Supplements Worth Taking — The Short Evidence-Based List
The supplement industry sells thousands of products, and the evidence supports about five of them. The rest are under-dosed, unproven, or unnecessary — and the industry's most profitable products are consistently the ones with the weakest evidence. This guide is the short list: the supplements worth taking, who they are worth taking for, the doses that work, and what to skip.
The rule behind the list is simple: a supplement is worth taking if it fills a gap that food and training cannot fill cheaply, if the evidence for it is strong, and if the dose is achievable. Five products pass that test for most people. Everything else is either a narrower case or a waste of money.
Use the calculator
Start with the numbers: try our protein calculator to work out your own figures before applying anything on this page. The worked examples below use round numbers so you can follow the maths; the calculator uses your real weight, height, age and goal.
Related reading: protein calculator, macro calculator, Whey Protein Guide, Pre-Workout Guide, Supplements to Avoid, full guides section.
The formula behind the short list
Each supplement on the list has a dose that comes from the evidence, and the doses are the point: creatine 3–5 g a day, every day (saturation over weeks, not a single dose); vitamin D 25 mcg (1,000 IU) a day in winter at northern latitudes, or a dose set by a blood test; protein to reach 1.6–2.2 g/kg/day in total (Morton et al., 2018), with whey providing about 20–25 g per scoop; caffeine 3–6 mg/kg, 30–60 minutes before exercise (Guest et al., 2021); and omega-3 at 250–500 mg of EPA + DHA a day for general health, or 1–3 g a day for recovery and joints. The energy maths uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation (Mifflin et al., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1990) — 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age, plus 5 for men or minus 161 for women, times an activity factor — to set total calories, because no supplement on this list changes the calorie arithmetic, and none of them compensates for a poor diet. The safety floors (1,200 kcal/day women, 1,500 kcal/day men) apply to the whole diet, and a supplement is never a substitute for eating enough.
The key points
Creatine — the strongest evidence in sports nutrition. Creatine monohydrate is the most evidence-backed supplement available: hundreds of studies show it increases strength, power and muscle gain, with a safety record spanning decades. The dose is 3–5 g a day, every day, mixed into anything — it works by saturating the muscles over days and weeks, not from a single dose before training. It costs about 10p a day, it is tasteless, and it is safe for healthy adults (the kidney concerns are a myth for people with healthy kidneys; people with kidney disease should discuss it with a clinician). If you take one supplement, take creatine.
Vitamin D — worth taking in winter, if you are low. Vitamin D is made from sunlight, and at northern latitudes there is not enough winter sun to make it — deficiency is widespread, and correcting it improves muscle function and reduces illness. The dose is 25 mcg (1,000 IU) a day in autumn and winter, or a dose set by a blood test (25-hydroxyvitamin D). Food provides only 2–5 mcg a day, so supplementation is one of the few cases where a pill is genuinely better than food. Test in late winter if you can; if you cannot test, the winter supplement is a reasonable, low-cost precaution.
Protein powder — worth it only if there is a gap. Whey (or a plant blend) is worth taking if, and only if, you cannot reach your protein target of 1.6–2.2 g/kg/day from food. One scoop provides about 20–25 g of complete protein for about £1–1.30, which is cheaper per gram than meat or fish. If you already hit your target from food, it adds nothing — and the money is better spent on food. Work out the gap first, then decide. And the kidney caveat applies: protein targets change completely with kidney disease.
Caffeine — the cheapest performance enhancer. Caffeine improves strength, power, endurance and focus by a few percent at 3–6 mg/kg, taken 30–60 minutes before exercise (Guest et al., 2021) — and a cup of coffee provides it for about 10p. It is the ingredient that makes pre-workout supplements feel effective, and it is available without the tub, the proprietary blends, or the extra stimulants. The cautions are real: it can disrupt sleep if taken late, it can raise anxiety and heart rate in sensitive people, and tolerance builds with regular use. Use it strategically — before key sessions, not all day, every day.
Fish oil — worth it if you never eat fish. Oily fish twice a week provides 250–500 mg of EPA + DHA a day, which is the general-health recommendation, plus protein and vitamin D. If you never eat fish, a fish-oil supplement at 500 mg to 1 g of EPA + DHA a day is a reasonable substitute, and 1–3 g a day may help recovery and joint comfort modestly. Check the EPA + DHA per capsule (not the total oil), choose a reputable brand, and store capsules in the fridge. Algae oil is the vegan alternative. If you eat fish twice a week, you do not need the supplement.
What to skip — the expensive distractions. Fat burners (no legal product burns meaningful fat on its own), BCAAs (redundant if total protein is adequate), testosterone boosters (no evidence, and some contain undeclared ingredients), detox products (your liver and kidneys do that job), and most 'muscle-building' blends (under-dosed ingredients at premium prices). The pattern is consistent: the more impressive the marketing, the weaker the evidence. If a product promises a transformation, it is selling a story, not a result — and the money is better spent on food, sleep, or a coach.
