General coverage
General coverage is the unglamorous category: correcting the handful of nutrients that commonly run low, rather than chasing an edge. The physiology is threshold-shaped — vitamin D, magnesium, and zinc each support hundreds of processes, but only a shortfall responds to supplementation. Enough is enough; surplus is excreted, or in zinc’s case becomes a copper problem.
The list below leans on status logic: who plausibly runs low, and what correcting the shortfall has shown in trials. A blood test beats guessing for vitamin D, dietary pattern predicts magnesium and zinc intake, and creatine earns its place as a cheap, deeply studied addition even outside the gym.
Ranked by evidence
- Vitamin D3 1000–2000 IU daily with a fat-containing meal; a blood test beats guessing
- Omega-3 (EPA/DHA) 1–2 g EPA+DHA daily, or algae oil on plant-based diets
- Magnesium glycinate 200–300 mg elemental in the evening
- Creatine monohydrate 3–5 g daily; cheap, well studied, useful beyond training
- Zinc picolinate 15–30 mg with food; strongest case on plant-based diets and restricted eating
Grades are per goal–ingredient pairing, hand-assigned from the evidence records linked on each monograph. Ingredients without a link have a monograph on the way.
What does not work (yet)
- Zinc above 40 mg per day, sustained. Depletes copper over time, with no added benefit shown at these intakes. Sustained doses belong at or under 30 mg.
- Vitamin D2. Raised and maintained blood 25(OH)D less effectively than D3 across pooled trials — same target, weaker delivery.
The list above is the general case. Your medications, current stack, budget, and other goals change it — sometimes a lot.