What Supplements Does Mark Sisson Recommend?

Mark Sisson Of Marks Daily Apple is a popular blogger and thought leader in the paleo-ancestrol health and wellness movement. Someone recently emailed asking me what I thought of Marks supplement suggestions and they passed along this article on primal supplementation.

Truthfully Mark's supplement recommendations are pretty basic for the average everyday individual looking to optimize their health and have more energy. Basic is good!

1: Antioxidant Booster.

This can mean a few things by the way Mark describes it. It could be a multivitamin or a antioxidant blend or a multimineral formula.

Mark's reasoning is as follows

Eating right, avoiding stress and exercising appropriately (i.e. not too much high-end cardio) are always the first lines of defense. Of course, we also have our three main internal “onboard” antioxidant systems that take care of most of the normal oxidative damage when we are healthy, unstressed and eating well (catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione). But these systems can come up short when we are under stress (who isn’t), eating to much sugar and other carbs, trans and hydrogenated fats or drinking alcohol or when we are exercising inappropriately. Theoretically, that still ought to be no problem, because our bodies were designed to get additional antioxidant support from the foods we eat.

Jimmy's suggestion: The Physique Formula Multi Vitamin

The Physique Formula offers an all natural multi-vitamin which includes a daily serving of ZMA for hormone health and Cardioaid for heart health

Mark then mentions probiotics

2: Probiotics

Truth be told, there's a lot of different reasons why you should consider adding a probiotic into your diet from digestive health to the potential of optimizing protein intake to immune system health. I take 1-2 caps at night before bed.

Mark looks at it from a different light...

The problem today is that we don’t eat dirt; we wash everything. Of course, given the crap that’s in and on the dirt around us, it’s probably best that we do wash it all. But in the process we never get a chance to ingest the healthy bacteria that our genes expect us to. In most healthy people this doesn’t usually present a problem. As long as there are some healthy gut bacteria present, as long as we don’t get too stressed out (stress hormones can kill off healthy flora), too sick (diarrhea and vomiting are ways the body purges bad bacteria – but it purges good bacteria with them), or take antibiotics (antibiotics tend to kill most bacteria – that’s their job), and as long as we are eating well, those healthy bacteria can flourish and keep us well. Unfortunately, we live in a time when stress is everywhere, where we do tend to get sick or take antibiotics, where certain processed foods support the growth of unhealthy bacteria and yeast forms while choking out the healthy flora. Many people whose diets include daily doses of yogurt or acidophilus are able to maintain healthy gut flora, but these sources aren’t always reliable (pasteurizing and added sugars can reduce their effectiveness), and not everyone can tolerate dairy that well. For that reason, I think it’s wise to take probiotic supplements on occasion. Not necessarily every day, since once these “seeds” have been planted in a healthy gut, they tend to multiply and flourish easily on their own. I’d certainly take extra probiotics under times of great stress or when you’ve been sick or are taking (or have just taken) a course of antibiotics. The reversal of fortune from a few days of taking probiotics can be dramatic. Better than eating dirt, I always say.

Jimmy's Suggestion: Physique Formula Ultra Probiotic 8

No need to refrigerate and it contains 8 strains of clinically tested probiotics shown in studies to promote positive probiotic balance

 3:Omega-3 Fish Oil

Fish oil is one of my favorite supplements. In my opinion I don't think that we take enough fish oil especially considering fish oils benefits on athletic performance. We also have to factor in that our body is bombarded daily with pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids. In today's society, even if you eat grass fed and grass fed butter, you still are operating form a deficit because you've likely been consuming  pro-inflammatory fats from commercially raised meats and pre packaged foods for years.

 

 

Just off the top of my head, omega-3 fish oil has been shown to improve symptoms of ADHD, Anxiety, Arthritis, High Cholesterol, Blood Pressure and more.

Mark provides a quality summary of his thoughts on fish oil.

Unless you’re eating fatty fish every day, following the Primal Blueprint means you’re a prime candidate for fish oil supplementation. See, the typical MDA reader has a low sugar intake, avoids refined carbs, but is often faced with the prospect of eating less than ideal meat and animal fat. We all wish we could dine on wild venison and fresh caught salmon every day, but most of us just can’t. In cases like these (which is the majority of us trying to eat and live right by Grok’s ways), taking 1-3 grams of fish oil each day is a good way to restore the fatty acid balance in our cells, promote good heart health, provide essential fatty acids for our brains, improve protein synthesis after workouts, and counteract some of the downfalls of modern life.

Jimmy's Suggestion: Physique Formula All Natural Fish Oil

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