At a glance
| Supplement | Who it is for | Dose that works | Cost per day | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creatine monohydrate | Anyone who lifts | 3–5 g/day, every day | ~£0.10 | Strong |
| Vitamin D3 | Winter, northern latitudes, or deficient | 25 mcg (1,000 IU)/day | ~£0.03 | Strong if deficient |
| Whey / plant protein | Anyone short of 1.6–2.2 g/kg/day | 1 scoop (~25 g protein) | ~£1.00–1.30 | Strong (as food) |
| Caffeine | Before key sessions | 3–6 mg/kg, 30–60 min before | ~£0.10 (coffee) | Strong |
| Fish oil (EPA + DHA) | People who never eat fish | 500 mg–1 g/day | ~£0.15–0.30 | Moderate–strong |
| Fat burners | — | — | £1–2 | Weak — skip |
| BCAAs | Almost nobody | — | £0.70–1.00 | Weak — skip |
| Testosterone boosters | — | — | £1–2 | No evidence — skip |
| Detox products | — | — | £1–3 | No evidence — skip |
A worked example: the cost of the short list
Take a 30-year-old man, 80 kg, 180 cm, who lifts three times a week, eats about 110 g of protein a day, never eats fish, and lives in the UK. His BMR by Mifflin-St Jeor is 10 × 80 + 6.25 × 180 − 5 × 30 + 5 = 800 + 1,125 − 150 + 5 = 1,780 kcal/day, and at moderately active (× 1.55) his maintenance is about 2,759 kcal/day. His protein target at 1.6–2.2 g/kg is 128–176 g per day, so he is 18–66 g short — one scoop of whey a day (£1.00–1.30) closes the gap to the lower end. His short list: creatine 3–5 g a day (£0.10), vitamin D 25 mcg a day in winter (£0.03), one scoop of whey (£1.00–1.30), coffee before training (£0.10), and fish oil at 500 mg–1 g of EPA + DHA a day (£0.15–0.30). Total: about £1.40–1.85 a day, or about £40–55 a month, for the five products with the strongest evidence in sports nutrition. Compare that with the typical supplement stack sold to the same person: a pre-workout (£1.60 a serving), BCAAs (£0.70–1.00), a fat burner (£1–2), a testosterone booster (£1–2) and a multivitamin (£0.30) — about £5–7 a day, or £150–200 a month, for products that are mostly under-dosed, redundant or unproven. The short list costs a quarter as much and delivers more, because it contains the ingredients that actually work, at the doses that actually work, and nothing else.
How to use this guide
Start with the foundation, not the supplements: a varied diet with enough total calories (use the TDEE calculator), protein at 1.6–2.2 g/kg, resistance training 2–4 times a week, and 7–9 hours of sleep. Then add from the short list, one at a time, in this order: creatine (3–5 g a day, every day) if you lift; vitamin D (25 mcg a day) in winter if you live at a northern latitude, or a dose set by a blood test; whey or plant protein only if there is a gap between what you eat and your target; caffeine (coffee, 30–60 minutes before key sessions) if you want a performance boost; and fish oil only if you never eat fish. Give each addition 4–8 weeks before judging it, and do not add everything at once — if you change five things simultaneously, you cannot tell which one helped. Skip everything else unless you have a specific, tested deficiency or a clinician's recommendation. And re-check the list every few months: as your diet changes, the need for a supplement may disappear, and the money is better spent on food when it does.
What this guide does NOT tell you
This guide is for generally healthy adults, and it does not diagnose or prescribe anything. The doses quoted are from the published evidence for healthy adults — they do not apply to children and teenagers (who should not use most supplements), to pregnant women (who need specific advice), or to people with kidney disease, liver disease, heart conditions, or any condition affecting metabolism, for whom supplement decisions should be made with a clinician. Supplement quality varies and products are not regulated as strictly as medicines in many countries, so choose reputable brands with third-party testing where available, and be aware that some products have been found to contain undeclared ingredients. This guide does not cover performance-enhancing drugs, which are a separate and serious matter. And the safety floors apply to the whole diet: never go below 1,200 kcal/day for women or 1,500 kcal/day for men without medical supervision, whatever supplements you take.
Frequently asked questions
What supplements are actually worth taking?
Five, for most people: creatine (3–5 g a day, every day) if you lift; vitamin D (25 mcg a day) in winter at northern latitudes or if deficient; protein powder only if you cannot reach 1.6–2.2 g/kg/day from food; caffeine (coffee, 30–60 minutes before key sessions); and fish oil only if you never eat fish. Everything else is either a narrower case or a waste of money.
Is creatine safe?
For healthy adults, yes — it is the most studied supplement in sports nutrition, with a safety record spanning decades at 3–5 g a day. The kidney concerns are a myth for people with healthy kidneys. People with kidney disease should discuss it with a clinician, and children and teenagers should not use it without medical advice.
Do I need a multivitamin?
Usually not, if you eat a varied diet. Reviews have repeatedly found no performance benefit from multivitamins in well-nourished athletes. A multivitamin makes sense only when there is a specific, plausible gap — and in that case, testing for the specific nutrient and supplementing that one is better than a broad multivitamin.
Are fat burners worth it?
No. No legal supplement burns meaningful amounts of fat on its own — the deficit does the fat loss, and fat burners add little or nothing to it. Some contain high stimulant doses that can cause a racing heart, anxiety and high blood pressure. Save the money and spend it on food, or on nothing at all.
Should I take BCAAs?
Almost certainly not. If your total protein intake is adequate (1.6 g/kg/day or more), BCAAs add nothing measurable — complete protein provides the same leucine plus all the other essential amino acids, more cheaply. If your protein is inadequate, the fix is more protein, not BCAAs.
How much do the supplements worth taking cost?
About £1.40–1.85 a day for the full short list (creatine, vitamin D, whey, coffee, fish oil) — roughly £40–55 a month. The typical marketed stack (pre-workout, BCAAs, fat burner, testosterone booster, multivitamin) costs about £5–7 a day, or £150–200 a month, for products that are mostly under-dosed or unproven. The short list costs a quarter as much and delivers more.
Estimates only, not medical advice. Minimum safe intakes: 1,200 kcal/day women, 1,500 kcal/day men — consult a healthcare professional before a very-low-calorie diet.