Good afternoon, Fitness Family and Friends! With all of this
training and these new goals we are all looking to fuel our bodies with the
best nutrition available. To further that effort, I am reposting a piece I did
a while back covering supplements; however, I would like to open it up with an
addition and an introduction. Kristen Michaelis is a personal friend and she
runs an awesome food blog, www.foodrenegade.com.
My wife and I met Kristen years ago when we lived in Dallas. Kristen and I actually
met in the college library, we had some mutual friends. She worked with my wife
for a while. Now she is running this blog and has published several books. She
loves food. Let me clarify, healthy
food.
To introduce my piece on supplementation I want to summarize
and link to her Kristen’s piece on a line called Gelatin. Vital Proteins Gelatin
hit the top of her list for many reasons, including:
- High biologic value (BV) animal protein. Important due to the fact that vegan acceptable and plant based proteins are not as high in BV as animal proteins.
- The higher the BV the more gets absorbed by the cells
- Made from hormone free animals
What precisely is gelatin? It’s processed collagen.
Something that all animals, including us, make. The animals this product is
made from are guaranteed free from chemicals and drugs. They are grass fed.
Most likely they are even patted on the head thrice daily. Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but, knowing people who work
with animals, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if they were.
At any rate, the link to Kristen’s blog is here.
Please let her know where you heard about her. The rest of my piece is below.
Train hard, eat well, be happy!
Supplement is defined as that which completes or enhances something else or adds an extra element or amount to something. It seems that we are all so busy that getting a decent meal is nearly impossible. Simplifying our lives would be the ideal, as would getting all of our nutrients and vitamins from our meals; however, a proper meal plan feels like an impossible goal. So, many of us, myself included, often reach for a nutritional shake or a meal replacement or some other kind of supplemental to pick up where we have left off. It has become the norm as almost all adults in America do this.
There was a time that supplements were
limited to just a few brands of multivitamins and an even smaller
choice of protein powder mixes, the biggest name of which was Weider.
Today's supplementary mix includes vitamins, minerals, herbals and
botanicals, amino acids, enzymes, and a plethora of products in a
variety of forms. They come in tablets, capsules, powders, drinks,
bars, and even gel packs. There are also prepackaged vitamins that
are “specifically designed” for your male or female, age, and
athletic needs. Supplements can NOT replace a healthy diet. Here are
two resources on that … Dietary
Guidelines for Americans and MyPlate.
Keep in mind that some ingredients
found in dietary supplements are being added to a increasing number
of foods, such as breakfast cereals and drinks. If you are currently
supplementing, you could be getting more than you think, which may
not be good. Too much vitamin A can cause headaches and liver damage,
reduce bone strength, as well as birth defects. Excessively high
levels of iron can cause nausea and vomiting and may also damage the
liver and other organs, too.
Be cautious about taking dietary
supplements if you are pregnant or nursing. What you take in gets
passed on to your nursing child and many of these supplements have
not been FDA approved for infants and children. If you are taking
supplements, or are interested in doing so, see your doctor. Now. No,
go see your doctor now.
As with anything that you do in
relation to your health and health-care, I strongly suggest and urge
you to talk to your doctor first. You really need to be certain that
what you are thinking about doing is not going to conflict with any
medications you are taking or any health issue you may have.
Once you start using supplements, it
is a great idea to keep a log of the results. Just as you keep a
training record, keep a dietary record to track how you are feeling
and reacting to your dietary changes.
What you need to know about the most
popular dietary and nutritional supplements on the market. Let's
categorize supplements under the following; Vitamins and Minerals,
Meal Replacements, Sports Nutrition, Glucosamine and Chondroitin, and
Homeopathic Medications.
Vitamins and Minerals
There is really no harm in taking a
daily multivitamin on a daily basis. It safely covers dietary
shortfalls. If you are taking a good multivitamin, then you do not
need to take an extra B vitamin. You should already be getting enough
between your diet and multivitamin.
