Note: I do NOT work in the supplement industry nor for any supplement company (nor for Amazon.com, nor any other firm that are screened & allowed to advertise here, for that matter) nor do I sell any supplements. To give impartial, unbiased data (no hearsay and mediahype/sensationalism), my reviews are based on scientific data/research and personal experience(myself as well as other athletes because sometimes real-life doesn't follow theory & laboratory conditions). If a supplement/or training idea is B.S./total crap, I won't hesitate to say it's "total crap" :)

New stuff:
Special Note:
If you're on a vegan vegetarian (if you're a lacto-ovo vegetarian, you're okay) diet or eat primarily Asian cuisine (or if you rarely eat--like if you're an anorexic/bulimic), you will definitely see performance & muscle/strength/fatloss improvement if you supplement IMMEDIATELY with 15+ mg zinc, and protein. Vegetarian/vegan diets & Asian cuisine(which consists mostly of carbohydrates & vegetables and little animal meats, while delicious and healthy for the heart/arteries, are extremely lacking in zinc & complete proteins (at best, they provide about 30-60 grams of protein per day--insufficient for maximum muscle growth--(I USED TO eat a diet of mostly Asian cuisine and used to wonder why my muscles weren't growing!) (rice, especially, lacks most of the amino-acids needed for building muscle tissue--rice alone will not support muscle growth/maintenence), both of which are VITALLY ESSENTIAL for muscles & fatloss! Asian cuisine is also lacking in calcium so supplement with 1200+ mg of calcium also! Low levels of zinc & protein is evidenced by:
impaired immune system (you get sick easily), stunted growth, common infections/acne, low-energy, getting tired easily, etc. More details below in the appropiate sections:

As detailed in the best and latest studies as well as "Optimum Sports Nutrition" (published in 1993, doesn't contain the latest info in creatine but still one of the best books available) by Dr. Michael Colgan the nutrients you need (and what you're diet is probably deficient in) for maximum performance/strength if you're an active athlete:

1. Protein: *VERY IMPORTANT* It should compromise AT LEAST 33% of your diet. You can't grow muscle out of thin air (carbs & fats can't grow muscle either)! Protein by itself, though, won't do diddly unless you exercise! Exercise damages/breaks down muscle tissue and you need at least 1 gram of protein per pound of lean mass per day for maximum muscle strength and growth to rebuild the muscle protein you breakdown and excrete daily (example: I weigh about 155 lbs with 6% bodyfat means I have about 146 lbs of lean mass (155 minus [6% of 155]=146) so I'm going to eat at least 146 grams of protein per day. Why so much when your body can only build a few ounces of new muscle per day? Because you also need extra protein to REBUILD the muscle you already have that you are now breaking down from exercising. The muscle tissue you've broken down (and it's a alot of muscle tissue if you're exercising intensely like you should) is actually broken into component amino acids which your body uses to repair itself and is later excreted. Fortunately, your body will build itself back up better & stronger IF you have enough protein/other nutrients/etc, as well as enough REST.

Human biochemistry is such that it absorbs protein best from animal sources (forget single-chain amino acid pills for protein) such as seafood, whey (lactalbumin protein powder), eggs, chicken/turkey, steak, etc. (yes, lean steak and eggs are great sources of protein--discard the yolk (which contains virtually all the fat and cholesterol if you're concerned about it).

The highest quality proteins are (in order of quality): lactalbumin (from hydrolyzed whey protein concentrate), egg albumin (from egg white), beef, fish, poultry, casein (from milk), soy protein, and finally vegetable protein (which have half the quality of lactalbumin). Laboratories results show that a diet consisting only of soy and gluten(grain) proteins result in high, catabolic(muscle breakdown) levels of thyroid (T3 and T4) hormones (moderate levels are anabolic[muscle-building]). Unless you have the biochemistry of a gorilla, you can't achieve maximum muscle growth/size on vegetarianism/veganism .

TIP: Just hardboil a dozen or so eggs (or cook alot of chicken breasts or carry a couple of cans of tuna or some nonfat dry milk in a sports bottle) and take them with you in your gymbag, backpack, briefcase,purse, etc. for a quick and convenient healthy snack/meal available anytime/anywhere. You can also use protein powders if you prefer but realize that they aren't magical performance enhancers--they just provide a quick and easy source of protein (that's easily absorbed) if you're too busy to cook (I usually carry some ion-exchange whey protein in a sportsbottle in my gymbag but I must admit I prefer real food to protein drinks).

