Health and Fitness Products I Actually Use
The Few Brands and Products That Earned a Permanent Place in My Routine
Over more than 35 years I've stayed remarkably loyal to just a handful of brands. I'm particular about what goes into my body, so I take my time before I commit to anything new. The products on this page are the ones that earned that trust. They're the ones I keep reordering, keep using and keep recommending to my own clients, my family and now you.
Every single thing here is something I use personally, not something a brand sent me to try once for a photo. That's the only standard I care about.
JUST SO YOU KNOW
I'm part of a few affiliate programmes, which means if you click through and buy something, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It's one of the ways I keep this site running. But the commission is never the reason something ends up on this page. I only recommend what I'd genuinely tell a friend to buy, and there are products I love that don't have an affiliate programme at all. Those are here too, simply because I love using them.
Xtendlife natural supplements
I've been taking supplements in some form since 1990, which means I've had plenty of time to get fussy about quality. I started with Xtendlife in 2016 after a long stretch of research, and I haven't looked elsewhere since. They're based in New Zealand and manufacture everything in their own state-of-the-art facility, which matters to me. I'm particular about what goes into my body, and Xtendlife is genuinely the best I've found for purity and quality control.
My daily two are Total Balance Men's, which is the most complete multivitamin and mineral formula I've used, and their Omega 3 / DHA Plus.
This has become a proper family affair.
My wife uses Total Balance Women's, Omega 3 / QH Premium CoQ10 and a few of their skincare products.
My son has Total Balance Children's and Omega 3 / DHA Plus.
Even our dog gets the Omega 3 / DHA for dogs. If a brand is good enough for everyone in this house including the dog, that tells you something.
Use code ENJOY15 for 15% off your first order.
The Healthy Chef
The Healthy Chef is an Australian brand making protein powders, collagen, supplements and a few genuinely delicious drinks, all from properly wholesome ingredients. My wife, my son and I all use several of their products regularly, which is the real test in our house.
I've been using their protein powders since 2014. My go-to is the Organic Pea Protein. I went looking for a clean plant-based protein with minimal ingredients, low sugar and absolutely no chalky aftertaste, and after trying a few brands, this is the one that finally got it right. Complete amino acid profile, genuinely tastes good even mixed with just water, and it disappears beautifully into a smoothie, a bowl of yoghurt or in protein pancakes.
We’re also regular‘s on their Magnesium +, Matcha Tea, Drinking Chocolate, Collagen Coffee, and my wife prefers the Pure Native Whey Protein Isolate.
Use code MARCO20 for 20% off your first order.
Nordic Naturals
A few years ago I went down a genuine rabbit hole researching cod liver oil. It's rich in EPA and DHA along with vitamins A and D, and once I understood the benefits, finding a genuinely high-quality source became the next problem. After working through a long list of brands, Nordic Naturals came out on top for purity.
I'll be honest, I had real reservations about their liquid products because I was bracing for that classic fishy aftertaste. It never showed up, especially with the lemon and orange flavours. Nordic Naturals also makes a broader range of omega-3s, vitamins and probiotics from natural ingredients, all worth exploring.
Browse the Nordic Naturals range →
Neo Naturally Australian
If you're after a genuinely good range of organic, caffeine-free herbal teas, this is where I'd point you. My wife discovered these teas at our local markets a few years back, and we've slowly built our collection up to ten different flavours since.
My personal favourites are the Chocolate Dream Rooibos, the French Earl Grey and the Gorgeous Green.
Explore the Neo Naturally Australian range →
Prolon Fasting-Mimicking Diet
The Prolon Fasting-Mimicking Diet is a five-day nutrition programme designed to give your body many of the cellular benefits of a water-only fast while you're still actually eating. It's low in calories, carbohydrates and protein, and higher in healthy fats, and it's built on more than twenty years of research out of Valter Longo's lab at the University of Southern California, including published clinical trials showing improvements in markers linked to ageing, metabolic health and inflammation.
I've followed Professor Longo's work for years and I'm genuinely driven by the idea of staying vital for as long as possible. I completed my first Prolon cycle in 2022 and felt fantastic afterwards. I lost 3.5 kilograms without losing any muscle, and I kept my strength up at the gym throughout, which is exactly what the research on this programme aims for.
Learn more about the Prolon FMD →
Four Sigmatic
Four Sigmatic makes a range of mushroom-based products using chaga, lion's mane, reishi and cordyceps, the kind of functional mushrooms associated with immune support, lower stress and sharper cognitive function. What sets them apart from most mushroom products on the shelf is the detail in how they're made.
