Multi-vitamin....why?

[Throgs]

I see a lot of people who on their supplement list, include a multivitamin.

My question, why?
What exactly will a multi do to improve your lifts and make you bigger/stronger?

Is the absence of a multi or the inclusion of a multi really a big deal?

As far as I know, all a multi can do is help you not get colds, which means you will miss fewer days at the gym and not feel weak due to being sick, in theory.

 

[ThreeGigs]

Vitamins support lots of body processes. A deficiency in one could mean your body isn't able to do perform whatever metabolic processes it needs to at the highest levels and efficiency. Most vitamins are water soluble, so the body tolerates excess amounts quite well. If you follow the 'better safe than sorry' way of thinking, then a multivitamin is a cheap addition to your supplement stack to make sure you have enough of everything. 16 bucks bought me a year's worth of multivitamins.

Now, if your diet is great, then a multivitamin will probably not be of much benefit. But the big question is.. are you *sure* you're getting everything you need in your diet in sufficient quantity? Did you get enough riboflavin and thiamin today? Iodine? Trace minerals like boron, molybdenum and vanadium? Is your mTOR metabolic pathway inhibited because of a lack of micrograms of a particular mineral?

I take a multivitamin so I don't have to worry about any of the above. It's just cheap insurance.

 

[Cork]

I second ThreeGigs completely. Micronutrients should be held as important as macronutrients.

Charles Poliquin finds micronutrients so important that he actually does stool sample testing to help determine what micronutrients his athletes are deficient in. If he finds it important, so do I (I find it as important.... 1 step shy of the stool sampling though, haha).

 

[FitnessFreek]

If you eat completely perfectly then you don't need a multi. Last I checked, nobody is perfect though!!!

 

[bjg]

some vitamins exess washes away and some can become toxic.
excess vitamins is useless just take as prescribed on the bottle not more.

 

[Bonesaw]

look at the bigger picture

 

[Night_Wolf]

Vitamins support lots of body processes. A deficiency in one could mean your body isn't able to do perform whatever metabolic processes it needs to at the highest levels and efficiency. Most vitamins are water soluble, so the body tolerates excess amounts quite well. If you follow the 'better safe than sorry' way of thinking, then a multivitamin is a cheap addition to your supplement stack to make sure you have enough of everything. 16 bucks bought me a year's worth of multivitamins.

Now, if your diet is great, then a multivitamin will probably not be of much benefit. But the big question is.. are you *sure* you're getting everything you need in your diet in sufficient quantity? Did you get enough riboflavin and thiamin today? Iodine? Trace minerals like boron, molybdenum and vanadium? Is your mTOR metabolic pathway inhibited because of a lack of micrograms of a particular mineral?

I take a multivitamin so I don't have to worry about any of the above. It's just cheap insurance.

Good advice right here.

 

[Throgs]

OK, but is it really going to help you get stronger and make a tangible difference in the gym?

 

[BP2000]

OK, but is it really going to help you get stronger and make a tangible difference in the gym?

Dude nutrition is paramount when it comes to weight lifting. Your body has to REPAIR damage. Anti-oxidants and vitamins will help your body in this process. Vitamin C is going to help you with DOMS effect. Vitamin D helps with testosterone levels and energy. Iron, Selenium, I could go on and on. Your body needs these raw minerals and vitamin's to build your body.

If you are deficient in any of these your body will not be able to go through it's repair process and you will be SOL.

Good luck getting those vitamins with today's processed foods. I take OPTI-men seems to work well for me.

 

[Jlive1980]

OK, but is it really going to help you get stronger and make a tangible difference in the gym?

OK, but is it really going to help you get stronger and make a tangible difference in the gym?

Yes in a round about way they will. They are gonna keep you healthier , keeps bones strong, keep your immune system strong, give you energy ,aid in digestion etc which will help you in the gym, which will help build muscle.

You ever try working out sick or under the weather? Or eat alot when your sick? They help keep your body running at optimal levels.

Are they directly gonna build muscle like aas/ph, creatine, an other supps no, but they will help keep you healthy enough to bust your ass in the gym.

 

[Killermonkey]

If you eat completely perfectly then you don't need a multi. Last I checked, nobody is perfect though!!!

