Sunday With Sisson | Mark's Daily Apple

What my current supplement routine looks like.͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ [BLOG |]( [PRIMAL KITCHEN |]( [PRIMAL BLUEPRINT]( [Mark Sisson with Coffee Cup](   One of the most frequent requests I get is about how I supplement. What am I taking? What’s my reasoning? Today I’ll go into all that. It's actually a short story. I’ve cut way back on supplementation. In fact, I only take two every day at the moment: vitamin D and collagen. These aren’t really even supplements or “additives” so much as they are replacing nutrients that have been stricken from the human diet. In doing so, they fill the role that supplements are supposed to fill. I take vitamin D because I’m a poor converter of sunlight to vitamin D. Always have been, even though I’ve always spent a ton of time in the sun—and still do. It’s a genetic proclivity that I’ve always [hypothesized]( is due to my recent ancestral reliance on food-borne sources of vitamin D. Northern Europeans often have this variant because their traditional diet was rich in small fatty fish, which happen to be some of the best sources of vitamin D on the planet. I still get all the sun I can (safely, of course), for a few reasons. First, it feels good. The sunlight hitting your skin actually triggers the production of endocannabinoids that help make you feel good. That’s a strong message from your body that you should keep doing the thing that produces the good feeling. Just like training makes you feel good. Just like love, or friendship, or achievement, or hitting a PR, or winning. These are Good Things, and your body trains you to pursue them using the reward systems of the brain. I listen. Second, I hypothesize that it’s important to “balance” out the vitamin D with the sun. It’s not that vitamin D eliminates your need to get sunlight. It increases your need. Vitamin D accompanies sunlight. And sunlight doesn’t just provide vitamin D. It also triggers production of nitric oxide, sets your circadian rhythm, uses cholesterol, and produces dozens of other metabolites. It’s a whole cascade, a symphony of physiological effects, and your body “expects” vitamin D to come with all the other effects of sunlight exposure. Collagen is the other supplement. It’s not even a supplement. It’s a restoration of a formerly vital aspect of the human diet. For hundreds of thousands of years, we’ve eaten bones, tendons, skin, sinew. Even before we had pottery, humans smashed and boiled bones in animal skin sacs using hot rocks. All to wring as much nutrition out of the bones as possible. And now? Aside from the people who have the time (or money) to keep a steady supply of gelatinous bone broth on hand, almost no one eats enough collagen unless they supplement. I will sometimes add creatine to my pre workout hydration drink, which also includes collagen, vitamin C (for improved collagen utilization during workouts), and [LMNT](. That's about it for supplementation. What about you? What do you take these days? Let me know in the comment section of [New and Noteworthy](.     [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Custom]( [Custom]( [Pinterest]( #listentothesisson No longer want to receive these emails? [Unsubscribe](. Mark's Daily Apple 1101 Maulhardt Ave. Oxnard, CA 93033