JohnV

What do you think is the best multiple vitamin? Which supliments do you take? There has been an explosion of health products in the past years. Some great and health promoting. Some not so great. Some are dangerous.

Glucosamine, MSM, Vibe, Nitric Oxide, Human Growth Hormone, efferesent vitaments. It's been my experience that the men and women who participate in this sport are typically well informed and well equipped. That is why I pose this question here. I am guessing that if there is a really good multivitamen or health product, people here are going to know about it. What cyclists are taking to stay healthy and possibly improve performance?

Karpems

I think the only supplements that should be taken on a regular basis are protein, a good multivitamin and fish oil(Omega3). Other supplements have not been shown to be totally benign in the long run and might lead to health issues in the future.
A glass of red wine per night as well promotes good cardio health.

Proximo

What Karpems said. Add potassium and magnesium if you're riding in hot weather and sweating a lot.

I can't remember who said it but it might have been Chris Carmichael: if you are over 50, you should be, figuratively, bathing in glucosamine.

ratebeer

Everyone's different. Personally, I've found that my quality of sleep improves appreciably when I take Emergen'C. My wife made me take it once because she thinks vitamin C protects one from viruses. Whatever. It wasn't gonna hurt and I like to listen to my wife -- even when she's wrong -- so I took it.

I checked the back of the packet the next day and found the stuff was LOADED with B vitamins. I suspect this is it. Now I take an Emergen-C every night before bed. I love the stuff.

Karpems

Haha, always listen to your wife, even if she is wrong. Just fyi, viruses are dead, and nothing you do (except washing your hands and vaccines) will stop them from infecting you.

As for Emergen'C, I have never heard of it. Is it just a multivitamin?

ratebeer

Coolio... I think when people talk about "killing viruses" they mean disabling them, which for many can be done with heat, solvents or radiation or other measure that will destroy their protein capsids and/or destroy their DNA or RNA.

Different flavors have different mixes but I htink most all are a mix of C, Bs and minerals.
https://www.mothernature.com/shop/det.../40081/S/99616

Machka 

Your best bet is a well balanced nutritious diet.


And if you are cycling in really hot weather, electrolyte tablets can be good too, although most of the time I get my electrolytes from my food.

timmhaan

+1

why not try this first? i totally revamped my diet and try to follow the USDA food pyramid recommendations for my age, gender, and activity level.

just by having the right amounts of vegetables and fruits have made a tremendous difference in how i feel. also, eating smaller meals at regular intervals throughout the day helps to keep your energy stable.

supcom

+2

The best multivitamin is called "food". Also the tastiest.

branman1986

I try to eat extra protein, I take a multivitamin & calcium/magnesium/zinc

slowandsteady

Like other smart people have said.....food.

bionerd76

The best multivitamin at local stores is Centrum Silver. There are better (not by much) vitamins that you order from iherb.com and other similar supplement stores. Lycopene and no iron are a definite benefit.

I'm for eating a balanced diet, but some things we can't incorporate into our diets everyday. Therefore, I take the multivitamin as a means for making up for what I don't get in my food. The excess just leaves the body anyway.

In addition, I take CoQ10 and cycle off/on it every 3 months. It's has strong anti-oxidant properties and helps destroy free radicals.


Chris

ratebeer

There's good evidence that a protein drink (carbs + protein) after workouts is beneficial to cyclists.

As far as diet vs. supplements...

I wish that either 1) I could get all this nutrition from my food at effective concentrations, or 2) I just didn't find improvements with supplements. Unfortunately, these aren't true for me. I don't take anything but Emergen-C now but that hasn't always been the case.

One more note...

