What are the top 5 supplements for men?

The men's shelf is built on a hormone and the men's list is built on a plate: what the diet survey finds men eat differently, and the first three supplements read off it

What are the top 5 supplements for men is a question the shelf has already answered with a men's range, and the men's range is built on one thing, the hormone, in the boosters, the men's multivitamins with a zinc and a herb for vitality, and the men's formulas that promise what a man wants to hear. The hormone is the wrong foundation, because the audit of testosterone boosters across dozens of products found almost no data and no effect on it, and because a man whose testosterone is low has a blood test and a doctor's conversation rather than a shelf. The right foundation is the plate, and the national diet survey describes the men's plate in enough detail to build a list from. Men eat less fruit and vegetables than women on average, which means less fibre and less of the minerals those foods carry, magnesium most measurably, with a share of young men below the reference intake; more meat, which means more iron and more dietary creatine, so that iron deficiency is rare in men and a man's response to creatine is slightly smaller than a vegetarian's and still real; more alcohol; more time indoors through the UK winter at a desk; and a protein total that is often adequate on paper and arrives as one large evening meal rather than the three or four feedings that rebuild muscle. The five supplements for men are read off that pattern, and the first three come straight from it.

The first is vitamin D through the UK winter, from October to March, at the small daily dose the guidance gives, because the sun is too low for the skin to make it and the national survey finds a large share of adults short, with men who work indoors among them; the claims for muscle function, bone and the immune system are authorised and the cost is a few pence. It is first because it applies to every man in the country for half the year without a test, and because the men's shelf, built on the hormone, leaves it out.

The second is creatine monohydrate for the man who lifts, at 3 to 5g a day for a few percent on strength and one to two kilograms of lean mass over a block in the meta-analyses, with an authorised claim and the best-studied safety record of any supplement; a meat-eating man's starting stores are a little higher than a vegetarian's and his response a little smaller, and still the largest of any legal product. The third is protein, and for men it is a pattern rather than a total: the survey finds most men's totals near or above the figure the lifting guidance gives, around 1.6g per kilogram, and arriving as a toast breakfast, a sandwich lunch and a large evening meal, which crosses the per-meal threshold that triggers muscle rebuilding once a day rather than three or four times; the supplement is a protein feeding at breakfast, from food or a scoop, rather than more protein in total, and the men's shelf's mass gainers and amino acid blends answer a problem the survey does not find.

Three supplements read off the men's plate, and the fourth and fifth, the mineral the men's pattern itself produces a shortfall of and the oil for the man eating no fish, the men's shelf placed, the blood test at forty, and the worked example, which is the next section.

The fourth and fifth supplements, magnesium for the men's plate and omega-3 for the man eating no oily fish; the men's shelf placed by the audit; the alcohol note; the one blood test at forty; the worked example; and the verdict

The fourth is magnesium, and it is on the list because the men's plate puts it there. The mineral comes from the leafy greens, nuts, seeds, wholegrains and pulses that the survey finds men eat less of, and the survey finds a share of young men below the reference intake as a result, with the shortfall largest in the men who eat the most processed food and the least of those foods; magnesium has authorised claims for normal muscle function, normal psychological function, normal nervous system function and the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, and is lost in sweat, which adds a lifter's reason. A man whose plate has those foods on it daily does not need it, and a man whose plate is meat, bread and potatoes probably does, which is a judgement a man can make from his own plate in a minute. The fifth is omega-3, for the man eating no oily fish, which the survey finds most men do not eat at the two portions a week the guidance gives; the long-chain fatty acids carry authorised claims for normal heart, brain and eye function, and a man eating two portions a week has them already. The men's list is therefore three for everyone who lifts, vitamin D, creatine and the protein pattern, and two that depend on the plate, magnesium and omega-3, with the plate read by the man himself.

The men's shelf is placed by the audit in a paragraph, because it is where the money goes. Testosterone boosters: audited across dozens of products, almost no data, no effect on the hormone. Men's multivitamins: a vitamin D line, which is bought as the one line, plus zinc and a herb at doses that matter only to the deficient. Men's vitality and virility formulas: the same herbs, no trials as formulas, and a claim no supplement can meet. Zinc for testosterone: a measured effect only in men who were zinc deficient, which a meat-eating man rarely is. The men's range answers the question the shelf wants men to ask and none of the questions the survey finds in their plates.

