Thread: DO we really need vitamins?

The content of food varies too greatly from location to location due to different kinds of feeding, fertilizers, soil conditions etc. etc.

As a body builder you work out very intensely and it is very hard to get a balance of all the right vitamins and minerals that your body needs for optimum growht without eating huge portions of food (which is a guessing game). Since vitamins are very inexpensive it really almost silly not to take them given the benefits.

Originally posted by OceanDude
The content of food varies too greatly from location to location due to different kinds of feeding, fertilizers, soil conditions etc. etc.

As a body builder you work out very intensely and it is very hard to get a balance of all the right vitamins and minerals that your body needs for optimum growht without eating huge portions of food (which is a guessing game). Since vitamins are very inexpensive it really almost silly not to take them given the benefits.

IS CENTRUM a good one?

What do you take?

Originally posted by Vvitto
Sont we get all teh vitamins from food?

Read your labels, I dont, which is why I take a multi vitamin. A regular multivitamin costs me about $10 a year.

I am not too familiar with centrum, I think that formula was developed for senior citizens. But it should be fine.

I use various different vitamins up to 3 times per day.

of course u don't need vitamins We just buy them for the hell of it.

What about one-a-day vitamins? Are they any good?

They are probably fine, the only complaints I have heard about vitamins is the Vitamin A being synthetic or beta-carotene, that is all I can really think of.

Also, caffinated drinks drain calcium from the body, and perhaps other nutrients/vitamins as well, not sure. So I think vitamins are not only freaking dirt cheap, but worth it. In some parts of I believe Africa and perhaps the middle east, they actually eat clay to get in such nutrients, to stay healthy (somewhat).

Originally posted by Mudge
Read your labels, I dont, which is why I take a multi vitamin. A regular multivitamin costs me about $10 a year.

$10 a year!? What the heck are you taking and where can I get some? My multis cost about $30 a month.

I got mine at Walgreens, $7.99 for 365, occasionally I take two a day. Asparin is also about 40% of the cost there, compared to a regular store.

Keep in mind I'm in the US, your in Canada.

I have always liked the Atkins #3 formula MV since it's a formula designed to support fat loss and provide micro nutrients and minerals that one gets from carbs normally but you will need to supplement with if on a lower carb diet.

I also use Ultra IV from Beverly International.

I always take huge doses of a good antiox before workout and after workout (containing vitamin A, C & E along with ALA-alpha lipolic acid). I use to use a separate ZMA formula (zinc and magnesium) before bed but have cut back on zinc recently.

I think it's hard to go wrong with most MV's - you can only overdose in a few areas since most extra/unused minerals and vitamins pass. I would have to look up what to be careful of and it varies by age and sex. Men tend to reduce iron since it builds up. Women need more iron due to menstruation. Calcium is very important for both sexes. You got to be careful to not get too much zinc since it cane get toxic at fairly low levels. If I run across my reference papers I'll post more info.

Originally posted by oaktownboy
of course u don't need vitamins We just buy them for the hell of it.

your responses are always so insightful.

thanks Prince that means a lot

A Vitamin is a chemical compound that the human body needs in small amounts. Vitamins make up one of the major groups of nutrients (food substances necessary for growth and health). Vitamins regulate chemical reactions by which the body converts food into energy and living tissues. There are 13 vitamins. Five of them are produced in the body itself. These vitamins are biotin, niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin D, and vitamin K. Biotin, pantothenic acid, and vitamin K, which are made by bacteria in the human intestine, are usually produced in sufficient quantities to meet the body's needs. In addition, sunlight on the skin can produce an adequate amount of vitamin D. But the other nine vitamins must be supplied in a person's daily diet.

Each vitamin has such specific uses that one of the compounds cannot replace, or act for, another. But the lack of one vitamin can interfere with the function of another. The continued lack of one vitamin in an otherwise complete diet results in a vitamin deficiency disease. Such diseases include beriberi, pellagra, rickets, and scurvy. Investigators first discovered vitamins while searching for the causes of such diseases. In order to be considered a vitamin, a substance must be required in the diet to prevent a deficiency disease.

The best way for a healthy individual to obtain vitamins is to eat a balanced diet. A daily diet that includes a variety of foods from each of the basic food groups provides an adequate supply of all the vitamins (see Nutrition (Vitamins)). A Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) has been established for most vitamins. In order to provide a margin of safety, the RDA is considerably greater than the amount of a vitamin needed daily for good health. The RDA is established by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences.

People who do not eat a well-balanced diet every day may not obtain the RDA of all vitamins from the food they eat. In addition, people who are elderly, pregnant, or ill have an increased risk of vitamin deficiency. Most people can benefit by taking a daily vitamin supplement, usually in the form of a multivitamin tablet. Such supplements contain doses of vitamins in the range of their RDA's. The vitamins in the supplements are equivalent to those in food.
This is why it is important to take a multivitamin everyday.

good info, but you should site your reference (website and/or article) since you copied and pasted that article.

Further, the above reference from Oak is the MINIMUM RDA for the average everyday sedentary "couch potato". Body builder's need much more due to the tremendous amount of stress and growth we are dealing with.

Originally posted by Prince
good info, but you should site your reference (website and/or article) since you copied and pasted that article.
I'll remember that.

Vitamin deficiencies show up as various problems, some chinese people have problems with Vitamin B intake and so on, a girl here was getting bleeding mouth sores because of it.