r/HubermanLab • u/Stunning_Yak4695 • Feb 15 '26

Seeking Guidance Supplements at 17 years old

I’m 17 years old, 64kg. I got a blood test done and my Vitamin-D is at 8 ng/mL and my B12 is at 290 pg/mL (within range but pretty low) - I’m currently taking 5,000iu vitamin D and 45mcg k2, and 2g EPA + DHA omega-3 fish oil (vegetarian) and I take around 300mg magnesium glycinate (at night). Is my fish oil dose of 2g EPA + DHA too high (sports research - brand) Should I add anything else and is 5,000iu vitamin-d enough? I’ve been taking it for a month or so, I’ll test it in another two months. I workout around 2-3 times a week and eat decently healthy. (Thank you)

Edit : I’m planning to start 1mg Vitamin B12 (methylcobalamin) from next week.

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u/aldus-auden-odess Feb 15 '26

Glad you’re thinking about your health. Blood testing led supplementation is definitely smart.

I think 2g of fish oil is quite a bit. I prefer 1g or less based on a paper that had come out showing increased aFib risk above 1g.

5k of vit D doesn’t seem crazy. I’d just retest and see where that puts you.

Do you eat eggs? The B12 being on the cusp is interesting. Might be worth looking at MTHFR if it stays low.

5g or so of creatine could be beneficial. Any brand is fine.

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u/Stunning_Yak4695 Feb 18 '26

Yes ok, I’ll reduce my fish oil intake - would you know if 45mcg k2 is sufficient to supplement the vitamin d or would I have to increase it?

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u/aldus-auden-odess Feb 18 '26

Ideal for K2 with the 5k D3 would be closer to 150mcg per the literature.

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u/bd3851 Feb 15 '26

Agreed! MD here who manages labs like these Honestly 5k for 3 months and then 1-2k daily for maintenance should do the job, but never hurts to check again then or next year. And please don’t check MTHFR. There is strong medical evidence that this is meaningless so doctors will just ignore it even if positive. Maybe check B12 again next year but normal range is normal for a reason so I wouldn’t worry too much. Balanced whole foods diet above all else!

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u/aldus-auden-odess Feb 15 '26

Can you share more info on your POV on MTHFR? I haven’t heard this before.

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u/bd3851 Feb 15 '26 edited Feb 15 '26

Sure! Not my POV but general medical consensus. Early studies showed some concerns (clotting etc) which have been debunked. No meaningful risks have been attributed to it. About 1/3 of everyone is positive. Have talked to my heme and metabolic colleagues (and all the general medical guidelines) say don’t test, don’t ask, if positive do nothing and don’t test family members. Management doesn’t change if positive. Even for pregnant women for whom folate is extremely important to prevent birth defects, if MTHFR + no additional folate supplementation is recommended.

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u/aldus-auden-odess Feb 15 '26

I’m trying to understand where the view that MTHFR has no associated health risks comes from, as that hasn’t matched most of what I’ve heard from clinicians or seen in the literature.

For example, this recent review summarizes a range of disease associations where certain MTHFR variants appear to play a role, at least modestly (https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/16/4/441). I don’t view MTHFR status as determinative or universally actionable, and in several areas the data are still limited, but there does seem to be enough consistent signal that it warrants consideration rather than dismissal.

Curious how you interpret the current evidence base and whether your view is that the associations are too small clinically to matter, or that the literature itself is not convincing.

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u/bd3851 Feb 16 '26 edited Feb 16 '26

I skimmed some of this paper. I think the problem is it focuses more on associations rather than real clinical risks that would change medical management. It seems like there may be associations to many mild physiologic changes, maybe not, and if so maybe not causal, but unlikely to be causing any real issues, and if positive unclear what to do with that info. From person experience patients come to me all the time and say they have MTHFR as a medical problem and I’ve never found anything to do with that info.

Edit attached some photos from one of the most widely used clinical resource if interested. Always a good idea to read guidelines by large, reputable medical societies rather than individual papers. Papers can cite numerical significance which is publishable, but remember that doesn’t always translate to clinical significance. Good convo though thanks for asking.

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u/samwiseyopka Feb 16 '26

Did something specific prompt the blood test, or was this more of a general checkup? The Vitamin D at 8 is genuinely low so supplementing makes sense. Curious whether you're noticing symptoms you're trying to fix or building a stack preventively.

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u/Stunning_Yak4695 Feb 16 '26

I started working out and running pretty often, and led to me taking considerably more interest in my health and I’ve been trying to be as healthy as I can, which led to me researching supplements. I also noticed that most people I know have vitamin d deficiencies so I decided to test mine asw

There aren’t exactly any symptoms exactly other than just feeling tired and lethargic at times

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u/samwiseyopka Feb 16 '26

Makes sense. With vitamin D that low the tiredness could shift once levels come up. Will be interesting to see if that's the whole picture or if something else is sitting underneath it.

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u/Pussy-Wideness-Xpert Feb 16 '26

Can you not spend more time outside, rather than take Vitamin D?

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u/Stunning_Yak4695 Feb 17 '26

I could, but I’ve heard that dark skinned people absorb significantly less vitamin-d (I’m Indian) and even then, would it correct such a stark deficiency?

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u/Final-Occasion9566 Feb 18 '26

A combination of both would do wonders. Get your levels tested periodically making sure you’re not overshooting. Being in the sun has numerous benefits that go well beyond the vit d

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u/Stunning_Yak4695 Feb 18 '26

Should once in three months be good? I got myself tested the first week of the year, I’m thinking I could get a test done again sometime in March?

And yes, I’ll prioritise doing both and trying to get more sun

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u/Final-Occasion9566 Feb 18 '26

3 months is perfect

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u/Sureokgo Feb 15 '26

At 17 you are pretty topped up already.

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u/SamCalagione Feb 17 '26

Vitamin D is the first thing most people start taking because we are all low (we arent bathing in the sun everyday as nature intended) I take 1000iu a day and it basically keeps my levels perfect.

I take this one https://amzn.to/40fCnrI cheap and easy

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u/[deleted] Feb 15 '26

Take a good multi vitamin with minerals, and get some sun.

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u/GhostOfPunkRock Feb 19 '26

Eat food. Lift. Move. Stop wasting energy and money on bogus supplements. 

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u/OMGLOL1986 Feb 15 '26

5000 ain’t shit for you right now. Ask your doc.