Dave Asprey Supplements

As an author, speaker, blogger, biohacker, and supplement maker, Asprey has really helped revitalize the supplement world, particularly those within it that are focused on anti-aging.

What does Dave take personally, though?

I’ll sift through the noise in this article and walk you through Dave Asprey’s personal supplement routine.

Dave Asprey: The Bulletproof Man

First, however, we should probably go over who Dave Asprey is in the unlikely event that you’re unfamiliar with him.

By the time he was in his early 20s, Dave had reached well over 300 pounds.

He had mobility problems, trouble concentrating, and was suffering from depression.

At this point, he decided it was time for a change.

He dropped over 100 pounds without excessive exercise or calorie restriction, upgraded his IQ by over 20 points, and even lowered his body’s biological age.

During the past 20 years, Asprey has spent well over $1 million on his quest to live to 180.

If anyone is qualified to give advice on supplementation, it’s probably Dave!

How Does Dave Asprey Eat?

There’s actually one more thing I’d like to cover before delving into Asprey’s supplement routine: his way of eating.

Dave is recognized as the creator of the hugely popular Bulletproof Diet, a diet that leverages ketosis by focusing on consuming coconut oil, MCT oil, butter, and other natural fat sources.

He’s also the mastermind behind Bulletproof Coffee (essentially organic coffee + butter + MCT oil).

Dave also practices intermittent fasting and low-protein fasting.

He recommends using Bulletproof Coffee to blunt hunger and upregulate fat-burning during fasting.

According to Asprey, feeling good is a sort of biochemical birthright.

He says:

Looking and feeling sick, tired, fat, or weak is not an option, and you were not meant to be that way.

Asprey is also a huge fan of pairing lots of healthy food with a simple, hormesis-driving workout routine.

He does 1-3 short sessions (under 20 minutes) of weight training per week.

Dave Asprey’s Favorite Supplements

I’ve reviewed Bulletproof's Greens Product here, but in this guide, I’ll be going a few steps further by looking at each and every supplement he recommends.

Activated Charcoal

Activated charcoal is a natural product that binds to and chelates heavy metals and other toxins.

Vitamin D3

Also known as the Sunshine Hormone, vitamin D3 possesses an incredible number of anti-inflammatory, anti-stress, and pro-wellness qualities.

More than half of Americans are deficient in vitamin D — don’t make the same mistake!

Related: Does AG1 have vitamin D?

Omega 3 Fish Oil

Dave likes to get his daily dose of omega 3’s via krill oil, which is thought to be cleaner and purer than alternative types of omega-3 products.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is an antioxidant vitamin that confers an incredible number of health benefits.

L-Tyrosine

L-Tyrosine is an amino acid that may have energy-boosting, stress-reducing effects.

Methylated B Vitamins

B vitamins are great and all — but methylated amino acids are amazing.

Methylfolate and other B vitamins may protect the immune system, the central nervous system, and more.

Magnesium

Magnesium is among the most underrated nutrients.

Critical for the ATP (energy) production process itself, magnesium can be hard to obtain from ‘regular’ foods.

That’s where supplementation comes in.

Iodine

Iodine is a trace mineral that’s needed for your thyroid (and, therefore, your whole body) to function properly.

Vitamin K2

Vitamin K2 works alongside calcium and vitamin D3 to shuttle calcium into bones.

Many people are deficient in K2, particularly vegans and vegetarians, which is why supplementation is a very good idea.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is an antioxidant vitamin that promotes organ and eye health.

Zinc

Zinc is an important antioxidant that radically improves innate immunity.

Consider pairing your zinc intake with copper.

Other supplements/activities

The Bulletproof founder also takes steps to reduce environmental toxins.

While this effort doesn’t technically belong in the supplement category, it could be considered supplemental activity.

Dave Asprey strongly advocates protecting your eyes from what he calls ‘junk light’ — the blue light that comes from phone and laptop screens and streetlights.

Dave’s Perspective on Supplements

Like many other health icons, Dave prioritizes whole foods over supplements when he can.

He says:

Generally, you want to get the majority of your nutrient [intake] from food. Use supplements to fill in the nutritional gaps. Your specific needs and goals will determine how many or how few supplements you need each day.

That being said, there are plenty of valid times to consider supplementation.

Here are a few more specific examples:

• Killing it in the gym? Try supplementing with glycine-rich collagen or beta-alanine.
• Need to get into ketosis fast? Add a little bit of extra MCT oil to your coffee.
• Constantly on the go for work or fun? Try adaptogens or natural sleep aids.

An In-Depth Look At Asprey’s Top Supplements

You might be surprised to hear that Dave Asprey is not a fan of multivitamins.

According to him, most multivitamins contain low-quality vitamins and minerals, often in inappropriate doses — so much so that they can do more harm than good.

Asprey asserts:

The truth is that there is no way to fit a ‘complete spectrum' of nutrients in one single pill.

A personalized approach is far better.

The folic acid contained in most conventional multivitamins can also be problematic, as people with the MTHFR gene mutation (over half of the population) cannot metabolize it properly. (Source)

Some of Dave’s other key points include:

• Getting the majority of your nutritional needs met with food. From his perspective, the nutrients found in a piece of grass-fed beef will be more bioavailable than the equivalent nutrients found in pill form. (Source)
• When in doubt, leave it out. Even natural supplements can trigger side effects or mild allergic reactions. This is yet another reason to prioritize whole food nutrient sources when you can.
• Hold a high standard. Make sure the product(s) you’re taking are 100% free from soy, gluten, and artificial binders or fillers.

