Supplements: A Simple Framework for Smarter Choices

Walk into any health store or scroll through wellness Instagram, and you'll find shelves (or feeds) full of supplements promising everything from better sleep to a longer life. But how do you know which ones are worth your money—and which ones might be pointless (or even risky)?

Instead of blindly following trends or taking a supplement just because “someone said it was good,” it’s smarter to think like a clinician: What’s the goal? Is there a benefit? Is it safe? Most importantly, does it apply to me?

Dr. Peter Attia, a physician focused on longevity, offers a practical six-question framework to help you cut through the noise and make better decisions about supplements. Here’s a simplified version designed for the everyday health-conscious person.

Step 1: Know Why You’re Taking It

Q1: Are you correcting a deficiency or aiming to boost performance?

Start with a basic question: Is your body missing something it needs, or are you trying to go beyond normal to feel or perform better?

• Correcting a deficiency: This is common with things like vitamin D or B12. You’re low on something important, and the supplement helps you get back to baseline.

• Enhancing performance: Think creatine for strength or ashwagandha for stress. These aren’t replacing something missing—they’re used in hopes of providing a benefit above normal.

Knowing this helps you understand the role of the supplement and sets expectations for what it might (or might not) do.

Step 2: Understand Your Goal

Q2: Are you taking it for your lifespan or health span?

These terms often get used interchangeably, but they’re different:

• Lifespan: Living longer, reducing risk of disease.

• Healthspan: Living better—more energy, stronger body, sharper mind.

Some supplements aim to reduce the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease or dementia (e.g., omega-3s, B vitamins). Others might help you feel or perform better daily (e.g., creatine, ashwagandha).

Some do both—but understanding your goal can help guide your choices.

Step 3: What’s the Target?

Q3: If it’s for lifespan, is it preventing a specific disease or slowing aging in general?

Not every supplement targets the same thing. Ask yourself:

• Is this helping me prevent something specific—like heart disease, depression, or osteoporosis?

• Or is it more of a general anti-aging or “feel better” supplement?

For example, fish oil may help reduce the risk of heart disease, while ashwagandha, for example, may reduce chronic stress, which contributes to many health issues.

Being specific helps you better evaluate whether the supplement actually aligns with your personal health risks.

Step 4: Can You Measure Progress?

Q4: Is there a biomarker or way to track if it’s working?

This is where supplements often differ from medications. With most drugs, you can track progress using lab tests or symptoms. Supplements? Not always so clear.

• Trackable examples:

  • Vitamin D → blood test (25-hydroxy vitamin D)

  • Fish oil → Omega-3 Index

  • B vitamins → homocysteine or methylmalonic acid (MMA)

• Harder to track:

  • Creatine → no simple test; effects judged by strength or performance

  • Ashwagandha → maybe sleep tracking or stress levels, but results are subjective

If you can’t track it, that doesn’t mean it’s useless—but it does mean you’ll need to be more thoughtful about whether it’s helping you.

Step 5: Understand How It Works (at a High Level)

Q5: Do we understand how this supplement works in the body?

You don’t need a biochemistry degree. But it helps to know whether a supplement has a clear mechanism—or if it’s more speculative.

• Clear examples:

  • Creatine supports ATP regeneration (energy for muscle contractions)

  • Vitamin D aids calcium absorption and supports immune health

• Less clear:

  • Ashwagandha may impact stress by influencing cortisol and GABA, but human research is limited

A supplement with a well-understood mechanism (and evidence behind it) is easier to trust than one with murky science or purely anecdotal support.

Step 6: Weigh the Risk vs. Reward

Q6: What’s the tradeoff regarding side effects, effectiveness, and product quality?

No supplement is perfect. Each one comes with a balance of potential benefits, side effects, and quality concerns.

Ask yourself:

• What’s the upside? Is the expected benefit big or small?

• What are the risks? Side effects? Interactions with other medications?

• Is it safe for you specifically? (e.g., kidney disease and creatine)

• Is the supplement high quality? Poor manufacturing can lead to contamination or incorrect dosing.

Look for brands with third-party testing (e.g., NSF Certified, ConsumerLab, USP). Supplements aren’t regulated like medications, so quality control matters a lot.

A Quick Example: Creatine

Let’s walk through the framework using creatine:

1. Why take it? → To enhance performance (not correcting a deficiency).

2. Goal? → Improve healthspan (strength, muscle, maybe brain health).

3. Target? → No specific disease, just better physical and mental function.

4. Biomarker? → None—just track performance or how you feel.

5. Mechanism? → Supports energy production in muscle and brain.

6. Risk vs. Reward? → Low risk for healthy individuals, well-studied, inexpensive.

✅ Verdict: It is worth trying for most people interested in strength, performance, or aging well, especially women, vegetarians, and older adults.

The Bottom Line

Don’t fall into the trap of taking supplements “just because.” Use this six-question framework to bring logic and personalization into your decisions:

1. Deficiency or enhancement?

2. Lifespan or healthspan?

3. Disease-specific or general longevity?

4. Can you measure its impact?

5. Do we understand how it works?

6. Is the benefit worth the risk—and is it high quality?

Start here before you hit “Add to Cart.”

Your health deserves more than guesswork.

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