B vitamins
B vitamins include thiamin, niacin,
riboflavin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6, and vitamin B-12. These
are said to reduce stress. Still, many of us don't need these
supplements. Not much research actually supports this theory of
stress reduction.
The exception to this may be seniors
because seniors absorb less of it. Instead of supplements, the diet
can be adjusted to include more grains, dark green vegetables, orange
juice, and enriched foods. There are some medications that will
inhibit the absorption of B vitamins, these individuals will likely
need to supplement with B vitamins after talking with their doctors.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is often taken in an effort
to ward off colds, though there's little proof this works.
Your health-care provider may tell you
to take vitamin C if you have a wound that's healing. Otherwise, go
for food sources. Rich sources include oranges, peppers, grapefruits,
peaches, papayas, pineapples, broccoli, strawberries, tomatoes, and
melons.
Vitamins D
Chances are, you are not getting
enough vitamin D for good health. Experts agree that we can safely
take in up to 1,000 IUs a day. There is no risk of toxicity is at
that level. We can get that with a daily vitamin or safe sun
exposure. Just 15 to 20 minutes outside in the sun each day. Too
easy!
Check with your dermatologist about
guidelines for safe sun exposure.
Meal Replacements
SlimFast, Ensure, Special K are just
three of the many meal replacement drinks and snack bars that are out
there. They are all designed to supplement the diet and are nutrient
rich.
Weight management? So long as you are
including your meal replacements as part of a meal plan that supports
your physical needs in relation to a good exercise program, then
there should be no problem. There are exercise routines on this blog,
feel free to gibe them a try after you do what? Talk to your doctor!
Sports Nutrition Supplements
This category has grown by leaps and
bounds over the years. When I was a competitive swimmer and distance
runner looking to stay lean and light, the market was dominated by
Weider. The stuff tasted bad, at best. Either that, or it was the
Rocky Balboa thing, a dozen raw eggs.
Today, there are so many to choose
from. Creatine, amino acids, protein formulas, fat burners, pills,
powders, formulas, and drinks. There are fat loss and weight gainers
and energy boosters and carbohydrate shots for fast glycogen during
endurance events. Chances are, you want to know mostly about the meal
and protein drinks and mixes.
These products do help, when used
properly. It takes time. As before, you are not going to see massive
or drastic changes in couple of weeks. Patience, Grasshopper.
Protein drinks are going to be
effective within the first half hour after exercising. Also, once
each hour. You could also just eat a good protein based meal at the
same times, within a half hour of exercising and about every hour or
two during the day. Your body cannot absorb more than 8-10 grams of
protein per hour. That means, the 34 gram protein shake you just made
and are chugging down, well, 24 grams of that protein is going to
just go through your huts and wind up in the toilet. The big take
away here is protein, be it whey, egg, beef, milk, whatever, protein
within 30 minutes of your workout is going to provide the nutrients
your body needs to rebuild from all of that tearing down you just
did.
Creatine monohydrate is also very
popular. It pumps fluid into the muscle cells. This helps with the
volume of the cell, it gets bigger. This also helps flush out fatigue
compounds, lactic acid, thus enabling high intensity, short burst
activity. This is not so much an endurance-type supplement. You make
this naturally. You get it dietarily from beef and pork. If you want
to, supplements are sold over-the-counter. These usually have a
loading dose and then maintenance dose thereafter. One more point on
this, if you already eat meat you will not notice as drastic a change
as a vegetarian would.
Caffeine and stimulants similar to it
are also found in some supplements. Be very careful about this. Too
much of this can cause, and has caused, serious issues. A cup or two
of coffee about 30 minutes prior to your activity can sharpen your
edge. You can keep using your caffeine source during your event to
keep up the buzz.
