Everyone's specific needs will be different. For me, fish oil, L-theanine, 5-HTP and electrolytes are my MOST important. If I happen to remember to take anything else...yay! If I didn't have my "happy light" during the short winter days, I am sure I would need Vit D (and probably some other meds that could not be classified as supplements).

Vitamin D, Omega 3, magnesium, potassium and a good multivitamin helps. I like the Naturemade from Wally they are inexpensive for the most part and have good luck with them. I also recommend a good probiotic as most foods the bacteria does not survive the digestive track so always good for a little extra security to get them in I prefer the Ultima Flora also from wally very high rating and seem to do a good job with my digestion.

nvmomketo wrote: »

I'm on a budget and cutting supplements is an easy place to start. I am just figuring what I actually need now.

I will continue to take:
vitamin A (I tend to be low)
vitamin D (lowish)
glucosamine chondroitin (darn joints)

I have a bunch of others I take but I want to know what others think is the best.

I am hypothyroid and take 150mcg of natural desiccated thyroid. I take iodine a bit but don't worry about supplementing it much. My thyroid is almost kaput so why coddle it.

I am prediabetic based on my morning BG which is high unless I keep carbs well under 20g per day and am losing weight. Once weight loss stops my BG seems to climb into the 6s and is down into the 5s again by the afternoon.

For IR I take 1000mcg (mg?) per day. I was taking ALA but I'm not sure on that one. I take cod liver oil too.

Any ideas on what could be helpful or what supplements you think are a bad idea, even if not listed.

#nvmomketo - Make sure you take the D and A 12 hours apart - they compete for absorption. If you are taking D at all, I HIGHLY recommend taking it with K2 unless you are eating grassfed meats/butter/dairy. Otherwise the D is like a taxi (it picks up the calcium) without the driver knowing where to go!

I personally consider magnesium, zinc, and boron part of the D-family of supplements. They work in conjunction and should all be taken to maximize efficiency.

I consider a good B-Complex another one of those "everyone should take it" vitamins.

I like C to support immune stuff.

I've heard something recently (can't recall where ATM)( and glucosamine chondroitin having less than preferable side effects and not working as intended, so personally I'd stick with getting collagen, hyaluronic acid (if not RA related), etc.

I'm currently a huge fan of aminos for mood stuff...

Oh, and with the thyroid medication, there are some supplements recommended, Tyrosine, specifically, that I like with it. I do the iodine, too, and I personally think if my thyroid was almost kaput, I myself would do absolutely everything I could to keep it going as long as possible - medicating without any natural thyroid function has been described to me by friends as a horror story...

Using l-glutamine has worked wonders for my sugar and binge cravings...

If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.