"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Vitamins used by racers?

Just wondering...

This is what I've been taking lately:

:twitchy:

I take the vitamin EPO

Vitamins E,P and O

Men should not take supplemental iron.

multi-vitamin, fish oil, b-12, and C are pretty much my staples.

get rid of the iron and calcium

+1 on the iron, too much of it is very toxic.

+1 on the iron, too much of it is very toxic.

OK, will stop the iron. =) tx.

I've been looking into supplementing Glutamine. That reminds me...maybe I'll do a search.

+1 on the iron, too much of it is very toxic.
I think you mean -1. ;)


get rid of the iron and calcium
I disagree; what's the matter with calcium? All of us skinny-arse bike racers probably have low calcium anyway.

-bullseye

I take magnesium-calcium-zinc and fish oil tabs.

All of this depends...

if you're a vegetable, I mean vegetarian, then iron ain't a bad thing. If you're a
body builder taking massive vitamins, inhaling steaks like they were potato chips...
then it would be an incredibly slow way to commit suicide. (Sorry, I seem to be in a mood.)

Anyway, and IM(not!)HO a good multivitamin is a good thing. Doubly so if you exercise a lot.

It will have vitamin C, I have tried megadoses of vitamin C many times. I am not impressed.

I'm a big fan of antioxidants.

take out the vitamin c and eat fruit instead

I think you mean -1. ;)


I disagree; what's the matter with calcium? All of us skinny-arse bike racers probably have low calcium anyway.

-bullseye

Drink OJ in the morning, and chocolate milk as a recovery drink. There's your calcium.

Drink OJ in the morning, and chocolate milk as a recovery drink. There's your calcium.

Unless you're lactose intolerant.

Is ibuprophen a vitamin?

I take a multivitamin and fish oil daily and L-glutamine on Sundays after my 3 hour rides.

Is ibuprophen a vitamin?

I take a multivitamin and fish oil daily and L-glutamine on Sundays after my 3 hour rides.

Vitamin I - very useful vitamin for the older gents.

Unless you're lactose intolerant.

then chocolate soymilk

then chocolate soymilk

That's kooky talk.

MultiVitamin if I remember. Other then that just tons of fruits and veggies.

My daily vitamins are as follows.

Omega 3 fish oil.
Calcium. Helps with cramping.
Multi.
B complex
C
Potasium
Glucosomine. Yes, although I am only 36 my joints feel like they are 80..LOL.
Emergen C depending on the time of the yr.
Glutimine. Just got on it.

And, no, even with a proper diet it is hard to get all the vitamins you need when you train and race a lot. My diet is as squared away as you can get without being a monk/freak as well.

Just wondering...

This is what I've been taking lately:

i used to take +/-20 vitamins a day, based on what my nutritionist at the time suggested.

i had some very expensive urine.

My daily vitamins are as follows.

Omega 3 fish oil.
Calcium. Helps with cramping.
Multi.
B complex
C
Potasium
Glucosomine. Yes, although I am only 36 my joints feel like they are 80..LOL.
Emergen C depending on the time of the yr.
Glutimine. Just got on it.

And, no, even with a proper diet it is hard to get all the vitamins you need when you train and race a lot. My diet is as squared away as you can get without being a monk/freak as well.

All that and no liver support?

All that and no liver support?

C, beta carotene, E, B vitamins, calcium are all liver support system vitamins. Multis usually contain enough for good liver support for someone at my age.

Vitamin B1, vitamin C and N-Acetyl Cysteine are all liver support. I would say I am short on N-AC. Not a big deal though.

Is there something else you may recommend that I may be missing? I am always up for more info.

C, beta carotene, E, B vitamins, calcium are all liver support system vitamins. Multis usually contain enough for good liver support for someone at my age.

Vitamin B1, vitamin C and N-Acetyl Cysteine are all liver support. I would say I am short on N-AC. Not a big deal though.

Is there something else you may recommend that I may be missing? I am always up for more info.

Not a recommendation but Silibinin (milk thistle) has shown effectiveness as a liver protectant.

Not a recommendation but Silibinin (milk thistle) has shown effectiveness as a liver protectant.


Milk thistle is a must if you are taking all that stuff... Oh and I would cut out all alcohol.

Milk thistle is a must if you are taking all that stuff... Oh and I would cut out all alcohol.

I don't drink alcohol (anymore).

GNC Megamen-Sport multi.

Apex Performance Multi-vitamin (3x daily)
Apex L-Glutamine powder (1-2x daily, usually with a protein shake)
Apex Super Anti-oxidant (1x daily)
Apex Max Recovery BCAA (30 mins pre-workout)

I cycle on and off these as directed. During the off-season I also supplement with Apex Volumizer for muscle growth. You'd think I was 80 if you saw my pill-box!

