How Rhonda Patrick and Peter Attia Compare Their Supplement Routines

Ken asks about comparing Peter Attia’s supplements with my daily supplements. Ken says, “Hi. Thank you for such great, research-based information. Can you compare and contrast your daily supplements with Peter Attia’s recommendations?” Peter takes Athletic Greens AG1, which I think is his multivitamin source. He takes the Pendulum probiotic, which is supposed to help control glucose levels. I personally tried that while wearing my continuous glucose monitor, and it had the opposite effect on me, so I stopped taking it. He takes four capsules of Carlson’s EPA and DHA, providing 2 grams of EPA and 1.5 grams of DHA, and 5,000 IU per day of vitamin D. He also takes magnesium and calcium: 1 gram of elemental magnesium, two to three capsules of Slow-Mag, and two capsules containing 143 milligrams of magnesium, 416 milligrams of chloride, and 238 milligrams of calcium. He takes magnesium L-threonate in the evening. He takes methylfolate and methyl B12 from Jarrow, providing 400 micrograms of methylfolate and 1,000 micrograms of B12, to keep his homocysteine below 9 micromoles per liter. He takes 50 milligrams of vitamin B6 three times a week. He used to take 50 milligrams daily, but he has seen some people develop vitamin B6 neuropathy when they take too much, so he now takes it only three times a week. He takes 600 milligrams of ashwagandha from Solgar and 2 grams of glycine from Thorne. He also takes one capsule of Magtein, the brand name for magnesium L-threonate. When he travels, he takes 400 milligrams of phosphatidylserine from Jarrow. That is what my team found by reviewing several of his Q&As, so I might be missing something.

Comparing that with what I take, instead of Athletic Greens, I take the multivitamin from Thorne. Right now, I am taking a prenatal from Thorne. It has a little less vitamin D, which I make up with a separate vitamin D supplement, but it contains some iron, and I have noticed a beneficial effect on my hair. The next thing to test is whether, because women lose a lot of iron during menstruation, supplementing with iron during that period is the way to go. I do not know. Usually, I take the multivitamin from Thorne. It contains methylfolate, methyl B12, and B6. The B6 is not as high a dose as what Peter takes three times a week, but I get a daily dose. It also contains the methylfolate and methyl B vitamins that he takes. I also take vitamin D.

Usually, I get a total of about 4,000 to 5,000 IU of vitamin D per day, including what is in my multivitamin. Peter’s total is about 5,000 IU per day. My multivitamin has 2,000 IU per day, and then I take another 2,000 IU, or sometimes 3,000 IU during winter, to reach a total of 4,000 to 5,000 IU per day. For omega-3s, I take a higher-EPA fish oil in the morning, close to 2 grams, and a higher-DHA one in the evening. I do not know that the timing is necessarily important. I try to get a total of anywhere from 4 to 6—milligrams, sorry—grams of EPA and DHA combined throughout the day. So I take probably twice to 2.5 times as much omega-3 as Peter takes. I take about 125 milligrams of magnesium glycinate from Pure Encapsulations. I also take vitamin K2 from Life Extension and alpha-lipoic acid from Pure Encapsulations. I take cocoa daily, either three capsules of the cardiovascular product or one scoop of the powder with hot water. I take it for its beneficial effects on vascular health and the brain.

I also take PQQ from Life Extension. I take berberine, sometimes every other day and sometimes three times a week. I time it with meals and usually take it twice a day, with breakfast or dinner, within about an hour of the meal. I take ubiquinol from Pure Encapsulations, and I have dropped down to about 100 milligrams a day. I also take lutein and zeaxanthin from Pure Encapsulations, along with about two scoops of hydrolyzed collagen powder each day. I have been taking one scoop of myo-inositol mixed with water at night. I have also gone back to taking 10 milligrams of melatonin at night. It really seems to control the night-terror disruptions in which I wake up screaming. I have also become increasingly convinced that melatonin is a beneficial antioxidant in the brain. I have not been convinced that it is really bad for you, but the jury is still out.

