Richard Monte is the co-founder and CEO of Streema. He’s also obsessed with supplements and spends a substantial portion of his free time optimizing his supplement stack.

1.) What is the reason you’re taking supplements?

For general health purposes. My diet doesn’t contain everything it should – and this is my way to hack into a healthier diet.

2.) What current supplements are you taking? 

I have morning supplements, small afternoon, evening stacks.

Morning:

• Vitamin D – 10,000 IU
• Vitamin K
• Vitamin C – 1.5g, time-released. Its important to time-release it so you don’t get it all at once. The thesis behind taking Vitamin C is that there are a lot of toxins in our environment and we need a lot of anti-oxidents in our body for support – and if you take too much, you can just piss it away. It’s a hedge but an imperfect one. (I take 3 grams per day, but the first half is in the morning.)
• Vitamin B12 – for cognitive functioning. I take it sublingually.
• Methalfolate. That’s the precursor to folic acid. I take it because most of us are deficient in folic acid.
• Krill Oil – for the Omega 3-s. It has EPA and DHA.
• Fermented cod liver oil – for the Vitamin A
• Probiotics
• Calcium Deglucerate – morning and night. It helps your body detox, and in some studies it shows that it lowers cholesterol.

Afternoon stack, usually a few hours after lunch:

• Vitamin C – 1.5g
• Milk Thistle – it contains a precursor to glutathione (which has been called the body’s master anti-oxident)

Evening stack:

• Magnesium L-Threonate – 400mg – For relaxation.
• L-Theanine – It contains a precursor to GABA. It’s a way to get the positive effects of caffeine without the jitters. You drink it and you get a calm focus.
• Potassium Citrate – 99mg
• Calcium Deglucerate – morning and night. It helps your body detox, and in some studies it shows that it lowers cholesterol.
• Teaspoon of either olive oil or coconut oil.
• Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) – as a test to see if I feel any changes
• oxaloacetate – also as a test to see if I feel any changes

3.) What’s the most recent supplement you’ve recently added? Why? Have you noticed a difference since you added it?

GABA, just night. I feel good today, but I don’t notice any substantial difference.

Liposomal Glutathione. If you take its liposomal form, it can go through the stomach and not get obliterated by the stomach acids. This is also why some people take Liposomal Vitamin C – it’s the best option after taking it intravenously. I felt better when I took the glutathione – but I don’t know if it’s a placebo effect.

4.) Are there any supplements that you used to take but you stopped? Why did you remove it? Did you notice any improvement after removing it?

Not yet. The only reason I stop taking some is because I live in a country where they are hard to get.

5.) What’s the most unexpected or surprising or least-common supplement you’re currently taking? Why are you taking this one?

Methalfolate. A lot of people take folic acid; they’re in all multivitamins, for example. But apparently methalfolate is better to take, since there is a percentage of the population that can’t process the folic acid. I’m not a pregnant women, but they always tell pregnant women to take folic acid – but they should always take methalfolate. Plus, folic acid is synthetic but when you take methalfolate, it’s a precursor to folic acid, so you’re actually increasing the production. Many times, it’s better to consume the precursors and have the body produce it.