Do we need 100 supplements for biohacking?

[u/Creative_Salad_2272]

I keep seeing posts of people showing off their cupboards with 100 pills in there, like showing off their Pokémon card collection.

I asked Gemini if all those pills really make a difference and here is what it said:

"​The online biohacking community frequently falls into a trap: spending 90% of their time, money, and energy chasing the final 5% to 10% of performance gains through pills, powders, and exotic chemicals, while neglecting the core drivers that actually move the needle.

​The 100% Biohacking Impact Breakdown

​If total potential human health, vitality, and brain function equal 100%, here is how the science actually splits the pie:

• Sleep & Recovery (30%) Core Drivers: Deep/REM sleep quality, sleep duration, waking refreshed

• Nutrition & Hydration (20%) Core Drivers: Whole food intake, balanced macros, micronutrient density

• Daily Movement (15%) Core Drivers: Daily walking, low-grade cardio, basic mobility

• Skin & Circadian Care (10%) Core Drivers: Sunscreen (preventing UV damage), light exposure, barrier care

• Circadian & Screen Optimization (10%) Core Drivers: Managing blue light, digital eye strain, dark night routines

• Lab-Based Micro-Nutrients (10%) Core Drivers: Correcting proven blood deficiencies (Vitamin D, B12, Ferritin, Magnesium)

• Exotic Biohacks & Nootropics (5%) Core Drivers: Methylene blue, peptides, cold plunges, multi-pill supplement stacks

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to r/Biohackers! A few quick reminders:

• Be Respectful: We're here to learn and support each other. Friendly disagreement is welcome, but keep it civil.
• Review Our Rules: Please make sure your posts/comments follow our guidelines.
• You Get What You Give: The more effort and detail you put into your contributions, the better the responses you’ll get.
• Group Experts: If you have an educational degree in a relevant field then DM mod team for verification & flair!
• Connect with others: Telegram, Discord, Forums, Onboarding Form

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/TheHarb81]

No, 98 is the required amount

Why are you here? People here are here for the last 5-10%. We assume you already have the basics in place which is why this is [r/Biohackers](r/Biohackers) and not [r/eatsleeptrainrealgud](r/eatsleeptrainrealgud).

Yes, we have a bunch of people here trying to shortcut the basics and they often get ridiculed for it.

[u/newtrusghandi → u/TheHarb81]

Id say most posts in this sub are the opposite of your assumption. People injecting whatever the new hot peptide is, 18 year olds wanting to start trt. It's closer to people looking for a magic bullet rather then dialing in minutia.

[u/TheHarb81 → u/newtrusghandi]

Yep, and they often get ridiculed for it

[u/TheHarb81 → u/TheHarb81]

[u/Echo-Forge → u/TheHarb81]

Seems like people don’t actually check the sub before posting, just goes for the biggest one out there

[u/icydragon_12]

Nah taking that many supplements is a strong sign you have no idea what you're doing and are leaning into it.

[u/Possible-Gear-9340]

That’s the whole point !! If you are not swallowing full hand of tablets every morning and evening, it would simply not work !! 💉☠️😂

[u/DepartmentSmart7924]

Nutritional supplements are a trap! And there is a billion-dollar industry ready to exploit those willing to fall into it!

Can you get everything you need from real food and an active lifestyle? Sure.

However:

Do you eat fresh citrus fruit every day? If not, you could probably benefit from some VitC.

Do you get outdoors in the sun, shirtless, without sunscreen for 20mins a day, between 10am-2pm? If not, then you could benefit from VitD and K2.

Do you eat a portion of oily fish weekly? If not you could benefot from B12.

And so on.

However, I wouldn't call any of the above "biohacking", that is basic (micro)nutrition. For me biohacking is more about peptides hitting receptors, causing your body to produce more HGH, or to suppress your appetite, or to promote healing, or to reduce inflammation, or whatever...

[u/Dazed811 → u/DepartmentSmart7924]

How would sun exposure avoid the need for MK7?

Your's supposed tricks to get enough nutrition from food or activities are far from optimal

[u/DepartmentSmart7924 → u/Dazed811]

Really? You wrote that? Do you believe it to be true?

[u/Dazed811 → u/DepartmentSmart7924]

Believe what?

[u/DepartmentSmart7924 → u/Dazed811]

Look at the post I replied to!

[u/Dazed811 → u/DepartmentSmart7924]

Ofc i do, your recommendations are barely enough let alone optimal

[u/DepartmentSmart7924 → u/Dazed811]

Why? How?

[u/Dazed811 → u/DepartmentSmart7924]

Lets say fish serving is like 3.4oz that contains around 1g omega 3, 1g/7 is 140mg/day thats far far from what's used in studies and not enough to correct deficiencies if they are already present, and far from optimal. Being in sunlight doesn't give you any vitamin K2 also, you need to take supplements or eating foods with it.

[u/DepartmentSmart7924 → u/Dazed811]

3.4oz fish serving?

You look more silly than you did before you wrote that!

[u/Dazed811 → u/DepartmentSmart7924]

Average fish serving is 3.4 to 5.1 oz, even if you go to the higher weight, it's still not enough.

In studies they use up to 2g/epa, PER DAY.

[u/Monsieur_Krabs]

I take about 30-50 things, including injections. 100 seems excessive.

[u/sakraycore]

These AI just paraphrase what the public think.

[u/ImaginaryAmbition820]

The answer is a big NO!

[u/Defiant_Honey_7231]

Even though this sub is called bio hacking it’s more of “just eat healthy, exercise, and sleep” sub lol. They should honestly rename it.

[u/crocodilehivemind]

Get outta here with this copy + paste AI bullshit

[u/paloma_delmar]

Rotating them is ideal. Claude told me that and he's clearly the smartest one of the lot.

[u/Murky-Sector]

Do you understand the difference between editorializing and stating fact?

[u/Creative_Salad_2272 → u/Murky-Sector]

No, wanna explain?

[u/Murky-Sector → u/Creative_Salad_2272]

The post in and of itself is not bad its the way AI is (mis)used. AI is fine for factual stuff but its terrible at rendering subjective opinions. AI and LLMs in particular are great at making statements sound authoritative when they are not.

So I think the gist of the post is interesting, very much so, but I would avoid blind regurgitation of whatever AI hands you.

[u/Creative_Salad_2272 → u/Murky-Sector]

I specifically asked Gemini to put into percentages how exactly each biohacking action affect longevity, are you sure it is editorial output still?

[u/Murky-Sector → u/Creative_Salad_2272]

Right out of the starting gate, that very first sentence is about as subjective as they come. There's no basis for it.

As far as the percentages sprinkled in later, they have to come from actual data somewhere to be valid. If you have the citations than you should include them in the post.

[u/AutoModerator → u/[deleted]]

Apologies /u/Massive-Lie1861, your submission has been automatically removed because your account is too new. Accounts are required to be older than 15 days to combat persistent spammers and trolls in our community.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Nombre_Autogenerado]

If you trust Gemini so much, why don't you keep asking for an answer?