- Quality: only high-quality, organic mushrooms grown in controlled environments for purity and potency
- Dual-extraction: a process using both hot water and alcohol extraction that pulls out more of the beneficial compounds and makes them easier for your body to actually absorb
- Variety: coffee, tea and elixirs, each built around different mushrooms for different benefits
- Convenience: brew the coffee blends just like normal coffee, or stir the elixirs into hot water or a smoothie
I sometimes use a blend of ten functional mushrooms stirred into my coffee or tea.
Shop the Four Sigmatic range →
Creatine
Think of creatine as a small but mighty energy helper. It's stored mostly in your muscles and brain, your body makes some of it naturally, and you also get it from foods like meat, eggs and fish. Its main job is helping produce ATP, the energy currency your body relies on for strength training, high-intensity cardio and even clear thinking. More available creatine generally means more energy on tap when you need it.
The research behind creatine monohydrate is genuinely some of the most solid in the entire supplement world. It's associated with improved muscle performance and endurance, support for building and maintaining lean body mass, cognitive benefits including healthy body composition in older adults, more efficient cellular energy production, and a reduced risk of cramping, dehydration and soft tissue injury during training.
I only use Creapure, which is made in Germany and widely regarded as one of the purest forms of creatine monohydrate available. I started using it for the strength training benefits, the cognitive support and the longevity angle, all three genuinely matter to me. I just take 2.5 to 3 grams daily, mixed into a smoothie or stirred through yoghurt with my protein powder. Since starting, I've noticed better strength and better performance in my sessions.
TRX suspension trainer
If I could only ever travel with one piece of training equipment, it's the TRX. It uses suspension straps and your own bodyweight to deliver resistance training for your entire body, originally developed by a former Navy SEAL with portability and versatility as the whole point.
It suits every fitness level, which is part of why it's everywhere in gyms and studios these days, and it's genuinely one of my favourite pieces of equipment in my own home gym.
Check out the TRX suspension trainer and other training tools →
Books that shaped my health and my coaching
These are just some of the books that have not only helped me with my own health and fitness, but they have also made me a better coach by giving me valuable insights and practical tools that I can share with others.
These books haven't just shaped my own health and fitness. They've made me a genuinely better coach, giving me real insight and practical tools I now pass straight on to my clients. They've taught me how to motivate people properly, including my own family, understand the specific challenges someone is up against, and build a plan that actually fits the person in front of me rather than a generic template. They've also kept me curious, which I think matters more than people realise on a lifelong journey like this one.
- Bigger Leaner Stronger — Michael Matthews
- Thinner Leaner Stronger — Michael Matthews
- Eat Smarter — Shawn Stevenson
- The Longevity Diet — Valter Longo, PhD
- The Path to Longevity — Luigi Fontana, PhD
- Atomic Habits — James Clear
- Change Maker — John Berardi, PhD
- Boundless — Ben Greenfield
- Motivational Interviewing in Nutrition and Fitness — Dawn Clifford and Laura Curtis
- Awaken the Giant Within — Anthony Robbins
- Overcoming Gravity — Steven Low
- Béchamp or Pasteur? — Ethel D. Hume
- The Starch Solution — John A. McDougall
- Limitless — Jim Kwik
- The Scientific Approach to Intermittent Fasting — Michael Vanderschelden
- Eat Stop Eat — Brad Pilon
Solo Build It
I'd wanted to build a website to share my health and fitness journey for a long time. The problem was I wasn't about to hand over thousands of dollars upfront to do it, and I'm a hands-on, figure-it-out-myself kind of person anyway.
A friend introduced me to Solo Build It, formerly Site Build It, and it genuinely changed the trajectory of this whole project. The education, the training and the support were exactly what I needed to go from an idea to an actual website, and eventually an actual business.
To be completely clear, I'm not a tech person. I'm not an IT guru. I followed their Action Guide step by step, put in the hours, and had a fair amount of patience along the way. What I appreciated most was never having to go hunting around the internet for answers. Everything I needed was right there.
It's let me build this around my family and my life rather than the other way around. Still a side project for now, but one I'm genuinely hopeful will grow into something bigger over time. If you've got a passion you've been sitting on and you're wondering whether you could turn it into something real, I'd encourage you to take a look.
That's the honest list. The products, supplements and tools I actually use. If you try any of them, I'd genuinely love to know how you get on.
Health should feel like your best life, not a break from it.
Marco ☕
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About Me I'm Marco Asnicar, personal trainer, nutrition coach and founder of Vitality Marco. I didn't discover the Mediterranean method. I grew up living it, shaped by Italian roots, real food and movement as a natural part of daily life. I coach men and women aged 35 to 55 to do the same. No restriction. No fads. No giving up the life you love. Just a way of eating and living that genuinely feels good and gets better every year. Want to know more about my story and approach? Read my full About Me page → |