The alcohol note belongs on a men's list because the survey puts it there: men drink more than women on average, and alcohol is energy without satiety, a thief of the second half of the night, and a reason the evening meal is the whole day's protein; it is not a supplement question and it is on the list of things a man changes before buying anything. The one addition by age is the blood test: from forty, the health check a doctor's practice offers measures lipids and blood pressure, and a man who asks adds vitamin D and, if tired for no reason, B12 and ferritin, which turns the list from a plate reading into a measurement for the two numbers that change most with age.

The worked example is placed on the list by the survey: {FL}, 1500mg magnesium bisglycinate stated as 300mg elemental at 80% NRV, two capsules with the evening meal, with authorised claims for normal muscle function, normal psychological function, normal nervous system function and the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, batch tested for lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium, UK made, 180 capsules for £19.99 at 22p a day, taken by the man whose plate is short of the foods that carry it and not by the man whose plate is full. The full label breakdown is here.

The verdict: the top five supplements for men are built from the men's plate, not the men's hormone. Vitamin D through the UK winter for every man; creatine for every man who lifts; protein as a breakfast feeding rather than a larger total; magnesium for the plate the survey finds a share of young men short of; and omega-3 for the man eating no oily fish. The men's shelf, built on a hormone the audit found no product moves, is left where it stands, the evening drink is examined before any purchase, and the health check at forty turns the plate reading into numbers.

What to check on the label

Questions people also ask

What are the 5 most important supplements for men?

Read off the men's plate as the national diet survey describes it rather than off the men's shelf: vitamin D through the UK winter for every man, since the sun is too low from October to March and most adults are short; creatine at 3 to 5g a day for every man who lifts, for the largest effect of any legal product; protein as a breakfast feeding rather than a larger total, because men's totals are often fine and arrive as one evening meal; magnesium for the plate the survey finds a share of young men short of through the fruit, vegetable and wholegrain gap; and omega-3 for the man eating no oily fish.

Do men need different supplements from women?

The differences are in the plate rather than the physiology: men eat more meat, so iron deficiency is rare and a supplement is not taken without a test, and dietary creatine is higher, so the creatine response is slightly smaller and still large; men eat less fruit, vegetables, nuts and wholegrains, so magnesium shortfalls are commoner; men drink more alcohol; and the men's shelf is built on a hormone that the booster audit found no product moves, which is the one difference that is marketing rather than diet; vitamin D, creatine and the protein pattern are the same for both.

Do testosterone boosters belong in a men's top 5?

No; the audit of testosterone boosters across dozens of products found almost no data and no effect on the hormone in healthy men, zinc raises testosterone only in men who were zinc deficient, which a meat-eating man rarely is, and a man whose testosterone is actually low has a blood test and a doctor's conversation rather than a shelf; the men's range is built on the hormone because it is what men will pay for, and the supplements that answer what men's plates actually lack are the cheapest on the shelf and sold without a men's label.

Should men take magnesium?

The man whose plate is short of the leafy greens, nuts, seeds, wholegrains and pulses that carry it should, and the national diet survey finds a share of young men below the reference intake through exactly that gap, with the mineral also lost in sweat; magnesium has authorised claims for normal muscle function, normal psychological function, normal nervous system function and the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, and a man whose plate has those foods on it daily does not need it, which is a judgement he can make from his own plate; the worked example is 300mg elemental at 80% NRV for 22p a day.

What should a man change before buying supplements?

Two things the survey puts on a men's list that are not sold: the evening drink, since men drink more than women on average and alcohol is energy without satiety, fragments the second half of the night and is the reason the evening meal becomes the whole day's protein; and the plate's pattern, a protein feeding at breakfast and the fruit, vegetables, nuts and wholegrains the survey finds men eat less of; and from forty, the health check a doctor's practice offers, which measures the lipids and blood pressure and turns the list from a plate reading into numbers.

Sources

1. The UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey: a substantial minority of women of reproductive age have low iron stores and intakes below the reference, a large share of adults have low vitamin D status in winter, iodine intakes are low in young women, and magnesium intakes fall below the reference in many adults, with B12 deficiency concentrated in older adults, vegans and those on metformin or acid suppressants. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-diet-and-nutrition-survey
2. Kreider RB, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2017;14:18. PubMed record
3. The GB claims register, vitamin D entries: vitamin D contributes to normal bones, teeth, muscle function, immune function and calcium absorption, with UK guidance suggesting 10 micrograms daily in autumn and winter. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/great-britain-nutrition-and-health-claims-nhc-register
4. The 2020 audit of testosterone booster supplements: of fifty top-selling products, under a quarter had any published data showing a testosterone increase for their ingredients, a tenth had data showing a decrease, most had no human data at all, and many exceeded upper intake levels for vitamins and minerals. PubMed record

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