I also take LMNT when I do high-intensity workouts or use the sauna. I occasionally take a probiotic, either Florastor or Visbiome, once or twice a week. I occasionally use Meriva, mostly for delayed-onset muscle soreness, menstrual-related pain, or a headache after insufficient sleep. I have also occasionally used boron, Autophagy Renew from Life Extension, and biotin for hair and nails. By occasional, I mean about twice a week. I use significantly more supplements than Peter does. I cover much of what he gets and then some. I have not tried taurine yet, but maybe I will experiment with it. Liz is asking what brand of melatonin I use. Most of the brands I use are Pure Encapsulations and Thorne, with some products from Life Extension. Life Extension makes my vitamin K2 and PQQ, for example. Lisa asks if I have noticed any benefits from myo-inositol. I am sleeping very well, but I also added melatonin back, so it is hard to know which one is responsible. Myo-inositol is also important for reproductive health.

I do think I have noticed a benefit to my sleep, but I do not know if that is because I also added melatonin back. Don is asking what brand of electrolytes I use. It is LMNT, as Amanda put in the chat. I personally like that brand. It has a very high sodium concentration, higher than Nuun, which I used previously and also think is good. I prefer LMNT’s wide variety of flavors. I sweat a lot, so the extra sodium is beneficial for me personally. I also do not add salt to my eggs or salads. I am not someone who gets a lot of salt every day, unless I am eating out, when it is obvious that I am getting more salt.

It really comes down to whether you are already getting a lot of salt. If you get plenty of salt from your diet, you probably do not need much electrolyte supplementation because you could already be getting enough sodium. Personally, I do not eat a high-salt diet, so I like to add LMNT. Matthew is asking about acetyl-L-carnitine. I take alpha-lipoic acid, and I think it would be useful to add acetyl-L-carnitine to it. My mentor Bruce Ames has shown many mitochondrial benefits from combining alpha-lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine. I eat a lot of meat, which is high in carnitine. The same goes for taurine, so I have not been eager to buy those supplements. Still, adding acetyl-L-carnitine to my alpha-lipoic acid is in the back of my mind. The main reason I started taking alpha-lipoic acid was not what Bruce’s animal data showed about making old mitochondria look young again. It was the clinical trials showing that it dramatically reduces advanced glycation end products.

Alpha-lipoic acid helps people with type 2 diabetes who have high levels of advanced glycation end products, which cause neuropathy, retinopathy, and other secondary complications. I am interested in reducing advanced glycation end products, and that is what I have in mind when I take alpha-lipoic acid. I often forget about its potential mitochondrial benefits. That is why adding acetyl-L-carnitine is not high on my list, although I do think about adding it to get the potential mitochondrial benefits of the combination.

If you eat a lot of meat, you also get a lot of carnitine. LP is asking whether I stopped taking BROQ and, if so, why. I started using moringa powder in my smoothies. After so many conversations with Dr. Jed Fahey, he convinced me that sulforaphane and moringin activate the NRF2 pathway and have many of the same beneficial effects. Moringa powder is much cheaper, and I feel it is more stable and easier to know what I am getting. With BROQ, there was always the concern about how much had degraded and how much sulforaphane was left by the time it reached me. I try to drink my smoothies daily, although I do not always manage that.

I would say I have a smoothie about four times a week, and I add moringa powder to it. I think that is the main reason I stopped using BROQ. I am not taking creatine, Robin, but I do supplement with protein powder. I either add it to my smoothie or take it separately, depending on whether I have already had my smoothie. It is hard for me to reach 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight because I am not someone who eats a lot, so protein powder makes that easier. Cindy is asking what my smoothie looks like these days. I usually use kale as the green, although sometimes I add romaine lettuce. I add an avocado and frozen organic blueberries, sometimes with frozen organic raspberries and strawberries.

Blueberries are the most concentrated with respect to polyphenols and anthocyanins. I use quite a lot of blueberries. When I was experimenting with keto, I would use just a handful, but I am not doing that now. I go heavy on organic blueberries in the smoothie because I think they are so beneficial, and they make me feel really good afterward. Then I add two scoops of Great Lakes collagen powder and a heaping tablespoon of moringa powder. Depending on whether I am doing a separate protein shake, these days I have also been adding a little unflavored whey protein powder to my smoothies because I am trying to get a little extra protein. Then I add some water, and that is it. That is my smoothie.