Vitamins

[Hockey Playa]

Im at university now, and my diet has been shot a bit, mostly eating fast food, or skipping meals. I was at the health food store the other, day and noticed there were millions of different vitamins....Is there anything other than a multivitamin, than i should look into, to keep my well-being

 

[Henkel]

I take multitabs and omega-3, I think that takes you quite far.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Vitamins are supplements to your diet and are most effective when used with a viable diet. If your diet is crappy it'll negate many of the benefits that a supplement could provide.

 

[donjuanjovi]

Changing your diet would be more beneficial than pumping yourself full of vitamin pills.

 

[Hockey Playa]

well im exagerating , my diet isn't that bad, but is a multivitamin all i need?

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

well im exagerating , my diet isn't that bad, but is a multivitamin all i need?

It depends on your diet and your fitness level. Sure, you can take a multivitamin if it makes you feel better psychologically but it's not really that cut and dry if you want to genuinely improve your fitness.

 

[Charm&Style]

this is an interesting topic, then whats the key way to benefit from taking vitamins?

 

[Freddy1]

Im at university now, and my diet has been shot a bit, mostly eating fast food, or skipping meals. I was at the health food store the other, day and noticed there were millions of different vitamins....Is there anything other than a multivitamin, than i should look into, to keep my well-being

To what others have siad. I would add its important to take vitamin C.
Its a vitamin that isnt stored in the body.

I personally take a multivitamin (it has some Vitamin C ) but also take more tablets of vitamin C on top of it.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

this is an interesting topic, then whats the key way to benefit from taking vitamins?

Eat a balanced healthy diet. Vitamins will help bolster nutrients that you have not had the minimum daily requirement. Even though multivitamins may have the minimum daily requirement of a mineral, the body best assimilates the natural nutrients of food through the digestive system. Changing your diet will deliver the greatest payoff from supplements.

 

[Throttle]

Think of a multivitamin as an insurance policy -- you don't stop avoiding car accidents, illnesses, and death just because you're insured (car, health, and life respectively). It just helps fill in gaps. But virtually every controlled study on supplementation has shown that food sources are superior to capsule, pill or powder supplements. And in many cases, benefits strongly associated with particular food sources have failed to show statistically non-zero effects when the same vitamins are taken as supplements.

 

[Warboss Alex]

guys, you're kinda off the mark. saying that your diet should cover your vitamin/mineral needs is all well and good, however remember you're not sedentary 50-year-olds. most of you work out (and hopefully you work out hard), your needs for micronutrients will be way greater than what the diet could offer, especially as concerns things like antioxidants and vitamin c which boost the immune system (which weakens as your workout intensity increases).

you should be thinking about taking TWO multivitamins on top of a balanced diet, not just winging it .. now I've never heard of anyone not growing because their multivitamin was crap, but I have heard of plenty of lifters who've cut their training cycles short because they came down with the flu or whatever, that puts them out of action for two weeks and they basically have to start over again..

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Think of a multivitamin as an insurance policy -- you don't stop avoiding car accidents, illnesses, and death just because you're insured (car, health, and life respectively). It just helps fill in gaps. But virtually every controlled study on supplementation has shown that food sources are superior to capsule, pill or powder supplements. And in many cases, benefits strongly associated with particular food sources have failed to show statistically non-zero effects when the same vitamins are taken as supplements.

Good way of putting it.

 

[Throttle]

especially as concerns things like antioxidants and vitamin c which boost the immune system (which weakens as your workout intensity increases).

you should be thinking about taking TWO multivitamins on top of a balanced diet, not just winging it

I'd rather take one multivitamin & whatever antixoidants/vit C I think would help separately. Multivitamins have all sorts of stuff thrown in, including lots of fat soluble stuff. Though 2 a day is unlikely to put you over established safety thresholds, you're still "winging it" -- just with a philosophy of "more is probably better."

I'll stick with a gap-filler metaphor: more spackle is not necessarily better! If you're prone to colds/flu, take vit C. If you think antioxidants may help, give 'em a try. If you eat raw eggs with a WBA-like appetite, get yourself a biotin supplement. And so forth. Trying to fill in enough of any of those with multiple one-a-day(tm) type pills will fill you up with fat soluble vitamins & trace metals in potentially odd ways...

 

[Warboss Alex]

yeah.. I was just trying to illustrate the importance of the micronutrients, not saying that people had to take two.. (if they're good quality you don't need two anyway)

for a heavy trainer: (bare minimum)
- multivitamin/mineral (reputable brand like beverly intl)
- vitamin c (1-2g extra per day)
- fish oil (6g+)
- antioxidants (green tea or whatever)
- calcium (to counter-act the high protein diet)

next on your list should be b-complex or b12 (or liver tabs..)

digestive enzymes if you have problems..

 

[A-Unit]

Re:

I would add to that list...

Glucosamine Chondroitin w/MSM
And possibly Grapeseed Extract (90mg per serving or better)
Both for Joint Rejuvenation to stave off the wear and tear of everyday 'active' life. Losing cartilidge and other joint damage is common. Supplementation OVER TIME can help prevent decay and erosion of essential joint lubricating elements and cartilidge.

Personally, i would rather pay for the supplements now and build my body up, and keep it strong, than let it degrade over time, eventually require pharma-drugs, that not only are breaking most senior's bankaccounts, but also making them sicker and more dependent on drugs than ever before. Your body shouldn't ever get to a point where it needs a drug just to exist, with the exception of diabetes and a few other birth-related diseases. The degradation in the function of the body is either related to a LACK found in the diet, such as a lack of vitamins and antioxidants, OR, something you're adding to the system which is poisoning the body and causing it to underperform. The EXTERNAL pain you experience is the result of INTERNAL errors in function. Our body is SELFHEALING, and the cells are constantly renewed, in a year, you've shed nearly your whole body. If that's so, then supplementing, exercising, and providing proper nutrition will see that your body stays on whatever track you want it to be on.



A-Unit

 

[Warboss Alex]

I would add to that list...

Glucosamine Chondroitin w/MSM
And possibly Grapeseed Extract (90mg per serving or better)
Both for Joint Rejuvenation to stave off the wear and tear of everyday 'active' life. Losing cartilidge and other joint damage is common. Supplementation OVER TIME can help prevent decay and erosion of essential joint lubricating elements and cartilidge.

Personally, i would rather pay for the supplements now and build my body up, and keep it strong, than let it degrade over time, eventually require pharma-drugs, that not only are breaking most senior's bankaccounts, but also making them sicker and more dependent on drugs than ever before. Your body shouldn't ever get to a point where it needs a drug just to exist, with the exception of diabetes and a few other birth-related diseases. The degradation in the function of the body is either related to a LACK found in the diet, such as a lack of vitamins and antioxidants, OR, something you're adding to the system which is poisoning the body and causing it to underperform. The EXTERNAL pain you experience is the result of INTERNAL errors in function. Our body is SELFHEALING, and the cells are constantly renewed, in a year, you've shed nearly your whole body. If that's so, then supplementing, exercising, and providing proper nutrition will see that your body stays on whatever track you want it to be on.



A-Unit

Spot on as always.. although I'd hope no young guys on this forum need glucosamine yet!

 

[RaWBLooD]

get your entire diet in order before you think about vitamins, skipping meals and eating fast food for the meals you dont skip, no no no.