Huberman Lab
Podcast Notes Key Takeaways * “Behavioral tools form the foundational layer of all tools for mental health, physical health, and performance. Second to that, the next layer is nutrition. No amount of supplementation or non-prescription or prescription compounds can ever compensate for poor nutrition.” – Dr. Andrew Huberman + Nutrition is fundamentally important for obtaining basic nutrients, micro-, and macronutrients – supplements should be used to augment or support behavioral tools and nutrition * General approach to vitamin & mineral supplements: (1) is the cost within the range you can afford and want to pay; (2) are you able to cover needs just from food (you want most food to come from minimally or non-processed foods) * Three questions to ask yourself before starting supplementation: (1) how’s your sleep? (2) how’s your nutrition? (3) what’s your budget? * Unless you are supplementing for foundational support (vitamins, minerals, foundational compounds, adaptogens, probiotics, prebiotics), focus on single-ingredient formulated supplements for the most power and control overdose * Don’t try everything at once when trying to address a specific problem! Instead, try one supplement for one week (without varying anything else) than the other to see which works best for you – then see how well the combination works * Important note for women seeking fertility and hormone support: depending on the phase of your menstrual cycle, supplements will impact you differently since hormones are naturally fluctuating – it’s critical (for everyone, not just women) to take single-ingredient supplements so you can dose accordingly * If the budget is around $100 per month: don’t focus on trying to improve one specific area or category; instead, focus on buffering and enhancing foundational nutrition, adaptogens, probiotics, prebiotics, and digestive enzymes – check out Athletic greens
Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org
In this episode, I explain how to design a supplementation protocol to support maximum mental and physical health and performance depending on your specific needs, nutrition, lifestyle and finances. When most people hear about “supplements,” they think they are vitamin supplements, but there are many compounds that are powerful and sold over-the-counter that can enhance our health in performance and that can’t be obtained from foods. First, I discuss “foundational” supplements to support overall health, including water and fat-soluble vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes, adaptogens, and prebiotics/probiotics. Then I explain how to use single-ingredient supplements to enhance specific aspects of your physiology, such as aiding sleep, cognitive enhancement, and focus supporting healthy hormone levels (e.g., testosterone, estrogen and growth hormone, thyroid). Finally, I explain when it makes sense to add supplements to your lifestyle and discuss how best to use supplements, including how to determine dosage, sourcing, continuous schedules and cycling, and how to layer different supplements most effectively. This episode will explain how to design the safest, most biologically effective, cost-effective supplementation protocol to meet your particular goals and support your overall health, including vitality and longevity.
For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com.
Thank you to our sponsors
AG1 (Athletic Greens): https://athleticgreens.com/huberman
LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman
Helix Sleep: https://helixsleep.com/huberman
InsideTracker: https://www.insidetracker.com/huberman
Supplements from Momentous
https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman
Timestamps
(00:00:00) Supplements
(00:03:38) Hierarchy of Tools/Interventions, Developing a Supplementation Protocol
(00:11:51) Momentous, LMNT, Helix Sleep
(00:15:38) Role of Supplements, Foundational Supplements, Water/Fat-Soluble Vitamins
(00:21:07) Supplement Considerations: Cost, Nutrition & Schedule
(00:25:25) Foundational Supplements, Digestive Enzymes, Adaptogens
(00:28:04) Gut Microbiome, Probiotics/Prebiotics & Nutrition
(00:33:06) Supplements for Gut Microbiome, Brain Fog
(00:35:59) InsideTracker
(00:36:44) Adaptogens & Broad-Spectrum Foundational Supplements
(00:38:35) Core Supplement Questions & Meeting Foundational Needs
(00:43:45) Supplements to Support Sleep: Myo-Inositol, Theanine
(00:50:52) Supplements for Falling Asleep: Magnesium Threonate/Bisglycinate, Apigenin
(00:55:55) Melatonin Caution
(00:58:11) Supplement Dependency?, Placebo Effects
(01:02:45) AG1 (Athletic Greens)
(01:03:53) Nutrition & Behavior for Hormone Health
(01:08:59) Hormone Health: Shilajit, Ashwagandha, L-Carnitine, Maca Root
(01:12:48) Growth Hormone: Behaviors, Arginine, Prescriptions
(01:16:04) Testosterone/Estrogen: Fadogia Agrestis; Bloodwork
(01:23:06) Testosterone Supplement: Tongkat Ali, Libido
(01:27:24) Menstrual Cycle, Birth Control & Fertility
(01:30:54) Cognitive Enhancement & Focus, Sleep, Stimulants: Caffeine
(01:36:57) Adrenaline & Stimulants: Yohimbine, Rauwolscine
(01:38:55) Adjusting Neurotransmitters: Alpha-GPC, L-Tyrosine; Layering Supplements
(01:43:58) Cognitive, Mood & Metabolic Support: Omega-3 Fatty Acids
(01:47:25) Food-Mimic Supplements, Protein
(01:50:09) Kids, Aging & Supplements
(01:55:25) A Rational Supplementation Protocol
(01:58:36) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter
Disclaimer
Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac