr. Patrick also prioritizes third-party testing, while brand selection and certification should be viewed as quality-control choices rather than proof that a product is effective.
- ^ Prasad AS; Fitzgerald JT; Bao B; Beck FW; Chandrasekar PH (2000). Duration of symptoms and plasma cytokine levels in patients with the common cold treated with zinc acetate. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Ann Intern Med 133, 4.
- ^ 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-031662
I see here that people are interested. Ben submitted a question about my supplement stack, and I like to give you an update every so often on what I'm taking. I'm constantly taking things away or bringing things back. So I'll just rapidly go through my current supplements, since people are really interested in that.
I am obviously taking the basics that I talk about a lot. For omega-3, I'm taking Metagenics EPA-DHA 2400. I'm taking vitamin D with K2 and the ONE Multivitamin by Pure Encapsulations. I take magnesium glycinate by Pure Encapsulations. I'm taking Avmacol for sulforaphane, and I take two of those. I take alpha-lipoic acid by Pure Encapsulations, benfotiamine by Life Extension, and CocoaVia Cardio Health at the recommended dose. At night, I'm taking Magnesi-Om, which combines several forms of magnesium. I take that in addition to magnesium glycinate, using just a little scoop in my water.
I also take five grams of creatine a day. I'm taking hydrolyzed collagen powder. Right now, I'm using Besha. It is a brand that has been third-party tested and uses patented collagen peptides that are smaller in molecular weight. Those are the types that have been shown to be absorbed better, particularly into the skin. I also take PQQ by Life Extension.
During times of exposure to viral illness, I supplement with liposomal vitamin C by Pure Encapsulations and zinc lozenges by Life Extension. I suck on those, and I'm probably taking between 80 and 100 milligrams a day, possibly sometimes more. That is only during exposure or the very subtle onset of viral illness. The reason I use lozenges instead of zinc supplements is that there is a local effect. Sucking on zinc lozenges has an effect in the airways in addition to helping the immune system.
I also ordered a glutamine supplement from Thorne. I use glutamine on days when I've been training really hard. I've noticed that hard training has made me a little more susceptible to respiratory illness, particularly because I'm constantly being exposed by having a young child at home who brings illnesses home from school. So I use glutamine on training days and particularly when my son is sick and I know there is a possibility of exposure.
Whey protein is another thing I use on days when I'm not going to eat a turkey burger or something else high in protein and need to get that extra protein. Lastly, I take some iron during menstruation.
I see in the chat that people are asking about brands. Let me start by saying that when I'm interested in trying something new, I have a handful of brands I usually look to: Thorne, Pure Encapsulations, Life Extension, and Metagenics for fish oil. Those first three are pretty much my top three brands. For creatine, I'm using Thorne. The vitamin D with K2, magnesium glycinate, and alpha-lipoic acid are from Pure Encapsulations. Benfotiamine and PQQ are from Life Extension. I think you now have all the brands.
That is the system I use. If I'm trying something new, I definitely look for third-party testing. I've found that many greens powders are contaminated with heavy metals. If you are going to use a greens powder, I highly suggest looking at ConsumerLab and choosing one of the products it has tested because contamination with heavy metals is possible.
I typically don't use greens powders for that reason. I make smoothies. I recently bought a Vitamix stainless-steel container because I was concerned about plastic containers. During high-speed blending, friction itself can release microplastics into the beverage. Vitamix makes a stainless-steel container that is about $200. It only fits on a Vitamix blender, so you have to have one of those as well. Old-school blenders that do not reach as high a speed and use glass containers are another option.
Adriana is asking what brand of collagen I use. For my skin, I've been using Verisol, which is the patented form, and the brand is Besha. It has been third-party tested. The other collagen powder I use is from Sparkle. It contains the joint forms called FORTIBONE and FORTIGEL. It comes in different flavors, and sometimes I put that in my water as well.
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