Supplement · Grade B

HMB and medications.

Not yet catalogued in the Distil interactions database. We surface that distinction explicitly.

HMB is in the Distil supplement database, evidence Grade B. The page below lists every medication we have explicitly assessed it against.

HMB, short for beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate, is a metabolite of the amino acid leucine, taken at 3g a day split into three 1g doses with meals. Its job is anti-catabolic: it slows muscle protein breakdown through mTOR activation and proteasome inhibition, a different route from creatine's phosphocreatine mechanism, which makes the two complementary. The evidence is Grade B for preserving lean mass and preventing sarcopenia, with a meta-analysis by Wu in 2015 and a systematic review by Bear in 2019 both finding small but real gains in muscle mass and strength, particularly in older adults and during clinical conditions. The honest read is that the effects are modest and most relevant when muscle is under threat, such as ageing, calorie restriction or injury recovery, rather than as a general muscle-builder. It has no significant negative drug interactions and may mildly lower LDL. It is very well tolerated across all trials. A practical note: it earns its place most clearly after 50 or during a fat-loss phase, alongside creatine and adequate protein.

We have not yet completed an explicit assessment of medications for HMB in the Distil interactions database. We surface this distinction deliberately: the Distil checker tells you when we have explicitly assessed a pair and when we have not, because both are useful information. If you take HMB alongside a medication, the checker below will surface anything already in our database, and the missing-item form at the bottom of the page routes uncatalogued pairs into our next curation pass.

What this list does not say. Pairs not flagged here are not implicitly safe. They are either not yet in our database, or fall outside our inclusion scope. Use the checker below to surface any medication, and submit a missing item if you take something we have not catalogued.

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For adults over 18. This tool gives evidence-graded information, not medical advice. Always discuss changes with your GP, especially if you take any medication, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or have a serious health condition.

Your supplements

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How we decide

How we grade severity, choose what's in scope, and what we exclude.

Every call on this page is reasoned. We publish the full rubric for severity tiers, the medication inclusion logic, the evidence grades we accept, and what we deliberately leave out. About three thousand words. Worth reading once if you use this tool more than occasionally.

Read the full methodology

Your whole stack

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This page checks the pairs you enter. The personalised Distil report goes further:

the same graded, cited interaction check across your whole stack, not just the pairs you thought to type in
where your current routine may be leaving you short of your goals
the evidence-backed compounds worth adding, and the ones worth dropping

It's a paid report: £79, or £49 for the first 25 customers. The interactions check is one section of it, and you can read a real one in full before you buy.

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Something missing?

If a supplement or medication you take isn't in our autocomplete, tell us. We go through what people flag every week and add what's missing.

Thanks, that's logged. We go through flagged items every week.

Distil's interactions database is reviewed and updated every quarter. We grade evidence transparently and publish our methodology, including every database change, at /about/methodology. This tool is information, not a substitute for clinical judgement. If you take medication and supplements together, your GP or pharmacist can review your full regimen against your medical history. If you want a full personalised stack reasoned against this same database, the Distil report is the next step up.