You mentioned HGh. Human Growth Hormone is very different than the other substances you mentioned. It's very expensive, and should be intravenously injected for full effect. The results are dramatic. As with many hormones or "prohormones", there risks involved with its use. I'd read up extensively before giving any particular product in this category a whirl. There's a lot of dishonest marketing, mislabeling and inaccurate measurements of product weights in this space along with a radical disregard for consumer safety.

timmhaan

yep. this stuff should not be taken lightly at all. anyone should carefully consider the side effects before jumping into something.

there is a show called 30 days by the same guy who did 'supersize me'. anyway, he has someone volunteer to do an anti-aging program which included growth hormone and testosterone thearpy. this was administered by a real doctor under a program which included exercise and dieting. the poor guy almost lost his ability to have another child, it dropped his sperm count to almost nothing. i think his liver was damaged as well. he never even finished the 30 days.

carbondale

When you get to be my age ( 50+) you might consider throwing down an 81 mg aspirin tablet daily. Not only does it help prevent heart attacks, aspirin has been shown to help prevent colon cancer too. It it lessens those little aches and pains... like arthritis in the knee.

Karpems

Aspirin has not been shown to prevent colon cancer. Actually, recent data kind of suggests the opposite. Also, if you are over 50, there are many steps you should take before you start taking Aspirin, such as getting your cholesterol and triglycerides checked, along with a complete physical every year and a colonoscopy.

Aspirin is a great drug, but there are side effects to taking it that should be discussed with your doctor before you start taking one every day.

carbondale

I'll go with this analysis, although there is always room for disagreement. (Note: I quit smoking 2 years ago, so I am probably at greater risk than life-long non-smokers)
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"Peter Elwood and colleagues at Cardiff University believe that the evidence now supports more widespread use of aspirin, and there needs to be a strategy to inform the public and enable older people to make their own decision.

As a general rule, daily aspirin is given only to people whose five year risk of a vascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, is 3% or more. The authors show that, by age 50, 80% of men and 50% of women reach this level of risk and they suggest that 90-95% of the population could take low dose aspirin without problems. Evidence is also growing that regular aspirin may reduce cancer and dementia.

"The possibility that a simple, daily, inexpensive low dose pill would achieve a reduction in vascular events, and might achieve reductions in cancer and dementia without the need for screening, deserves serious consideration," they write.

"Although we judge that aspirin should be taken from around 50 years, we insist that the general public should be well informed and the final decision should lie with each person."

Karpems

First of all, this is one person in England at a school I have never even heard of. You need to read much more than this.

In Sept 2006, it was reported by Temple University that Aspirin actually upregulates colon cancer cells:

Aspirin upregulates expression of urokinase type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) gene in human colon cancer cells through AP1.

* Jamaluddin MS.

Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA


From the American Heart Association:
The American Heart Association recommends aspirin use for patients who've had a myocardial infarction (heart attack), unstable angina, ischemic stroke (caused by blood clot) or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs or "little strokes"), if not contraindicated. This recommendation is based on sound evidence from clinical trials showing that aspirin helps prevent the recurrence of such events as heart attack, hospitalization for recurrent angina, second strokes, etc. (secondary prevention). They go on to state, "Low-dose aspirin increases risk for gastrointestinal bleeding and hemorrhagic stroke. Do not use in people at increased risk for these diseases."





Taking a drug must always include a discussion of a risk/benefit ratio. I am not saying that taking an ASA a day is the wrong thing to do, I am just suggesting that you need to talk to your doctor first before you decide to take any drug on a regular basis. At age 50, there are many other things I would check out before just taking ASA everyday, such as getting your cholesterol and triglycerides checked, your blood pressure checked, along with a complete physical every year and a colonoscopy. These are proven to be lifesavers!

rmwun54

Best multi-vitamin is by Biotics Research Corporation; you can only get it through a license physician or nurse.

slowandsteady

One also must realize that an in vitro study in one cell type is not the same as an in vivo study in humans. The upregulation of one gene in one cell type in one study alone really means absolutely nothing in the context of human disease.

Karpems

Of course. I was just trying to prove a point that you need to read both sides of an argument and make a decision with all the information available.