Related: What to look for in a multivitamin

Dave Asprey’s Top 10 Supplements

According to Dave, there are 10 key supplements virtually everyone should be taking.

If the list below looks familiar, that’s because it’s an in-depth version of what went over above:

• Vitamin D
• Vitamin K2
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin C
• Iodine
• Krill Oil
• Magnesium
• L-Tyrosine
• Zinc and Copper
• Methyl Folate and Methyl B-12

Vitamin D: The Details

According to Dave, vitamin D is:

possibly the most important vitamin you need in your daily routine.

That might seem like a strong claim…but the science actually backs Asprey’s opinion up.

Vitamin D3 acts on over 2,000 genetic targets, and it serves as a building block for crucial sex hormones like pregnenolone, progesterone, and testosterone.

It’s one of the few vitamins we can synthesize without having to actually eat it, which is another testament to its importance.

And while you can get your vitamin D3 from the sun, doing so becomes very difficult in the winter.

Those who live much above 40 degrees latitude may be unable to maintain their vitamin D stores throughout the cold seasons without a little supplemental help.

What type of vitamin D does Dave personally take?

His own Bulletproof Brand’s A+D+K Gummies, of course!

These tasty little gummies contain 2,000 IU of vitamin D3 per serving.

They’re also gluten, sugar, and carb-free.

Vitamin K2: The Details

Dave says on his blog:

Unless you grew up eating only grass-fed meat and raw milk, you’re probably deficient in vitamin K2.

Why’s that so unfortunate, you may be asking?

Because vitamin K2 is intimately involved in calcium metabolism, transport, and deposition.

It’s actually at least as important for bone development as calcium itself.

Dave is a big advocate for taking vitamin K alongside vitamin D, as these vitamins work together to keep calcium in the places it belongs (bones) and out of the places it doesn’t (soft tissues).

There are two different isomers of vitamin K2: MK-4 and MK-7.

Dave recommends getting both but prioritizes the MK-7 form.

He says you should take 100+ micrograms of this form of K2 per day.

K2 MK-7 is one of the many things found in Asprey’s A-D-K supplement.

Vitamin A: The Details

Vitamin A is one of the most versatile, even among its fellow fats-soluble vitamins.

It’s also one of the most common ones people are deficient.

After all, not many people consume beef liver, beef kidney, or the other top sources of vitamin A!

At least a quarter of American adults consume less than half the vitamin A their bodies need to function optimally.

Contrary to popular wisdom, you can’t efficiently get vitamin A from plants.

That’s because plants (yes, even carrots) don’t contain vitamin A.

They contain beta-carotene.

To really up your vitamin A absorption, you’ll need to opt for fatty animal foods.

In addition to the beef organs I mentioned above, consider eggs, grass-fed milk, and butter/ghee.

Asprey recommends supplementing with 3-1,000 IU of retinol/retinyl palmitate per day, preferably with meals.

This type of dosage is available in Asprey’s own A-D-K supplement.

Vitamin C: The Details

Vitamin C is one of the cheapest, safest, most powerful nutraceuticals in existence.

Vitamin C is needed for a variety of physiological functions, including:

• Collagen synthesis
• Glutathione production
• Connective tissue formation
• Improved innate and adaptive immunity
• Improved athletic recovery
• Reduced muscle soreness

Dave recommends taking at least 500 milligrams of pure vitamin C per day and notes that you can safely take up to a gram per day without experiencing side effects.

He recommends either pure ascorbic acid or liposomal vitamin C (the latter is thought to be most bioavailable).

Instead of taking one large dose each day, try to take a smaller dose in the morning and then again in the evening.

Magnesium: The Details

Magnesium is nearly as important as vitamin D — and nearly as underrated.

As one of the 5 key electrolytes, magnesium serves as a catalyst in over 300 different biochemical processes, including:

• ATP (energy) production
• DNA and RNA transcription
• Nervous system health
• Muscle cell firing

Unfortunately, magnesium is hard to come by these days.

Modern farming practices have depleted the soil of its natural magnesium content.

You may want to supplement if you’re not regularly drinking magnesium water.

Dave suggests starting around 200mg of magnesium daily and slowly working up to 500-800mg/day as needed.

He prefers bioavailable mag forms like malate, citrate, threonate, or glycinate, and takes his magnesium just before bedtime.

He takes his magnesium in the form of — you guessed it — yet another Bulletproof supplement, Bulletproof Magnesium.

This one provides 320mg of highly bioavailable mag citrate in each serving.

Customers say their muscles, bones, and nervous systems feel great with consistent magnesium supplementation.

Dave Asprey’s Favorite Supplements: Summing Things Up

Nothing about Dave Asprey is average…definitely not his supplement routine.

While it’s yet to be seen if Asprey’s over-the-top approach will let him live to 180, there’s something in it for everybody nonetheless.

Dave’s supplement recommendations actually show surprising devotion to the essentials: prioritizing real food, minimizing environmental toxins like blue light, and only supplementing with things that are sorely lacking in today’s modern food supply.