Calcium
According to experts, calcium is one
of the most often lacking minerals in our diets. Taking a supplement
may sound like an easy answer; however, experts recommend that we get
our calcium from our diet. We need to be eating calcium rich foods
like yogurt, dark leafy greens, soybeans, beans, fish, and raisins.
If you have not been diagnosed as
lactose-intolerant, some cheeses are also a good choice. This will
provide both calcium and protein as well as some necessary fats. Yes,
some fats are necessary, but that will be in a different article.
Glucosamine and Chondroitin
It is currently inconclusive if taking
this combination does anything to help prevent joint damage or to
repair the cartilage.
Kaiser Permanente rheumatologist
Eduardo Baetti states that only about 40% of his patients had taken
this combination four times a day for four to eight weeks. The doses
were 1,500 mg of glucosamine and 1,200 mg chondroitin sulphate. In
addition, most of these patients were also taking pain relievers.
Homeopathic Medicines
These are not technically dietary
supplements, but are nonetheless a popular category. Homeopathic
medicine is a medical philosophy dating back to the late 18th
century. It's supposed to be a self-healing response. The theory is
that if a certain substance causes symptoms in a healthy body, a
minute amount of the same substance may cure the
symptoms.
This practice may have a negative
effective with medications you are currently taking, so, say it with
me, talk to your doctor first. Thank you. Some professionals see this
as nothing more than a placebo effect.
Tips for Choosing Dietary Supplements
There are some rules of thumb for
choosing dietary and nutritional supplements. First, look for trusted
brands that have been around for some time.
-- Read the labels carefully to be sure of
what is found in the product.
-- Read the claims carefully. If they look
too good to be true, they probably are.
There is no possible way that you are
going to pack on 20 pounds of muscle in one week or 40 pounds of
muscle in one month, not without steroids, at least.
You could check the studies companies
site documenting the effectiveness of products by reading the
journals International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise
Metabolism or Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
for studies on dietary supplements.
Of course, always talk to your doctor
about your goals. Your doctor may be able to make a recommendation
for you.
Whatever you choose to supplement your
diet with, do not, and let me say that again, DO NOT over do it.
Having too much of some vitamins can be dangerous. We touched on this
earlier.
NOTE: The maximum rate
that whey protein can be absorbed is about 8-10 grams per
hour. Little Miss Muffet drank a 50 gram whey protein shake.
Since Miss Muffet can absorb only 10 grams every hour. The
next time she goes to the can, she is going to crap out a lot of
protein.
What your high protein, muscle
growth, fat loss, diet plan would look like is a protein and fruit,
vegetable meal about every hour or two. You can certainly grab a
protein based snack like brrf jerky, a half or a quarter of a chicken
breast, some pork, or a protein shake. What have you.
My protein mix is 1 cup Greek yogurt,
1-2 cups of fresh or frozen fruit, whole milk, 2-3 cups of ice and
water … I dump this into my blender and run it until it's smooth.
If you prefer it a little sweeter, then you can add a touch of sugar
or a few drops of vanilla extract. Occasionally, I will add half a
scoop of whey protein as that will sweeten the mix, even though I
know that the rate of protein absorption is going to make me drink
this stuff slowly.
Let me know what will help you! See you next week. Be healthy, be happy!
Federal Government Information Sources on Dietary Supplements
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
The National Institutes of Health
supports research on dietary supplements.
- Office of Dietary Supplements
The Office of Dietary Supplements provides accurate and up-to-date scientific information about dietary supplements. - National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Clearinghouse: 1-888-644-6226 - NIH Health Information
U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
The Food
and Drug Administration
issues rules and regulations and provides oversight of dietary
supplement labeling, marketing, and safety.
issues rules and regulations and provides oversight of dietary
supplement labeling, marketing, and safety.FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
The Federal
Trade Commission
polices health and safety claims made in advertising for dietary
supplements.
polices health and safety claims made in advertising for dietary
supplements.U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
The U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services provides an encyclopedia
of health topics, personal health tools, and health news.
.
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