If you use a protein powder, it should preferably be a 90%+ ion-exchange whey protein by weight (or be 50%+ ion-exchange whey protein if it's a protein/carb mix and no less than 33%+ protein. Read the ingredients list and be wary of paying too much for a protein mix that lists cheap old caseinate as its first or only ingredient (if you're going to pay a premium for a protein drink, it might as well be top-of-the-line ion-exhange or you might as well use nonfat dry milk instead of caseinate). Avoid protein/carb weight-gainers unless you don't care about being cut/ripped and want to be a football linebacker/sumo wrestler ;)

2. Zinc (15-50 mg) *Very Important* (Do NOT exceed 50+ mg of zinc per day as it can be detrimental if you take over 50+ mg for prolonged periods) and Magnesium (250-400 mg) vitally important for optimum growth and muscle metabolism. White spots on the fingernails are a definite sign of zinc deficiency. Zinc is needed to produce testosterone, insulin, and growth hormone. Even a couple of days of continuous zinc deficiency will cause a sharp decline in testosterone levels. Testosterone is the steroid hormone responsible for growth of your muscles, libido, and blocking the catabolic effects of cortisol,. It is produced in the testes(in men), ovaries(in women), liver, adrenal glands, etc. and in MUSCLE TISSUE.

The more muscle you have, the more testosterone you produce and vice-versa (it's a two-way positive feedback loop). The less muscle you have, the less testosterone you produce. Furthermore, lower testosterone levels are correlated with higher fat levels so keep your test levels up for optimum fitness!

3. Chromium Picolinate (600-800 mcg) is needed for optimum insulin function and improving insulin sensitivity, important for muscle growth and fatloss. Make sure it is in the PICOLINATE form and take it during meals. The polynicotinate and chloride forms(found in many cheap and expensive multivitamin brands) of chromium are ineffective orally. It usually takes at least 6 months to show the noticeable improvement. (Most studies used 200-400+ (some used 1200) mcg, with most of the positive results coming from the higher doses and some insignificant results from the lower doses. If you're bodyfat is already below 10%, you needn't take it as chromium picolinate's benefit is only slight/marginal if you're bodyfat is already low {you're insulin sensitivity is already good enough if you're below 10% bodyfat).

4. Acetyl-L-Carnitine (1-2 grams before you workout and at bedtime) has been shown to reduce the high catabolic cortisol levels in the blood after intense excercise. It's nice but not essential (taking it is OPTIONAL). Note that acetyl-l-carnitine is NOT the same as the l-carnitine you find in many "fat-burners".

5. Vitamin C (3 grams/day) *VERY IMPORTANT* has been shown to reduce muscle damage after working out and aid in muscle recuperation by reducing cortisol levels after intense exercise. Stanford researchers were one of the first to discover this and implemented it into their swim team's training/nutrition program and subsequently went on to successfully win the NCAA championships. With such success, they upped the dosage to 10 grams a day (going a bit overboard, in my humble opinion, but it can't hurt to try). Your growth hormone (and consequent insulin/IGF/testosterone levels) levels is dependant on an adequate supply of vitamin C (essential for use as a co-factor in the creation of the enzyme alpha-amidating monoxygenase which activates your growth-hormone releasing hormone(somatocrinin).

All of the above nutrients take time (at least 3-6 months) to show noticeable improvement since it takes that long to grow the several billion new cells incorporating the new influx of nutrients. Best times to take supplements are morning, 1 hour or so before and immediately following an exercise session, and at bedtime.

Also, it's best to eat 5-6 small meals a day (instead of 3 big meals) throughout the day (every 3-4 hours) to supply your body with a steady stream of protein and nutrients because the amino acid(protein) pool/blood glucose levels in your body gets depleted every 3-4 hours without food, causing your cortisol levels to rise.

Cortisol also rises during times of mental and physical stress (such as long endurance workouts or going without food for more than 3-4 hours), causing you to break down muscle tissue/protein into amino acids to be used as fuel as well as preventing amino acids from joining together to form new protein/muscle tissue (humans evolved cortisol as a survival mechanism since it's more important to mobilize the body's resources for fuel for running/fighting/surviving against predators during lean times as part of the "fight or flight" reaction) than it is to be muscular/aesthetically pleasing. Thus, anytime cortisol rises, muscle growth ceases and starts to become cannibalized.

By the way, each meal MUST contain protein (plus carbs) to count--protein to supply the amino acids for tissue growth and repair and carbs to cause an insulin surge to better drive those amino acids into muscle tissues.

