Table of Contents
Medical disclaimer
This guide is a general-health document for adults 18 or over. Its aim is strictly educational. It does not constitute medical advice. Please consult a medical or health professional before you begin any exercise-, nutrition-, or supplementation-related program, or if you have questions about your health.
This guide is based on scientific studies, but individual results do vary. If you engage in any activity or take any product mentioned herein, you do so of your own free will, and you knowingly and voluntarily accept the risks. While we mention major known interactions, it is possible for any supplement to interact with other supplements, with foods and pharmaceuticals, and with particular health conditions.
Examine.com does not assume liability for any actions undertaken after visiting these pages, and does not assume liability if one misuses supplements. Examine.com and its Editors do not ensure that unforeseen side effects will not occur even at the proper dosages, and thereby does not assume liability for any side effects from supplements or practices hosted under the domain of Examine.com.
Examine.com does not make any representations, recommend or endorse any specific tests, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on the website. Reliance on any information provided by Examine.com, Examine.com employees, guest writers, editors, and invitees of Examine.com, or other visitors to Examine.com is solely at your own risk.
How to use
The Examine team has been publishing research on nutrition and supplementation since March 2011. Drawing from all we’ve learned, we’ve designed this Supplement Guide with two aims in mind: helping you decide which supplements are right for you, based on the scientific evidence, and helping you integrate these supplements into synergistic combos.
Primary supplements have the best safety-efficacy profile. When used responsibly, they are the supplements most likely to help and not cause side effects.
Secondary supplements may provide substantial benefits, but only in the right context. A secondary option is not for everyone and not a first pick, but if you read the entry and find that you meet the criteria, consider adding the supplement to your combo.
Promising supplements have less evidence for their effects. They could work or be a waste of money. Keep them in mind, but think twice before adding them to your combo.
Unproven supplements are backed by tradition or by mechanistic, animal, epidemiological, or anecdotal evidence, but not yet by convincing human trials. At this point, they are not good candidates for your combo.
Inadvisable supplements are either potentially dangerous or simply ineffective, marketing claims notwithstanding. Do not add them to your combo. At best, they’ll be a waste of money; at worst, they can cause you harm.
Now that you’ve learned of various supplements worthy of your consideration, you’ll learn to integrate them into synergistic combos. You’ll discover a core combo (composed of the most important and least controversial supplements) and several specialized combos. Each specialized combo is optimized for a specific population. The simplest way to formulate your own combo is to combine the core combo with the specialized combo that best fits your situation, needs, and primary health goal.
Then comes the FAQ, in which we cover common questions that may arise when selecting and combining supplements. With all this, you should be able to identify and assemble the supplement combo best suited to your objective.
Introduction
From time to time, everyone feels down for some reason, such as failing at something or losing a job or a loved one. This downturn can be disabling and can prevent a person from performing normal, everyday tasks. And when “low mood” turns very severe or simply lasts too long, it is often classified as a mood disorder.
The most common mood disorder is major depressive disorder (MDD), a condition that affects nearly 322 million people worldwide[1] and is one of the largest contributors to global disability. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the number of people living with depression increased by nearly 20% from 2005 to 2015. Although estimated to be more common in women[2] and adults of working age, depressive symptoms are frequently found in all sexes and age groups.[3]
Prevalence of depressive disorders (% of population) by WHO Region
Reference: World Health Organization. Depression and Other Common Mental Disorders: Global Health Estimates. Gov't Doc #: WHO/MSD/MER/2017.2
Prevalence of major depressive episodes (% of population) in the US
Reference: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). 2013.
Although depression is a common ailment, it can be incredibly difficult to talk about, both because of the stigma around mental health[4] and because many people (including researchers) don’t take it as seriously as they do ailments that can be objectively assessed, such as infections or diabetes.
Hypotheses of mood disorders
Treatments and their evidence
Secondary Supplements
Promising Supplements
Inadvisable Supplements
Update History
Changed EPA dose in the combos section to 1 g to match the dose in the main entry.
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Updated to V3
- Reviewed all supplements as per updated standards and changed several rankings, adding proper references
- Added new entries, including saffron, Rhodiola rosea, magnesium, chromium, ashwagandha, and inositol
- Wrote safety sections for all but "unproven" or "inadvisable" supplements.
- Copyeditor rewrote all text for improved readability
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