Natural Supps

How-do; 09er & 1st post so be gentle.
I’m a big fan of using natural supps for various reasons. I’ve picked up some great info from T-Nation articles/forumz & the interwebz over the past 6 months, but it’s kind of scattered about or hidden in OT remarks.

Natural Supplements are cheap, readily available, and have been used often for centuries to great effect. Heres a list of the good stuff i’ve managed to gleen so-far; have I missed any other essentials?

Anti-inflammatories:
Fish Oil/Omega 3s
Cinnamon (boosts Insulin sensitivity too)
Circumin (it’s in the spice tumeric apparently)

Thermogenics/Stimulants:
Green Tea
Capsicum (Thats spicey food; found in Chillies)
Caffeine
Nicotine (don’t smoke a tab pre-workout: but some study found 17% increase in endurance performance from use of a nicotine patch during cycling)

T-boosters/E-Inhibitors:
Resveratrol (aromatase inhibitor); found in wines especially red pinot noir.

Misc/Recovery:
Epsom Salt Baths
Apple Cider Vinegar (boosts bodies digestive bacterial/enzyme flora?)

Again: What other natural, readily available super-supps am I (and any other t-reader) missing from natures rich pharmacy of performance enhancers?!

I think “natural” is an arbitrary distinction when it comes to nutritional supplements. Natural doesn’t always mean safer or healthy. Natural compounds can have druglike effects (and side effects) and cause health problems. I believe the body doesn’t care if supplements are synthetic or natural in origin (used to be true for Vitamin E, I don’t know if that is current thinking).

I dislike supplements with artificial food coloring (which has been shown to cause problems, and is IMO usually unnecessary). I don’t need my protein drink to be flourescent green in order to think it’s appetizing. Other than that, I am much less concerned that my supplements are “natural”.

[quote]K2000 wrote:
I think “natural” is an arbitrary distinction when it comes to nutritional supplements. Natural doesn’t always mean safer or healthy.[/quote]

I get that it doesn’t always mean safer or healthier, definition of natural aside; what else should be in any aspiring PL/BB/Athletes definitive arsenal of supps that aren’t synthetic.

What definition are you using for ‘Natural’?
Creatine occurs naturally in meat,Rhodiola Rosea is simply a herb,probiotics are natural,I like 5-HTP,which is in the form of a herbal extract,do they qualify?
Do you mean as pure/unprocessed as possible,or what?

Also,the line gets blurred between food and supps after a point,but I would qualify it by saying I take something in large amounts mostly for its benefits than its taste.

I like-
Apple Cider Vinegar* (good for the joints too)
Green Tea
Coffee
Nicotine patches*
Fish Oil or Flaxseed (ground,NOT oil)
Coconut Oil
Chilli Sauce or mustard (I like the taste,but will add it to foods whether I fancy it or not,for the metabolism/energy boost,and it really clears out mucus)
Ginseng & Ginkgo Biloba (Or Ginseng & Royal Jelly vials sometimes,cycle on and off both)

*just wrote a post on these actually

For recovery-
-Radox bath salts

-Tiger Muscle Rub (From the makers of Tiger Balm-In my opinion,EVERY serious athlete or lifter should have a stash of this,forget deep heat,etc. this is the original old,old,old school shit! use it after a hard session,before a session if stiff,or for DOMS,or when you need to warm up fast.It’s a natural healing analgesic/anaesthetic)

-Marijuana? (seriously-just a little though)