For immediate results (1-2 weeks), the most effective over-the-counter ergogenic is:

CREATINE MONOHYDRATE. Click here for the official benefits of creatine by the American College of Sports Medicine or here for Vanderbilt University Department of Health Psychology on Creatine Monohydrate or visit Vanderbuilt University's General Health Psychology Homepage

It's a NATURAL and totally safe nutrient found in steak (about 5 grams per 2.2 pounds of steak/salmon/tuna/lobster/animal muscle tissue) and is available in synthesized form in health food stores and by discount mailorder (40%-65% off). Creatine monohydrate is used by many elite Olympic athletes--it is a favorite of the Chinese Olympic teams as well as many of our own athletes. Creatine monohydrate taken at 20-30 grams a day for a week (to saturate muscle cells with its ATP enhancing effects and then 5-10 grams per day for maintenance) will dramatically increase your strength and muscle (double your max reps and the duration of your iron crosses!) for anaerobic power sports/activities such as weightlifting, punching/kicking, leaping, gymnastics, sprinting, etc. It doesn't enhance your endurance for aerobic events like cross-country, marathons, etc., however since your body relies a separate mechanism for ATP synthesis for aerobic activity but creatine can still indirectly help fatloss by increasing strength and duration of power for weightlifting, allowing for more INTENSE workouts and helping you gain more fat-burning muscle.

You will also look about 5-10 pounds more muscular because creatine (which attracts water) saturation will cause your muscle cells to be "pumped up"/volumerzied with an extra 5-10+ pounds of water intramuscularly (since the extra water is stored INSIDE the muscle cells, it looks and is good (although it's not an actual gain in lean muscle/protein mass, it looks it and this "pump" should NOT be confused as bloating (bloating is water stored underneath the skin and OUTSIDE the muscle cells). Despite the gain in mass, your strength-to-weight ratio is still significantly improved and you can perform more powerfully in gymnastics and other sports requiring bursts of power.

However, once your muscles are saturated (after the 1 week "loading-up" phase of creatine ingestion of about 150 grams), don't take more then 5-10 grams a day since any extra creatine that can't be shuttled into your muscles can spillover outside your muscle cells, which can cause you to look slightly bloated. Excess creatine (along with sodium and other electrolytes) can cause bloating and water retention. You can minimaze water retention by cutting sodium intake in your diet (it works wonders) :)

Make sure you take it with a sweet drink (25+ grams of sugar and water works fine or just put a couple of grams of creatine on your tongue along with some sugar and wash it down and repeat) to cause an insulin spike in your blood levels so more of it is shuttled into your muscle cells. You may wish to avoid taking creatine with a caffeine-containing drink since some studies have shown that caffeine may slightly inhibit creatine absorption if taken in the same minute. (Some research has shown that citrus/acidic drinks may also inhibit creatine absorption). I've tried creatine with everything sweet and caffeine and citrus drinks don't seem to have any significant impact on creatine's performance boosting effects. Avoid using creatine in hot drinks since heat can alter it's chemical structure and remember to drink creatine soon after mixing it with a liquid since it loses it effectiveness if left out in a liquid too long (it slowly converts to ineffectual creatinine in standing liquid after a several hours). If you can use only one supplement from this page, then use creatine monohydrate--it's the best! Good brands are Experimental and Applied Sciences (EAS), Prolab, Twinlab, Sportpharma, & Eclipse 2000--you can also try the cheapest brands you find. For strength sports such as gymnastics (epsecially men's), it will rock your world :) !

SPECIAL NOTE FOR MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER ATHLETES/FITNESS BUFFS:
If you're approaching or past middle-age, your lower levels of testosterone and other homrones such as DHEA are usually low and sub-optimal for achieving your athletic/physcal best (they start they're steady decline when you're 25-30 and drop to 10% of your max at age 70-90). ONLY if you're over 40, you can benefit from supplementing with 50-150+ milligrams/day of DHEA to boost your dhea/testosterone/energy/libido/metabolism/etc. levels (women need only 25-50+ milligrams/day since they are more sensitive to DHEA and testosterone). See MEDLINE for abstracts of the postive effects of HRT and DHEA supplementation on middle-aged to elderly subjects.Young men/adults who already have high levels of testosterone/DHEA will see zilch, nada, zip results from DHEA supplementation since our levels are already naturally high (DHEA only helps women and older men).

