To supplement or not

Anu Rao

Interesting post in NY Times about supplementation. Thoughts? I am admittedly lazy about this stuff and only take a Calcium + D supplement, wit multivitamins thrown in once in a while.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/...s&_r=0

John Withrow

I take a ton of Vitamin C and Vitamin E (among many other things). That article says that they are not shown to increase performance. But I take the Vitamin C to "not get sick" so I can continue to train. I probably take 3,000-5,000 mg of Vitamin C per day.

Here was his summary:
"the volunteers who took the concentrated extracts of vitamins C and E increased their endurance to the same extent as those taking a placebo.
On the other hand, the supplements did not improve performance in comparison with a placebo, so why bother with them, Dr. Paulsen asked."

Paul Hough

I've seen a similar study - and outcome - when it comes to using recovery devices like compression wear, boots and the like after a workout. They interfere with the bodies adaptive response, so while people may "feel" better from using them, they are reducing the benefit of the training that people did.

At to John's point - the study only showed, in this instance, that they were not helpful. We would sure like to know a lot more about the study subjects to see if this is even relevant to us as heavy trainers. I certainly have never considered myself a "recreational" athlete. And if supplementation prevents illness or injury...which impacts consistency...then it is definitely valuable. Unfortunately, these small sample, very brief timeframe, pop studies really don't have much to offer -- which is why they are so often refuted by a study yet to come that tweaks something a little bit.

Peter Greagg

To quote WSM Al Truscott, I get (most?) of my vitamins and minerals from fresh fruit and lots of vegetables — the more different colours the better!
In addition, I take Fish Oil, a multivitamin, Glucosamine, and a magnesium supplement.