Awesome chart of which supplements are for real and which are snake oil

[agurkas]

So being married to a scientist who has close to a dozen of scientific papers to her name, I have come to learn to be suspect of any of those claims we usually see with supplement manufacturers. Vast majority of them do nothing but drain our wallets and have placebo effect at best (many have negative).
So it was absolutely fantastic finding this infographic of supplements and the existence of scientific proof (or lack thereof) related to them.
Check it out: http://www.informationisbeautiful.ne...l-supplements/

[moondg29]

Awesome chart!

[SwolenONE]

interesting chart!

[Tree_Hugger]

Great Chart... thanks for sharing

[scotties123]

very nice, thanks

[brogaine]

Information is Beautiful is an awesome site, make sure to check out the rest of their ****.

[eldawg]

Here's the interactive version - http://www.informationisbeautiful.ne...l-supplements/

[newequation]

So being married to a scientist who has close to a dozen of scientific papers to her name, I have come to learn to be suspect of any of those claims we usually see with supplement manufacturers. Vast majority of them do nothing but drain our wallets and have placebo effect at best (many have negative).
So it was absolutely fantastic finding this infographic of supplements and the existence of scientific proof (or lack thereof) related to them.
Check it out: http://www.informationisbeautiful.ne...l-supplements/

Perhaps if you were a scientist yourself you would be equally suspect of such fancy bubble charts.

[pitbull14218]

Arginine = Cardio? and is on the worth it line...

[~Hades~]

Amazing how many are the bottom that claim to be greatest.

[Steveoph]

Arginine = Cardio? and is on the worth it line...

Cardio is referring to cardiovascular incase you weren't aware. And yes, arginine has repeatedly been shown to be beneficial in reversing/minimizing endothelial dysfunction.

For example see this 2000 paper. Abstract below. http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/130/11/2626

______________________________________________

L-Arginine (Arg) is the substrate for the synthesis of nitric oxide (NO), the endothelium-derived relaxing factor essential for regulating vascular tone and hemodynamics. NO stimulates angiogenesis, but inhibits endothelin-1 release, leukocyte adhesion, platelet aggregation, superoxide generation, the expression of vascular cell adhesion molecules and monocyte chemotactic peptides, and smooth muscle cell proliferation. Arg exerts its vascular actions also through NO-independent effects, including membrane depolarization, syntheses of creatine, proline and polyamines, secretion of insulin, growth hormone, glucagon and prolactin, plasmin generation and fibrinogenolysis, superoxide scavenging and inhibition of leukocyte adhesion to nonendothelial matrix. Compelling evidence shows that enteral or parenteral administration of Arg reverses endothelial dysfunction associated with major cardiovascular risk factors (hypercholesterolemia, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, obesity/insulin resistance and aging) and ameliorates many common cardiovascular disorders (coronary and peripheral arterial disease, ischemia/reperfusion injury, and heart failure). Dietary Arg supplementation may represent a potentially novel nutritional strategy for preventing and treating cardiovascular disease.

[Guardian]

How come in this one green tea is in two sections lol

http://www.informationisbeautiful.ne...l-supplements/

[GeneGnomeX]

Cardio is referring to cardiovascular incase you weren't aware. And yes, arginine has repeatedly been shown to be beneficial in reversing/minimizing endothelial dysfunction.

Except post myocardial infarction (and possibly other contexts), in which it increases mortality risk. So no it should be be supplemented for cardiovascular maladies unless thoroughly studied in a specific intervention.

[Seany6]

How come in this one green tea is in two sections lol

http://www.informationisbeautiful.ne...l-supplements/

It's not just Green Tea in 2 sections, some others are too due to their rating for different issues, you can see if you click their circles.

[Guardian]

I don't see any adaptogens like maca or Ashwagandha on there I wonder how they would fair.

[steelers1377]

why is fish oil at the top, while flex seed oil is at the bottom, with omega 3s in the middle?

hmm....

[BobisMighty]

why is fish oil at the top, while flex seed oil is at the bottom, with omega 3s in the middle?

hmm....

probably because of all the omega-9's in the flax seed oil.

[bloodsimple1234]

probably because of all the omega-9's in the flax seed oil.

harder to absorb as well.

pretty neat chart,however I have some issues with some on the bottom.Thanks for posting that!

[Yates Row T]

neat but dont agree with a lot of it

[bloodsimple1234]

neat but dont agree with a lot of it

that is basically what I said.Go take a swim.

[Guardian]

Well I think we need to keep in mind this is geared toward health not performance.

[Yates Row T]

that is basically what I said.Go take a swim.

u were wrong, i was right but thats standard

[Tussmann57]

Ginko has some evidence, so do some of the others labeled none. Some of this chart is bull****. But i guess it is for health purposes.

[DriverDan]

neat but dont agree with a lot of it

Science doesn't require your agreement. The items on the chart were ranked by specific claims & scientific evidence (or lack thereof). Some of them have evidence supporting them for uses not listed on the chart but for the uses listed it's accurate.

Ginko has some evidence, so do some of the others labeled none. Some of this chart is bull****. But i guess it is for health purposes.

Really? Care to cite the research?

[Guardian]

Is cayenne in there somewhere didn't see it?

I actually agree with most of the chart, again people need to realize that its about health not performance. Only one I am a bit surprised on is milk thistle, I will have to get around to doing more research but last I checked milk thistle was quite proven to be positive for liver health, they even give it to alcoholic rehabs to help regrow the liver.

[DriverDan]

Is cayenne in there somewhere didn't see it?

I actually agree with most of the chart, again people need to realize that its about health not performance. Only one I am a bit surprised on is milk thistle, I will have to get around to doing more research but last I checked milk thistle was quite proven to be positive for liver health, they even give it to alcoholic rehabs to help regrow the liver.

The research is mixed. Some has show efficacy, some has shown no effect.

[Sldge]

There is a few on there that should be near the top. But I guess if you want to make a pretty chart its easier to pick and choose what you want represented.

[Torrtrefireto]

I'm not a regular here but I must argue that Vitamin b3 is placed poorly.

Niacin took my cholesterol from upper 3's to under 2 and my triglycerides from over 4 to 150ish in only a few months. All with a nice 10 point bump up in my HDL.

If that coorelates to me having a heart attack at 60 instead of 40.... then I would consider it good. Plus beyond the flushing there aren't any real side effects

[Guardian]

I'm not a regular here but I must argue that Vitamin b3 is placed poorly.

Niacin took my cholesterol from upper 3's to under 2 and my triglycerides from over 4 to 150ish in only a few months. All with a nice 10 point bump up in my HDL.

If that coorelates to me having a heart attack at 60 instead of 40.... then I would consider it good. Plus beyond the flushing there aren't any real side effects

Yea but is that really a "health" effect or more so using it to treat an existing condition?

[eldawg]

Here is the data behind this meta analysis - http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?k...12X1E&hl=en_GB