Drink OJ in the morning, and chocolate milk as a recovery drink. There's your calcium.

Incorrect.

First, the calcium in cows milk very unbioavailable. Basically it is a poor calcium source.

Second, the phytates in the chocolate will bind with the calcium and you will excrete them both.

+1 on the iron, too much of it is very toxic.

You've obviously never suffered from anemia. I have. It killed a season and a half for me.

ORAL iron is difficult to process. It can sit in the gut for extended periods and the bacteria that live there will thrive and give you some problems.

There are liquid forms or iron that many vegans take. These are much easier to process and excrete.

The best way (if you've had problems in the past) is to get checkups every 6 weeks or so to monitor your STORED in (not circulating iron). This is what I do. If I start to see a drop off I get 80mg elemental iron in an IV with saline. This is absorbed quickly and easily with none of the infection risks associated with oral iron.

Most athletes are Calcium deficient. This can hinder performance now and general health in the future. The amount of calcium that athletes need is very difficult to obtain through diet alone.

Make sure to combine the calcium with magnesium or you are wasting you money.

Take calcium at night as it is best absorbed then.

Also look at folic acid. Folate is destroyed by heat (as in food processing) and is essential in the formation of red blood cells. The vast majority of sedentary people are deficient. Since athletes have a much higher turnover of red blood cells they are even more likely to be lacking.

I also tale Vit C and E (they work together), and glucosamine as well as a decent multi-vit.

Any one who tells you (as an athlete) that you can get all the nutrition you need from just eating well is not familiar with what has happened to our food supply through industrial farming and the use of NPK fertilizers after WWII.

Take what seems to keep you healthy and strong and just listen and nod your head knowingly after the race when your 'diet only' buddies are lamenting their 28th place finish again.

Unless you're lactose intolerant.

Drink the real stuff and pop a couple of these. :thumb:
(I do.)

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j47/joemowens/lactaid.jpg

I don't drink alcohol (anymore).


reminds me of the old tony curtis commerical back in the early 70s (?).

"i don't smoke ... cigarettes that is" :D.

ed rader

Anyone tried -

http://store.nexternal.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=allone&StoreType=BtoC&Count1=171322047&Count2=88462471&ProductID=4&Target=products.asp

was thinking about either their original formula or weight loss for smoothie additions.

I hear this one is pretty good for one day races...

http://www.drug-addiction-support.org/images/cocaineSmall.jpg

Incorrect.

First, the calcium in cows milk very unbioavailable. Basically it is a poor calcium source.

Second, the phytates in the chocolate will bind with the calcium and you will excrete them both.Do you have a reference for this? Everything I have read indicates that chocolate has a negligible effect on Calcium absorption.

Do you have a reference for this? Everything I have read indicates that chocolate has a negligible effect on Calcium absorption.

Sorry, small error.

Phytates in grains (bread) and Oxalates in cocoa, chocolate and coffee.

Recommended Dietary Allowances 10th edition. Washington DC: National Academy Press, 1989.

As to milk itself:

A 14oz glass of low fat milk provides 500mg elemental calcium. Of that 150mg is absorbed.

Sibtain M. Gastrointestinal absorption of calcium from milk and calcium salts. N Engl J Med 1987;317:532

Calcium alone doesn't build bones. You also need:magnesium, silicon, fluoride, zinc, copper, boron, manganese, phosphorous and vit D. Are these contained in milk?

If you calcium supply outside of the bone is low your body will take calcium from the bone to compensate. These leads to weaker bones. Things like stress fractures start to show up in the short term and more serious problems like osteoporosis could present themselves down the line.

If you have more information from more recent studies please share.:D

I take a chewable Centrum Multi every now and then. I like chewing them.

If I take vitamins regularly I get bumps in my mouth, so I stop after 2-3 days of one a day.

cdr

Sorry, small error.

Phytates in grains (bread) and Oxalates in cocoa, chocolate and coffee.

If you have more information from more recent studies please share.:D

Calcium absorbability from milk products, an imitation milk, and calcium carbonate (http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/47/1/93) confirmed that the amount of calcium absorbed from Chocolate milk was no different than that of regular milk.

Milk (including chocolate milk) is still the best source of dietary calcium. The RDA for dietary calcium takes into account the % of calcium absorbed from foods. If you don't get enough calcium from your diet then it is reasonable to supplement but it isn't difficult to get enough calcium from a balanced diet unless you are lactose intolerant or have some other issue with dairy products.

Calcium absorbability from milk products, an imitation milk, and calcium carbonate (http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/47/1/93) confirmed that the amount of calcium absorbed from Chocolate milk was no different than that of regular milk.

Milk (including chocolate milk) is still the best source of dietary calcium. The RDA for dietary calcium takes into account the % of calcium absorbed from foods. If you don't get enough calcium from your diet then it is reasonable to supplement but it isn't difficult to get enough calcium from a balanced diet unless you are lactose intolerant or have some other issue with dairy products.

