How to Audit Your Supplement Stack
A step-by-step guide to cutting the waste
TL;DR
Audit your stack by listing everything, checking if doses match research, identifying overlaps and conflicts, questioning each addition, and cutting anything that fails the test. Most people can cut 20-40% of their stack without losing benefits.
Step 1: List Everything
Gather every supplement bottle. Include the multivitamin, the random thing you bought six months ago, the stuff in the back of the cabinet. Write down: name, dose per serving, how often you actually take it, what you're hoping it does, and how long you've been taking it.
Key Takeaway: Full inventory first. No hiding from the drawer of shame.
Step 2: Check Your Doses
For each ingredient, look up what doses actually work in research. Compare to what you're taking. Example: Ashwagandha works at 300-600mg of standardized extract. If yours has 50mg, it's decoration. Magnesium needs 200-400mg of elemental magnesium. Check if the label shows elemental amount or total compound weight.
Key Takeaway: Underdosed supplements are expensive placebos.
Step 3: Find the Overlaps
Many people take multiple products with the same ingredients. Your multivitamin has B12. Your energy supplement has B12. Your stress formula has B12. You're triple-dosing some things while not getting enough of others. Map out ingredient overlaps and total daily amounts.
Key Takeaway: Multiple products often mean duplicate ingredients.
Step 4: Check for Conflicts
Some supplements interfere with each other. Calcium blocks iron absorption. Zinc and copper compete. High-dose vitamin C can throw off certain lab tests. And some supplements interact with medications. Run your list through an interaction checker.
Key Takeaway: Conflicts can cancel out benefits or cause problems.
Step 5: Question Each Addition
For everything in your stack, ask: Why did I start taking this? Is there evidence it works for that purpose? Have I noticed a difference? Is the dose high enough to matter? Would I buy it again if it ran out? If you can't answer confidently, that item is suspect.
Key Takeaway: Every supplement should earn its place.
Step 6: Make the Cuts
Based on your audit: cut anything underdosed, cut duplicates, cut things with no clear purpose, cut things you've taken for months with no noticed benefit. Be ruthless. Most people can eliminate 20-40% of their stack and notice zero difference.
Key Takeaway: Cutting waste redirects money to what matters.
Real Talk
This audit will probably reveal you've been wasting money. That's uncomfortable. But the alternative is continuing to waste money. Most supplement stacks grow by addition, not strategy. You bought something, tried it, never stopped. Time to reset.
What To Do About It
- Block 30 minutes this weekend for a full stack audit
- Write down everything you're taking with actual doses
- Compare your doses to research-backed amounts
- Check for ingredient overlaps across products
- Run your stack through an interaction checker
- Cut anything that doesn't pass the test
The Bottom Line
A leaner stack that works beats an overstuffed cabinet of maybes.
More Real Talk
About this information: Our recommendations draw from peer-reviewed clinical trials, systematic reviews, and the same medical databases your doctor uses. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Supplements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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