The Only Three “Daily Health Essentials” I Still Take in 2025 (And Why I Threw Everything Else Out)

(Written by the guy who used to swallow 18 pills a day and now gets better blood-work with exactly three)

Five years ago my morning routine looked like a pharmacy explosion: a rainbow multivitamin, vitamin C 1000 mg, zinc, vitamin D, separate B-complex, magnesium, probiotic, CoQ10, turmeric, and a random “immune booster” that tasted like orange chalk.
Total cost: ~€180/month.
Total noticeable difference: basically zero.

Fast-forward to late 2025. My cabinet now has three bottles. My latest blood panel is the best it’s ever been. Energy, mood, skin, sleep, testosterone — everything is up. Here’s exactly what stayed and why literally everything else got the boot.

1. A Real Multivitamin (Not the Grocery-Store Candy)

99 % of multivitamins are marketing scams in a pretty bottle. They use the cheapest oxide forms, doses too low to matter, and throw in 30+ ingredients that fight each other for absorption.

The only two I still respect in 2025:

• Thorne Basic Nutrients 2/Day
• Pure Encapsulations O.N.E. Multivitamin

Why they win:

• Active forms (methyl-folate, methyl-B12, vitamin K2-MK7, proper D3)
• Doses that actually move blood levels (5,000 IU D3, 45 mg zinc, 400 mg magnesium, 180 µg K2)
• Two capsules a day, taken with meals = no stomach issues
• Third-party tested every single batch (you can type the lot number on their site and see the exact lab report)

Real-world result: My vitamin D went from 29 → 68 ng/mL, ferritin climbed 42 → 97 µg/L, and B12 hit 900+ pg/mL without taking any separate pills. All from one product.

If you eat a lot of organ meats, wild fish and get daily sun — you might not need it. Everyone else? Yes, you do.

2. Immune Support That Isn’t Just Vitamin C and Wishful Thinking

2025 reality: the “immune” aisle is still full of sugar gummies and 500 % DV of vitamin C (which you pee out after 200 mg).

What actually works (and survived my ruthless testing):

• Vitamin D is the real immune MVP (already covered in the multi)
• High-dose mushroom blend — only one passed the test:
  Host Defense “MyCommunity” or Real Mushrooms 5 Defenders
  (17-species blend, heavy on turkey tail, reishi, chaga — the ones with the human trials on NK-cell activity and viral load reduction)
  Dose: 2 capsules daily during cold season or when traveling.
• Quercetin + bromelain stack (500 mg quercetin + 200 mg bromelain) when I feel the first scratchy throat. Knocks out 80 % of colds in 24–48 h for me and everyone I’ve given it to.

Everything else — elderberry syrup, airborne tablets, echinacea, high-dose C megadosing — got thrown out after zero noticeable difference across three winters.

3. Omega-3 (The One Supplement I Will Never, Ever Drop)

This is the closest thing to a real “essential” we have.

My current pick (unchanged since 2022):
Nootropics Depot High-Potency Fish Oil (triglyceride form, 90 % concentration)
→ 2 softgels = 1400 mg EPA + 1000 mg DHA per day

Or, if you hate fish burps or are vegan:
Performance Lab Omega-3 (algae, carrageenan-free) — same doses.

Why I’m religious about it:

• My Omega-3 Index went from 4.1 % → 11.2 % (ideal is 8–12 %)
• Joint pain after deadlifts? Gone.
• Mood stability? Night-and-day.
• Skin inflammation and dryness? Fixed.
• Blood triglycerides dropped 42 % in six months.

2025 bonus: the latest trials (VITAL follow-up, REDUCE-IT long-term data) keep confirming that 2 g+ EPA/DHA daily is one of the few supplements that actually lowers all-cause mortality in healthy adults.

What Got Thrown in the Bin (And Will Stay There)

• Separate vitamin C (useless past 200 mg)
• Zinc >15 mg daily (crashes copper)
• Probiotics (food > pills for 99 % of people)
• Collagen (I get enough from bone broth and training now)
• Ashwagandha (great, but I cycle it — not daily)
• Turmeric/curcumin (unless you have arthritis, food levels are fine)
• Every single “immune gummy” ever made

My Exact 2025 Daily Stack (Costs ~€2.20/day)

Morning with breakfast:

• Thorne Basic Nutrients 2/Day → 2 capsules

Evening with dinner:

• Nootropics Depot Omega-3 → 2 softgels
• (Oct–Mar only) Real Mushrooms 5 Defenders → 2 capsules

That’s it. Three bottles. Better blood work than when I was taking 18 pills and spending €180.

If you’re still staring at 15 bottles and wondering why you feel the same — do yourself a favour: pick a good multi, a serious omega-3, and one evidence-backed immune mushroom blend during winter. Throw the rest away. Your wallet and your liver will thank you.

(And yes — if you want the exact links and latest discount codes I’m using in 2025, just say the word. Happy to share.)

Stay healthy, keep it simple.