As discussed in Gourmet Nutrition, optimal health, body weight, and performance hinge on two things:

1. Regular physical activity and exercise.
2. A complete, well-planned diet.

Of course, a complete, well-planned diet is easier said than done.  Nowadays, with the hectic, on-the-go lifestyles many of us lead, few of us get all the essential nutrients we need every day, nutrients that are very important to our health and well-being.

Need a few examples?  Well, here are just a few of the nutrients many of us are falling short with:

1. Antioxidants and Phytonutrients. Fruits and veggies are loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients – all essential to our health and performance. 

The minimum recommended fruit and veggie intake is 3-5 servings per day, but many people fall well very short of that.  In fact, only 3% of men and 7% of women eat 3-5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

Bottom line: antioxidants and phytonutrients help fight cancer, improve heart health and build better bodies – but most people are missing out.

2. Healthy Oils. Fish oils contain the essential fatty acids EPA and DHA – both critical to our physical and mental health. 

While the minimum recommended amount of EPA and DHA per day is 900mg, the average North American barely gets 1/3 of this (300mg) each day.

Bottom line: EPA and DHA help stop heart disease, manage blood sugar and burn fat – but again, most people are missing out.

3. Protein. Although there’s been quite a lot of debate in the past about how much protein is required for optimal health, many experts today recognize that exercisers would benefit from about 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight each day. 

This means that the average 120lb woman would require 120g of protein per day and the average 160lb man would require 160g per day. 

As the average daily protein intake for women is 80-90g and the average daily intake for men is 110-120g, both men and women would benefit from a protein boost.

It’s for these reasons above that many people choose nutritional supplements - to fill the gaps between what they should be doing and what they’re actually are doing.  And it’s also for these reasons that we recommend a few specific nutritional supplements. 

Now, keep in mind, we don’t sell supplements directly.  We just provide this resource to help you locate the supplements and brands that we’ve had success with in the past and currently recommend to our clients, customers and readers.

Protein Supplements
We use the products below with our clients and don’t hesitate to say that they come from reputable companies and taste great. If you’re going to use a protein supplement, 40g/day is a good amount while 80g/day should represent an upper limit of supplemental protein intake. Of course, protein supplements should never be used as one’s exclusive protein source. 

	Metabolic Drive by Biotest Our choice for supplemental protein as a meal replacement or during meals. A great tasting milk protein blend, Metabolic Drive is perfect for use outside of the workout and post-workout period.

	proteins+ by Genuine Health A quickly digested whey isolate protein supplement useful for supplementation during the workout and post-workout period, if you choose not to follow our general recommendation and use a recovery drink like Biotest Surge.

Note: Gourmet Nutrition recipes that include supplemental protein work great with either protein product above.

Fish Oil Supplements
Fish oil is rich in DHA and EPA, two powerful fats responsible for things like: increased metabolic rate, improved fat burning, increased carbohydrate storage in muscle, better glucose and insulin tolerance, reduced blood lipids, reduced risk of platelet aggregation, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. We typically recommend using about 6-12g of total fish oil per day or 3-6g of combined DHA+EPA.

	Flameout by Biotest Flameout is a fish oil supplement for men designed to have a great percentage of DHA relative to EPA and includes CLA as well. All in all, a great product that provides about 770mg of DHA+EPA per capsule, meaning you'd only have to take 4-8 caps to get the recommended dosage.

	o3mega by Genuine Health An enteric-coated (i.e., no fish burps) fish oil capsule standardized for 30% DHA+EPA, so you'll need between 10 and 20 capsules to get 3-6 grams of DHA+EPA. Genuine Health also makes an extra strength version that has twice the concentration of DHA+EPA, which means you can take half the number of capsules can get the same effect.

Greens Supplements

	greens+ by Genuine Health While greens+ can't replace a diet sufficient in vegetables, the blend of antioxidants, enzymes, phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals it contains can be extremely helpful. I add a serving of greens+ to every protein shake I drink.

Multi-Vitamin Supplements

	multi+ by Genuine Health multi+ is a convenient daily multi-vitamin with a full array of high quality and easy-to-absorb vitamins and minerals.

Recovery Supplements
While strength and endurance training and competition promote a host of physiological benefits, both types of exercise stress the body to a large degree. Well designed recovery drinks help the body deal with this stress by replenishing muscle glycogen and muscle phospagens, rapidly shifting the body from a catabolic state to an anabolic one, managing blood cortisol, supporting immune function, and protecting muscles from excessive structural damage.

	Surge Post Workout Drink by Biotest Surge is a product I designed for Biotest based on some great research on post-workout nutrition, and of course my own dissertation work. As I said, proper nutrition around the workout period is critical, and this drink does it all.

Creatine Supplements
Creatine is one supplement that’s often misunderstood.  While it has been discussed in the athletic context quite extensively, it also has some amazing regenerative effects on all tissues of the body including brain. Although we all get creatine from our diet, most of us don’t get enough of it in to see the benefits.  That’s why we need to supplement.  By using 3-5g per day (1 teaspoon), every day – dissolved in a warm beverage like green tea – many people see improvements in workout and sport performance.  In addition, improvements in day-to-day energy levels and mental performance are also seen. 

	Creapure Creatine by Biotest Top-notch creatine from Biotest. The highest purity of creatine available, plus you get free shipping. Sounds good to me.

	Creatine 500 by At Large Nutrition Good quality creatine from our friends at At Large Nutrition. These guys do a good job all-around.

	Creapure Creatine by ProLab Same source of creatine as the Biotest Creatine listed above.

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