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Vitamin Supplements

I eat a very balanced diet of meat,veg and beer and red wine and not much fruit or fish and i was wondering if any of you nutritionists out there think it might be a good idea if i had some vitamin supplements to er supplement my diet and if they offer any benefits.Thanks for any input

Comments

  • Jack HughesJack Hughes Posts: 1,262
    Eat a proper diet - i.e. up your fruit and veg!

    There isn't a lot of evidence that vitamin supplements do any good for "the worried well". Most research that shows benefits is conducted on chronically ill people, who people with strange physiology, like pregnant women.

    If you work out how much you spend on a course of tablets... well, that money can invariably be better spent.

    Now, I am a great believer in the placebo effect though... and it is probably worth spending money on them.
  • shadowone1shadowone1 Posts: 1,408
    I'm sort of with Jack on this one. I agree that a balanced diet is the best course of action, however lifestyle can often dictate whether you get that balanced diet. Most often I find myself caught short, ie I'm out and about at work and I've got nothing healthy for lunch/breakfast etc.

    To help maintain my diet, I use vitamins and cod liver oil supplements. This is purely to help aid what I miss when I am out and about.

    I am just about to start my loading phase of a few things that Hussler has recommended to help with endurance etc. I'm hoping that I'll see some postive results pretty soon.
  • BlinkybazBlinkybaz Posts: 1,144
    So supplements rear their ugly head again!!!

    I am with jack and Shadowone on this. Supplements are great in the right place. I was taking a multivit tablet each day and I dont think it had any effect.
    I am now though taking Udo's oil. I have notice since starting 3 weeks ago that my joints dont feel as sore after a good hard session.

    If its the placebo effect - I am happy to keep it going. I have read studies on it and it seems to be true that it does increase your recovery and good fatty acids. This is now my omega 3 and 6 supplement as well.


    I am sure someone will prove me wrong - I am happy with it though!!!
  • +1 for oil capsules (fish oil in my case dunno what Udo is). Does wonders for joints that don't work as well as they ought!

    Currently taking one Berocca a day in a bid to ward off any flu and colds that are circulating the office. Not sure what 800% RDA of Vit C and other Vits is doing to my insides though

    Have increased different veg in my diet significantly and bought a smoothie maker to get some fruit in there too. Can't stomach any fruit on its own for some reason but finding that mixing with yoghurt, milk, oats and seeds is doing the trick.
  • jibby26jibby26 Posts: 261
    I take multivitamin tablets as I can't have any dairy produce due to an intolerance, so miss out on a few vitamins and minerals. I have found that my weight is much more stable when I take them, not sure if it is a real effect or connected to some other factor though. Tried glucosamine and green tea extract but didn't see any benefit from them though.
  • BritspinBritspin Posts: 1,655
    Supplement..in addition to...says it all really.
    The problem is acknowledged, do something about it..by eating more fruit & veg, 5 a day does not cut it, but with a bit of planning it is not hard at all, most days I get 5 at breakfast ( juice, porridge with raisins, berries as a side, blueberries/strawberries/rasberries & a banana before training). Lunch usually has at least 5 salad ingredients if at work & at least 3 veg if at home, dinner will be about the same, but the opposite way around, its a bad day if I only get 5 in, usually at least double that.
    Away from home is rarely a good reason to let things slip, if you can find a shop to buy a sandwich/burger/chips etc then you can find a shop that sells apples, pears etc etc, or prepare & take them with, they mostly come in their own wrapping which is edible & don't even need keeping cool.
    Dairy intolerance creates no problem if you can take soy...the vitamin profile is better than cow juice.
  • Jack HughesJack Hughes Posts: 1,262
    Britspin wrote:

    Away from home is rarely a good reason to let things slip
    A very good point, and one that chimes with me - as I've been living in hotels during the week for the last few months.

    I've been struggling. Tried a bit harder this week - bought fruit from a little market stall near to the clients in the middle of London - the only problem, no receipt so I can't claim it on expenses. Which doesn't worry me too much. There was also a porridge stall (quite popular now in London).

    So, I have a choice - try a bit harder and eat properly, but not claim on expenses - although the costs are low, or stay in the hotel, eat too much of the wrong things, but not pay anything.

    [Example, I could have had a Premier-Inn all-you-can-eat breakfast for a claimable £7.95 i.e. £0.00, but went for 2 bananas and water for 60p]

    Something seems wrong there!

    My only excuses for not eating properly are laziness and greed (well, comfort eating, maybe).

    Anyway, I am heartened and hardened by your words, Britspin!
  • jibby26jibby26 Posts: 261
    Britspin wrote:

    Dairy intolerance creates no problem if you can take soy...the vitamin profile is better than cow juice.
    True, but if you have a soy intolerance too than life is a bit harder.
  • BritspinBritspin Posts: 1,655
    With reference to soy intolerance, Lady Britspin has this issue & goes down the oatmilk route, seems to work for her & the vitamin profile is pretty good. There is also rice milk which did not go over well & some others I seem to recall.
  • jibby26jibby26 Posts: 261
    Oatmilk is what I use on cereal and rice milk makes good custard, butTtey are no substitute elsewhere in cooking though. If you actaully read the labels it is surprising the number of foods that contain some amount of milk (lactose, whey, etc.) or soy when they don't seem to serve any purpose except extending the shelf life or making it a 'luxury' item. Cooking from scratch isn't always practical, so I think a multivitamin helps offset my sometimes simple and biased diet.
  • BritspinBritspin Posts: 1,655
    & nothing beats cow juice in a good cuppa tea..
  • I feel your pain Jibby! I can't eat garlic or onions or anything related to them and on the route to diagnosis (which was just a process of elimination with diet) went completely lactose free for a couple of months. Managed just fine with soya as a milk substitute however. Ingredient labels, unfortunately, have become a necessary obsession
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