Pills, pills, pills. Where do I begin? The world is obsessed with pills!! With all the crap out there there is no wonder several of my friends and many American consumers are being misled. The fact is that you do not need supplements if you have a properly balanced diet. The only reason for supplementation would be for a deficiency of some kind.
To take supplementation without a true need for it might actually do more harm than good. According to an article titled Do you need a vitamin supplement?
"Millions and millions of people spend billions and billions of dollars on vitamin supplements every year. In 2004, 19.6 billion dollars was spent on this phenomenon. Many people think they are preventing heart disease or cancer by popping every vitamin supplement they can get their hands on. What many fail to realize, however, is that with the water soluble vitamins (B vitamins and vitamin C), whatever is not used is eliminated each day. Stocking up on these vitamins therefore, is not possible.........................................................................................................
As far as the fat soluble vitamins, vitamin A, vitamin K, vitamin D and vitamin E, whatever is not used is stored in the liver so stockpiling these vitamins could lead to toxic results."
Based on this excerpt, there is no real need for supplementation unless you have no choice due to a health problem. Something we also have to realize as members of food abundant nations is that we usually get more than enough supplementation from our diet. Therefore, taking supplements on top of an already balanced diet will be like pouring water into a cup that is already full, which could become a flood if not monitored.
I try to have a balanced diet so I do not rely too heavily on supplementation. However, I was once diagnosed with anemia so I take an occasional Iron supplement to prevent it. I also take omega 3 fish oil because I don't eat a lot of fish and vitamin C because if reduces recovery time between workouts. Furthermore, I take a light multivitamin which has a low dose of a large range of vitamins and minerals which is good for replacing anything my diet did not cover that day. I try to stay away from fat soluble supplements because the risk for toxicity is too high. My advice to you all is to focus more on a balanced diet and less on supplementation. If you do take anything, take it cautiously and with a purpose, not just because you think you need it.
Leave me a comment and let me know what you think! or email me at 0a4w@virginia.edu
4 comments:
Hey Yemmi,great site, relly enjoy reading it!
Just wondering what it is that vitamin C does or may do for recovery? Also, do you ever feel a need to take protein supplements?
Thanks,
Ben
Begging your pardon, I put one too many m's in your name.
Vitamin C And Exercise Recovery
Current research concerning vitamin C and exercise recovery is limited at best. A previously mentioned study found that vitamin C supplementation prevented muscle soreness (21). However, the aim of the study was not that of exercise recovery, but rather peroxidation of membranes. Vasankari et al. (39) performed one of the few studies addressing the role of vitamin C in exercise recovery. Conjugated dienes decreased by 11% after exercise in those individuals who ingested vitamin C versus those receiving a placebo. The design of this study should be noted as the subjects received one gram of vitamin C in supplement form immediately after a bout of exercise. However, these methods and results may be the basis for future research addressing vitamin C (and antioxidant) supplementation immediately after exercise. This author believes that vitamin C likely only aids in recovery if a person is deficient in the vitamin. The adrenal gland has been shown to regulate vitamin C release into the plasma (11). The significance of this has yet to be determined. However, it is likely that vitamin C does not directly function in muscle recovery because post-exercise values in the previous study (11) fell to values 20% below baseline within the first 24 hours of recovery. The possibility does exist that vitamin C may play an indirect role in exercise recovery. The vitamin has the ability to regenerate vitamin E. This means that any function vitamin E has within the body can also be linked back to vitamin C. The literature suggests that the role vitamin E plays in muscle recovery is limited and contradictory at this time. The relationship between vitamin E and muscle recovery is further addressed in a separate section. In summary, the role of vitamin C in exercise recovery is not known. The literature to date seems to imply that vitamin C probably has no direct significant role in muscle recovery from exercise, but may possibly play a significant indirect role in the process.
http://www.exrx.net/Nutrition/Antioxidants/VitaminC.html
Protein supplements are a waste of money if you eat a balanced diet. Overconsumption of protein will actually make you fat if you don't do enough exercise.
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