The Best Supplements for Health and Performance

What are the best supplements for health and athletic performance? It all depends on their ingredients list. You want to look for betaine, caffeine, creatine, protein, beet juice, vitamin D, magnesium, and many more. In this article, we will focus both on the ingredients and the supplements that contain them. Do you want to learn more? Then keep reading!

The Best Supplements for Health

Let’s start with the best health supplements. What ingredients should you look for, and where can you find them? Take a look below.

Magnesium

Magnesium maintains your muscles, nerves, bones, and blood sugar levels. It is responsible for potassium fluxes and calcium metabolism [1]. Thus, its deficiency may cause severe problems with your health. Thankfully, you can find it in many supplements and natural products.

Supplements and Foods Containing Magnesium

• Dark Labs Tudca,
• separate magnesium supplements,
• green vegetables:
  • spinach,
  • pumpkin seed,
  • lima bean,
  • edamame,
  • leaf vegetables,
• legumes,
• nuts,
• shellfish.

Vitamin D

Similarly to magnesium, vitamin D promotes calcium absorption. Additionally, it’s a component needed for your bones to grow and remodel. It also mitigates inflammation and boosts your immune system [2]. What’s more, it’s present only in small amounts in most foods. Thus, it’s not only one of the best supplements for health—it’s one that you should include in your supplementary routine.

Supplements and Foods Containing Vitamin D

• Separate vitamin D supplements,
• fish:
  • salmon,
  • trout,
  • sardines,
  • cod liver,
• eggs,
• mushrooms,
• cheese,
• chicken breast,
• beef (barely).

It may also be acquired via exposure to sunlight.

L-Dopa

L-dopa is a compound widely used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. This is due to its impact on the cognitive performance of human brains [3]. It’s not a medicine, though, so it’s safe (and good) to take it regularly as a health-boosting supplement.

Supplements and Foods Containing L-Dopa

• L-DOPA 120 Capsules,
• dairy:
  • milk,
  • cheese,
  • yogurt,
• eggs,
• dark chocolate,
• nuts:
  • almonds,
  • walnuts.

Fish Oil

Fish oil is also one of the best supplement ingredients for health. It has a plethora of health benefits, namely:

• it lowers blood pressure,
• it reduces inflammation,
• it decreases anxiety and depression risk,
• it slows down muscle loss.

You should consume about 3-4 grams of fish oil per day to achieve the best results without overdosing—keep that in mind and include it in your diet!

Supplements and Foods Containing Fish Oil

• Separate fish oil supplements,
• fatty fish:
  • mackerel,
  • salmon,
  • cod liver oil,
  • herring,
• oysters.

The Best Supplements for Sports Performance

We’ve shown you the best supplements for health, so now it's time to delve into those that are most effective for athletic performance. Again, we will start by listing the ingredients and including information on where to find them!

Beetroot/Beet Juice

According to the National Institutes of Health (AUD), beet juice can improve both performance and endurance. It was tested mainly among runners, swimmers, rowers, and cyclists—these athletes who prioritize endurance over strength [4]. Interestingly, according to the same source, it’s proven most effective among non-professionals—those who do sports for recreation.

Supplements and Foods Containing Beet Juice

• Dark Labs Crack Preworkout,
• concentrated beet juice supplements,
• bottled beet juice,
• beet.

Betaine

Betaine is a supplement ingredient that mostly improves the performance of strength-based activities, though its effectiveness was also proven in clinical research on cyclists [4]. It also supports cellular hydration and creatine production, reducing the feeling of fatigue and affecting muscle endurance. So, should you include it in your supplement stack? In our opinion, yes!

Supplements and Foods Containing Betaine

• Dark Labs Alpha Creatine,
• Wheat bran,
• quinoa,
• beets,
• spinach,
• rye grain,
• turkey breast,
• beef.

Caffeine

Caffeine is perhaps one of the most common pre-workout ingredients, and you’ll find it in other supplements as well. It’s highly stimulating, boosting both focus and your athletic performance. However, it has its downsides. Caffeine's half-life is around 5 hours, meaning that if you take it in the evening, you might have problems falling asleep. What’s more, it doesn’t work on everyone—there are some people who are resistant to its effects and might need to look for alternatives. Finally, we have it in coffee, energy drinks, even Coke—it’s easy to overdose if you don’t keep track of the amounts of caffeine consumed. Nevertheless, all the best supplements for athletic performance use caffeine. If it works for you, you should opt for such supplements, as they will increase your performance significantly, as long as they are taken before physical activity.

Supplements and Foods Containing Caffeine

• Stimulating pre-workouts,
• coffee,
• tea,
• energy drinks,
• soda,
• guarana,
• cocoa,
• matcha.

Creatine

What is creatine? It’s a substance that naturally resides in muscle cells and participates in energy production. Creatine is one of the best supplements for sports performance if your activities are based on strength, showing little to no effect in endurance-based sports [4]. You can find it in numerous foods, but it’s also good to take extra doses of it in the form of supplements.

Supplements and Foods Containing Creatine

• Creatine supplements,
• almonds,
• beef,
• broccoli,
• brown rice,
• dairy,
• fish,
• pork,
• poultry,
• pumpkin seeds,
• quinoa,
• sesame seeds,
• spinach,
• walnuts.

Protein

Protein is one of the most significant compounds you need to improve your performance and health. It’s the building block of your muscles that also prevents muscle breakdown, letting you train longer and harder.

Supplements and Foods Containing Protein

• Eggs,
• milk,
• tofu,
• lentils,
• chicken breast,
• nuts,
• fish,
• turkey,
• seeds,
• soy,
• whey.

The Takeaway

Knowing the best supplements for health and performance, you’re ready to prepare your supplementation plan. Remember—even the best products won’t replace a healthy diet, so look for the natural sources of the abovementioned ingredients first. Also, be careful not to overdose on any of these substances. They have their own side effects (everything does), so it’s crucial that you stick to healthy amounts. Don’t know how to prepare your supplementation plan? Read our article on how to stack supplements. Sources:

1. https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/nutrient-reference-values/nutrients/magnesium
2. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/
3. Cools, R. (2006). Dopaminergic modulation of cognitive function-implications for l-DOPA treatment in Parkinson's disease. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 30(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2005.03.024
4. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/ExerciseAndAthleticPerformance-HealthProfessional/

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