Honest supplement guides with no brand deals — just the handful of things with real evidence, the forms actually worth buying, and the many that are expensive hope.
Start with food. Use supplements only where they solve a real problem. This page shows you what's useful, what's situational, and what's mostly marketing.
Five common goals, and where the evidence actually points for each one. Pick the one that matches you — the detailed comparisons live on the finder page.
Protein powder can be a practical way to fill the gap when food alone does not cover your daily target.
Creatine monohydrate is the most established starting point for strength, power and repeated high-intensity work.
Pre-workout can be useful for energy, focus and convenience, but it is not required for a good session.
Amino acids can be useful in specific situations, but they are often a lower priority when daily protein intake is already adequate.
Vitamins and minerals are useful when there is a real dietary gap, increased need or confirmed deficiency.
Food First
Food, protein and a plan that survives a bad week — that's the ninety-five per cent doing the actual work. Everything else on this page fills gaps.
Nothing on this page is medical or dietary advice. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, managing a health condition, taking prescription medication, or have any history of disordered eating, please speak to your GP or a registered dietitian before changing how you eat or what you supplement.
Before you spend a penny, these are the figures worth knowing. They explain both why the shelves are so full — and why so little on them is worth buying.
Here is the entire supplement question, ranked by how much it actually matters. Almost everyone is shopping three tiers down before they have sorted the first one.
Food, sleep and training. No supplement moves the needle a fraction of what these do. If any of the three is a mess, a tub will not save it — sort these before you spend a penny.
Protein and creatine. The two with the strongest evidence and the best value in the whole shop. If you buy anything, buy these — and creatine is cheaper than most people believe.
Caffeine, vitamin D, omega-3, magnesium. Genuinely useful in the right context — a UK winter, a hard session, poor sleep, low fish intake. Worth it for the right person, optional for many.
EAAs, collagen, iron. Real but specific: fasted training, tendons and skin, a proven deficiency. Buy only if the case is actually yours — and test before iron.
Fat burners, BCAAs, most multivitamins, greens powders. Little or no evidence for a healthy, well-fed person. This is where most of the money and the guilt go.
Usually Not Worth It
Most fat burners are caffeine, aggressive marketing and a very small effect. I already drank coffee — I was just paying a premium for a worse cup of it in capsules. When I stopped, nothing happened, which was the most useful result I ever got from a supplement.
They cannot replace a calorie deficit, consistent nutrition, training and sleep — and won't try to sell you otherwise.
Why We Mostly Skip Them →At one point I counted them: fourteen. A fat burner bought in a low week, two pre-workouts, BCAAs I couldn't have defined if asked. What changed wasn't willpower — it was reading. A small, boring handful held up: creatine, protein, caffeine, vitamin D for where we live. The rest was, at best, harmless and expensive.
That's the whole reason this section exists — not to sell you more tubs, but to get you down to the few that earn it. You deserve the version I did not have.
Protein powder is food, not a bulking agent. Excess calories and years of lifting build size — a scoop after training does not. It is the myth that keeps women under-eating protein.
Creatine is a natural compound in your body and in red meat that helps regenerate energy. Steroids are synthetic hormones. Calling creatine a steroid is like calling a banana a drug.
Fat-soluble vitamins accumulate and can reach toxic levels; too much of one mineral blocks another. More is not better — it is often just expensive, and occasionally dangerous.
USE IT products were bought at full price and used during real training. RESEARCHED products are clearly labelled and assessed through published evidence and independent testing rather than personal use.
The claim on the front of a tub is marketing. The useful information is in the evidence, and where that evidence is thin, mixed or missing, I say so plainly — even when it costs me an affiliate sale.
Different certifications check different risks. I look for banned-substance testing on sports supplements, purity and oxidation testing on fish oil, and contaminant testing where it is relevant.
Every product has a trade-off, and it goes on the page. A recommendation without a downside is an advert, and this section is not for sale.
For training, creatine and caffeine have strong evidence. Protein powder is useful when food alone does not cover your daily protein target. Vitamins, minerals and omega-3 depend on the person, diet and a specific need.
Many people with a varied diet do not need a general multivitamin. Targeted supplementation usually makes more sense when there is a known dietary gap, increased need or professional recommendation.
Broadly yes, but product quality varies. Independent testing can help identify issues with contaminants, label accuracy and banned substances. Do not assume that organic, premium or plant-based automatically means cleaner.
Not automatically. Paying more can be worthwhile for credible testing, transparent dosing and a form that is actually useful. Paying more for branding, proprietary blends or exaggerated claims rarely improves results.
Sort your food, your sleep and your training first. Then add the two or three things that genuinely earn their place, and walk past the rest. That is the honest version I wish someone had handed me fourteen tubs ago.
Educational content, not medical advice. Products marked USE IT are ones I buy and use; RESEARCHED items are based on independent testing and published evidence, not personal use. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, managing a health condition or taking medication, speak to an appropriate healthcare professional before adding a supplement.