So you are telling me that your diet is perfect, packed with such variety of foods and so consistent that it will make up for not taking multivitamins?

Dude, megamens mv, is only two pills a day. Why not use it? I myself am a big fan of animal packs, but there isnt many people wanting to take 22 pills a day for the rest of their lives.

 

[ThreeGigs]

So you are telling me that your diet is perfect, packed with such variety of foods and so consistent that it will make up for not taking multivitamins?

Dude, megamens mv, is only two pills a day. Why not use it? I myself am a big fan of animal packs, but there isnt many people wanting to take 22 pills a day for the rest of their lives.

I believe he said that the last time he checked, nobody was perfect. So it appears that he's saying we should all take vitamins since none of us have perfect diets. That probably includes himself.

 

[Rednack]

I believe he said that the last time he checked, nobody was perfect. So it appears that he's saying we should all take vitamins since none of us have perfect diets. That probably includes himself.

he's a fucking retard...

 

[thenameless]

better safe then sorry

 

[Cork]

he's a fucking retard...

I'm pretty sure it was sarcasm too.

Take something like Vitamin D for example. From about.com (great reference eh? lol) 40% of U.S. males and 50% of U.S. women are deficient in Vitamin D (<28 ng/mL). The NIH, a government run organization, goes so far to say that anything less than 50 ng/mL is deficient. Given that cutoff, who knows how many people would be declared deficient. Vitamin D alone is present in hundreds of the body's biological processes. Now you have some excuses as to why your bench sucks.

 

[packers6211]

Awesome reply bro got give props!! Multi's are one of the basic staples in many of our diets.

Vitamins support lots of body processes. A deficiency in one could mean your body isn't able to do perform whatever metabolic processes it needs to at the highest levels and efficiency. Most vitamins are water soluble, so the body tolerates excess amounts quite well. If you follow the 'better safe than sorry' way of thinking, then a multivitamin is a cheap addition to your supplement stack to make sure you have enough of everything. 16 bucks bought me a year's worth of multivitamins.

Now, if your diet is great, then a multivitamin will probably not be of much benefit. But the big question is.. are you *sure* you're getting everything you need in your diet in sufficient quantity? Did you get enough riboflavin and thiamin today? Iodine? Trace minerals like boron, molybdenum and vanadium? Is your mTOR metabolic pathway inhibited because of a lack of micrograms of a particular mineral?

I take a multivitamin so I don't have to worry about any of the above. It's just cheap insurance.

 

[ProFitnessWest]

Any nutritional deficiency will slow, stop, or even reverse progress. And you can't ever be absolutely sure to the nutrients contained in food. A multi is an easy way to make sure that nothing is lacking.

 

[oufinny]

I'm pretty sure it was sarcasm too.

Take something like Vitamin D for example. From about.com (great reference eh? lol) 40% of U.S. males and 50% of U.S. women are deficient in Vitamin D (<28 ng/mL). The NIH, a government run organization, goes so far to say that anything less than 50 ng/mL is deficient. Given that cutoff, who knows how many people would be declared deficient. Vitamin D alone is present in hundreds of the body's biological processes. Now you have some excuses as to why your bench sucks.

This is an epidemic in America. I take it in bolus doses 2-3 times a week, 15Kiu to 25Kiu and my doc told me she was shocked to see I was in the high end of the range for Vitamin D being that so many of her patients are dangerously low. Also, when I get all my blood work yearly almost all of my levels are spot on because I take a good multi everyday; I might miss 4-5 days a year and that is a bad year. Sure, it mainly serves ass keeping you healthy and not sick as you put it, but I find that making my body work at its maximum leads to better performance in the gym, at my job and I enjoy life more cause I feel better.

 

[patternsco]

if you have a god balanced diet not necessary, but most people dont hence mult vit 'supplement'

natures plus are very good

 

[bigger biceps]

If you have a proper nutrition extra vitamins do nothing. If you eat fast food every day for one year you maybe in need for vitamins.

 

[CaptainNapalm]

multivitamins support general health and when youre generally healthier your gains become much better, indirectly.

 

[MDR]

Multivitamins are just an insurance policy against a less than perfect diet. Diet is a crucial element to success in the gym.