#393 ‒ AMA #85: A guide to medications and supplements: determining what to take, what to skip, and how to know if they're working for you
About this episode
Peter Attia discusses how to critically evaluate medications and supplements based on individual needs and circumstances.
View the Show Notes Page for This Episode Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content Sign Up to Receive Peter's Weekly Newsletter In this "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) episode, Peter explores how to think critically about medications and supplements by focusing not on whether an intervention is inherently "good" or "bad," but on whether it makes sense for a specific person with a specific problem. He explains why clearly defining the problem matters more than choosing the intervention itself, how the intended purpose of a medication or supplement should influence the standard of evidence required, and why mechanistic reasoning alone is rarely enough to justify taking something. Peter also examines how baseline risk shapes the true benefit of an intervention, why relative risk statistics can be misleading without proper context, and how to weigh not only side effects, but also cost, inconvenience, and opportunity cost when deciding whether something is worth taking. Additionally, he discusses practical ways to evaluate whether a supplement is actually having a meaningful effect, how to think about discontinuing therapies, why supplements deserve far more skepticism than they often…
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