Make sure any DHEA you use is actual pharmacuetical-grade DHEA and NOT some yam extract. Avoid/boycott ripoff products/companies that say "wild Mexican yam"/"diosgenin" extract--human bodies do not possess the necessary enzymes/chemicals to convert "wild Mexican yam/diosgenin" into DHEA or any other hormone.

Just as human bodies cannot convert grapes into wine/alcohol, human bodies cannot convert wild yam extract into DHEA. Pharmacuetical companies use industrial-strength chemicals and enzymes to convert yam extract into various hormones in their manufacturing facilities. Some unscrupulous companies sell wild yam extract as DHEA--avoid/boycott them since such companies lacking so much in integrity that they would prey upon the biochemical niavete of the general public will also likely shortchange consumers by mislabeling/watering down the ingredients in their other products.

SPECIAL NOTE FOR WOMEN:
If you're female, your lower levels of testosterone (men produce 20-40 times more testosterone than women: up to 10 mg/day for men while women produce only 0.25 grams of testosterone) will allow you to see a significant effect from supplementing with DHEA (young men/adults who already have high levels of testosterone/DHEA will see zilch, nada, zip). Expect higher energy, libido, metabolism, some more strength, etc but also possible side effects such as oily skin, breaking out from the oily skin, more body hair, etc. (think of it as similar to the hormone burst during puberty). Lower the dosage and use Retin-A and shower/cleanse daily to remedy the oily skin/breakouts. Since I'm not female, I can't speak for it personally but you can give it a shot (you'll never know until you try)

SPECIAL NOTE FOR THOSE UNDER AGE 14: If you haven't yet reached puberty, I do not recommend taking any DHEA or other hormone supplement. However, the other nutritional information (especially the protein, zinc, creatine, etc.) is just as valid/safe and important for your optimal growth and athletic performance.

If you want to try DHEA, note that the new supplements 4-ADandrodiol and 4-ADandrostenedione is more effective than DHEA (it's a precursor that's one step closer to testosterone than DHEA) except that 5-ADandrodiol and 5-ADandrostenedione are weaker versions so avoid them

All of the above natural food supplements are affordable, especially if you use the generic brands (less than a dollar a day by discount-mail order and well worth it.

INEFFECTIVE-BOGUS SUPPLEMENTS (in alphabetical order): (These supplements DON'T WORK except maybe for a placebo effect)

INEFFECTIVE-BOGUS SUPPLEMENTS

Amino Acids for muscle growth/growth hormone release	only glutamine, BCAAs, tyrosine & tryptophan work orally to have any sigificantly beneficial effect on muscle recovery/working out
Boron	works only on postmenopausal women by increasing their dysfunctional testosterone output
Chromium Polynicotinate & Chromium Chloride	only chromium picolinate works orally and only if you're overweight
DHEA	only helps women & old men at high dosages only
FRAC	total crap
Gamma Oryzanol	total crap
Glandulars	total crap
Homeopathic supplements	such as oral "Pro-GH", "Regenesis", and "testapropinal" or any other supplements claiming to "ORALLY raise GROWTH HORMONE" or claim to actually contain GH or testosterone for over-the-counter sale--the stomach/digestive system destroys/breaks down the 191-chain GH amino acids--any bonafide product containing active GH or testosterone needs a prescription in the United States to be bought)(placebo effect only
Mexican Yam /Diosgenin/ Discorea	total crap

Supplements that are'nt listed as either good or bad are because data/results are currently inconclusive--either I haven't tried them yet or received conflicting data (I tried them but didn't see any significant results yet feedback from others who have tried reported results). Such supplements include HMB, HCA (hydroxy citric acid), L-carnitine, pyruvate (seems effective only at extremely high dosages), chrysin (no effect so far), 4-AD androstenedione (I'm currently it testing now at 400-900+ mg/workout day (no results seen at 100-200 mg/day which is why I'm increasing the dosage--gee, experimenting on myself is fun (I don't wonder what if or what could be, I just go go ahead & do it & find out :) (note: the 5-D androstenedione is weaker than the 4-D version--the 'diol versions are superior to the 'ione versions--all the 5-D versions are weaker than the 4-D versions)

Good luck and hope my site helps! Check back for new reviews as I try them :)

Now for the good stuff :)

EFFECTIVE SUPPLEMENTS (in alphabetical order):

EFFECTIVE SUPPLEMENTS

Creatine Monohydrate	best supplement available for strength, power, & muscle
Ephedrine/Caffeine/aspirin stack + (optional yohimbine for accelerated fatloss)	best over-the-counter supplement available for fatloss, conserving muscle tissue