Thanks for the link.

The abstract actually says that there was no significant difference in absorption from the various calcium sources they used. (I've downloaded the full study and will read it later).

A few points:

They used whole milk. This means a whole lot of fat, too.

Of the 250mg elemental contained in each of the sources just over between 21%-25% of that was bio available. That's a lot of fat for not much calcium.

Interesting that they specifically mention oxalates. I wonder what was going on at the time.

The study is at least as old (if not older) that the source I cited. I mention this only because at this time (IIRC) the link between magnesium and calcium absorption was not widely know or accepted. I wonder if this were factored in (and added to the test meals) if we would see a difference in terms of how well the calcium was absorbed.

Another point is to note that the RDA for calcium was revised DOWNWARD once the AMA realized that the vast majority of Americans were receiving well under that amount.

Also the RDAs are set for sedentary people. The requirements for an athlete are MUCH higher.

I stand by my assertion that diet alone can't supply enough calcium for athletes and that supplements are needed to make up the difference.

Please prove me wrong and I can save a bunch of money.:D

I stand by my assertion that diet alone can't supply enough calcium for athletes and that supplements are needed to make up the difference.

Please prove me wrong and I can save a bunch of money.:DYou may be right but I mainly see older women with bone loss problems not old athletic men.

I take One-A-Day for men. Recommended by my doctor. Iron free.

http://www.oneaday.com/mens.html

You've obviously never suffered from anemia. I have. It killed a season and a half for me.

ORAL iron is difficult to process. It can sit in the gut for extended periods and the bacteria that live there will thrive and give you some problems.

There are liquid forms or iron that many vegans take. These are much easier to process and excrete.

The best way (if you've had problems in the past) is to get checkups every 6 weeks or so to monitor your STORED in (not circulating iron). This is what I do. If I start to see a drop off I get 80mg elemental iron in an IV with saline. This is absorbed quickly and easily with none of the infection risks associated with oral iron.

Most athletes are Calcium deficient. This can hinder performance now and general health in the future. The amount of calcium that athletes need is very difficult to obtain through diet alone.

Make sure to combine the calcium with magnesium or you are wasting you money.

Take calcium at night as it is best absorbed then.

Also look at folic acid. Folate is destroyed by heat (as in food processing) and is essential in the formation of red blood cells. The vast majority of sedentary people are deficient. Since athletes have a much higher turnover of red blood cells they are even more likely to be lacking.

I also tale Vit C and E (they work together), and glucosamine as well as a decent multi-vit.

Any one who tells you (as an athlete) that you can get all the nutrition you need from just eating well is not familiar with what has happened to our food supply through industrial farming and the use of NPK fertilizers after WWII.

Take what seems to keep you healthy and strong and just listen and nod your head knowingly after the race when your 'diet only' buddies are lamenting their 28th place finish again.

what about the bioavailability of calcium enriched OJ? I don't drink any form of milk or eat cheese save the occasional pizza.

what about the bioavailability of calcium enriched OJ? I don't drink any form of milk or eat cheese save the occasional pizza.

You've got me there.

You may be right but I mainly see older women with bone loss problems not old athletic men.

Making babies rips calcium from the mother to supply the fetus. This is the principal cause of osteoporosis in older woman.

Plenty of older men suffer from it, too though. Bear in mind when grandpa falls and breaks his hip what has in fact happened is that his hip has broken first and that has caused the fall.

What athletes have going for them is the fact that stress placed on the bone during exercise will increase the bone mass in that area. This could help offset bone loss as we age.

Since, in the past, men were more often involved in sports or physical labour than woman and men don't make babies this could account for the statistical difference you see.

For these older people they grew up during the beginning of the decrease in the nutritional density of fresh foods. For anyone born in the last 30 years they jumped in mid slide and are now in their prime in the middle of the junk food/ fast food nutritional wasteland we live in today.

Throw in increasingly sedentary lifestyles and the massive amounts of phosphorous consumed through MEGA GULPS and we should see a significant jump in osteoporosis in our lifetime.

In any case, despite the conflicting research I keep finding on-line (with regard to oxalates) I don't believe supplemental calcium can hurt (although too much calcium can lead to kidney stones, non?).

I'd really like to hear from some nutritionists out there. I'm certainly not one and I there are probably other factors I'm missing here.

Making babies rips calcium from the mother to supply the fetus. This is the principal cause of osteoporosis in older woman.


More like hormonal changes related to menopause. Don't forget their kids are in their 20s by this point...

http://cyclingnutrition.blogspot.com/2007/11/cycling-and-osteoporosis.html

D-D-D-D
Let's sing a song about D
How many is D?

D+Calcium for non-milk drinking non-weight bearing folks.