As a competitive athlete, I'm always looking for ways and tools that will give me an edge and improve my performance. One of the more popular, easy, and quick tools is supplementation, which has become prevalent amongst the average population as well. At the moment, I only use one dietary supplement and one topical supplement. For dietary I have been taking fish oil for the past month or so to see how it effects my brain and body health. So far I do feel it has improved my overall brain health. I have more clarity, and my memory, retention, and focus seems to have gone up although this is purely subjective and anecdotal. On the topical side, I use Ancient Minerals - Magnesium Bath Flakes, which I bathe in a few times a week to get the benefits of additional magnesium on top of what I get from whole food sources. Bathing in magnesium does help my muscles relax and recover quicker from intense exercise, and it's an enjoyable way of replenishing magnesium as I like taking baths.

With all that being said, I still prefer to maintain my health without becoming overly dependent on supplementation. Previously I used to consume a good amount of protein powder, took magnesium supplements orally, tried creatine for a while, and even tried beef organ supplements, but for me personally what works is getting what I need to get through whole foods instead of pills. The main reason I decided on taking fish oil, however, is because I realized I was getting nowhere near as much omega 3s (EPA and DHA) that the body and brain require. So far, I feel it's something worth continuing, in addition to eating more quality fish.

What are your views and experiences with supplementations? Are you pro supplements or anti or somewhere in between? Any supplements that you feel have really helped improve your health? Would love to hear your opinions and perspectives!