Dr. Rhonda Patrick’s Supplement & Protocol Stack

Why Patrick takes it: Maintain omega-3 index; anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular and brain support — FoundMyFitness (2025 routine)

What the evidence says: Trials of ~1 g/day fish oil (VITAL, ASCEND) and the 2020 Cochrane review (Abdelhamid) found little-to-no effect on CV events or mortality in general populations, though Hu 2019 (13 RCTs, 127,477 participants) showed a modest dose-dependent CVD reduction. High-dose prescription EPA helped in REDUCE-IT. Her omega-3-index-guided ~2 g/day is sensible for correcting low status, but hard-outcome evidence at this dose is modest.

Why Patrick takes it: Maintain optimal blood level; immune and longevity signaling — FoundMyFitness (2025 routine)

What the evidence says: In VITAL (Manson) and FIND, vitamin D did not reduce cancer, CV events or fractures (LeBoff) in largely replete adults, so most benefit is confined to correcting deficiency. However, VITAL's autoimmune substudy (Hahn 2022) showed a 22% reduction in incident autoimmune disease, a genuine RCT signal. Titrating to a blood level is defensible; graded B on that one positive RCT.

Why Patrick takes it: Directs calcium into bone and away from arteries — FoundMyFitness (2025 routine)

What the evidence says: Evidence is surrogate-based: Knapen's 3-year RCT (180 mcg MK-7) improved arterial stiffness in postmenopausal women and halved a calcification marker, while a 2023 hemodialysis RCT was more equivocal. No RCT shows reduced CV events, fractures or mortality in general adults.

Why Patrick takes it: Most people under-consume; supports DNA repair, sleep and metabolic health — FoundMyFitness (2025 routine)

What the evidence says: Meta-analyses of RCTs (Zhang 2016; Asbaghi 2020) show magnesium produces small but real blood-pressure reductions (~2-3 mmHg), a validated CV risk factor, and observational data tie higher magnesium status to lower CVD. Effects are modest and largest in deficiency or hypertension.

Why Patrick takes it: Activates the NRF2 antioxidant/detoxification response — FoundMyFitness (2025 routine)

What the evidence says: Human data are almost entirely biomarker/mechanistic: broccoli-sprout beverage trials (Egner 2014; Chen 2019) accelerated urinary excretion of airborne carcinogens via NRF2, and small trials (Kikuchi 2015) improved liver enzymes. These are surrogate endpoints; no trial shows reduced cancer, disease or mortality in humans.

Why Patrick takes it: Mitochondrial antioxidant; glucose metabolism support — FoundMyFitness (2025 routine)

What the evidence says: ALA has RCT and meta-analytic support only for symptomatic diabetic peripheral neuropathy (Wang 2017). There are no human trials showing it slows aging or lowers disease/mortality in healthy adults; the longevity rationale is antioxidant mechanism plus animal data.

Why Patrick takes it: Supports mitochondrial bioenergetics; replaces age-related decline — FoundMyFitness (2025 routine)

What the evidence says: The strongest datum is Q-SYMBIO (Mortensen 2014), where 300 mg/day reduced major cardiac events and mortality in moderate-to-severe heart failure, a disease population rather than healthy aging. In healthy adults CoQ10 mainly improves oxidative-stress biomarkers. No healthy-population longevity outcomes exist.

Why Patrick takes it: Faster sleep onset plus antioxidant effects — FoundMyFitness (2025 routine)

What the evidence says: Meta-analyses (Ferracioli-Oda 2013; Yue 2023 network meta-analysis) show melatonin modestly shortens sleep-onset latency and is well tolerated, though effect sizes are small. The sleep-onset claim is supported; broader anti-aging claims are not established. Lower doses (0.3-1 mg) are often as effective.

Why Patrick takes it: Promotes relaxation/sleep and supports insulin sensitivity — FoundMyFitness (2025 routine)

What the evidence says: RCT meta-analyses (Unfer 2017; Greff 2023) show myo-inositol improves insulin sensitivity and metabolic markers in PCOS, a specific clinical population. Evidence for her stated sleep/relaxation use and for general longevity is thin and largely uncontrolled. Safe and plausible, but healthspan claims in healthy people are unproven.

Why Patrick takes it: Muscle and brain energy; supports healthy aging — FoundMyFitness (2025 routine)

What the evidence says: The most evidence-backed item: meta-analyses (Chilibeck 2017; Devries 2014) show creatine plus resistance training increases lean mass and strength in older adults (approaching A for the muscle claim), and a memory meta-analysis (Prokopidis 2023) suggests small cognitive benefits. Direct longevity data are still indirect.

Why Patrick takes it: Skin and joint support; glycine for sleep and glutathione — FoundMyFitness (2025 routine)

What the evidence says: Double-blind RCTs (Proksch 2014; Kim 2018) show collagen peptides improve skin elasticity and hydration, and an osteoarthritis meta-analysis (Liu 2018) found collagen hydrolysate reduces joint pain short-term. These are cosmetic/symptomatic endpoints; the glycine-for-sleep and longevity rationale rests on small or mechanistic data.

Why Patrick takes it: Insurance against micronutrient shortfalls — FoundMyFitness (2025 routine)

What the evidence says: In COSMOS (Sesso 2022) a daily multivitamin did not reduce CV events or cancer, but COSMOS-Mind (Baker 2022) and the clinic cognitive substudy (Vyas 2024) reported modest slowing of cognitive decline in older adults. Reasonable as micronutrient insurance, not a proven longevity intervention.

Why Patrick takes it: Builds macular pigment; eye and brain protection — FoundMyFitness (multivitamin + diet)

What the evidence says: AREDS2 (2013; Report 28, Chew 2022) established that 10 mg lutein + 2 mg zeaxanthin slows progression to advanced age-related macular degeneration and is a safer replacement for beta-carotene — a strong RCT result, but disease-specific to the eye, not general longevity.

Why Patrick takes it: Stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis (PGC-1alpha) — FoundMyFitness (2025 routine)

What the evidence says: Human evidence is very thin: essentially one small placebo-controlled trial (Shiojima 2022) reporting modest cognitive scores in healthy adults, plus rodent and in-vitro mitochondrial-biogenesis data. No trials on disease, healthspan or mortality.

Why Patrick takes it: Endothelial/vascular function and cognition — FoundMyFitness (2025 routine)

What the evidence says: In COSMOS (Sesso 2022, ~21,000 adults) cocoa flavanols did not significantly reduce the primary total-CVD endpoint (p=0.11) but lowered cardiovascular death ~27% (secondary), and COSMOS-Mind added a cognitive signal. One large RCT with supportive secondary and mechanistic data warrants a B, tempered by the missed primary endpoint.

Why Patrick takes it: Anti-inflammatory (NF-kB inhibition) — FoundMyFitness (2025 routine)

What the evidence says: Meta-analyses (Onakpoya 2017; Liu 2018) show curcuminoids reduce knee-osteoarthritis pain comparably to NSAIDs short-term, and curcumin lowers inflammatory markers such as CRP. Bioavailability is poor, effects are symptomatic/biomarker-level, and there are no longevity or hard-outcome data.