Vitamines and minerals

[iLive]

Are there any vitamins or minerals that specifically help supplementing muscle building? Or maybe you can tell what you take?

[Radux]

I know Whey Protein is a basic staple in many people's regime that want to really pack it on.

I personally use 2 different shakes and a multi-vitamin.

Basically any multi-vitamin will work. That doesn't really matter.
- If I've been doing lifting, I'll make myself a Muscle Milk Shake -- I use it because of the High Protein and Fat content with low Carbohydrates.
- If I've done a serious cardio workout, I'll use Cytomax -- Lots of Carbs and whatnot, but replenishes everything I lost. I like it because it puts complex carbs in me rather than simple carbs. I've also noticed it really helps with my after workout/next day soreness.

[takolin]

General vitamin supplementation is not needed whatsoever for healthy humans with a proper diet.

The only reason to give a general vitamin supplement is when the chance of not reaching the ADI is high due to malnutrition (the elderly, alcoholics, people on severe diets,...) or when a medical condition is diagnosed. If there's no indication that you actually need the vitamins, they'll get excreted in the urine and all you got was expensive pee.

[Radux]

If there's no indication that you actually need the vitamins, they'll get excreted in the urine and all you got was expensive pee.

They're really only excreted like that if they're hydrophobic, meaning they can't really be absorbed in the body -- we only gain use of it while it's going through digestion. There are some things (like manganese) that are just stupid and don't necessarily need to be in there. But there are plenty of other things like Vitamin D or Calcium that are great additives. Yes Balance diet can cover a lot (most) of things. A small vitamin can just make up the rest.

For me, personally... I don't eat breakfast. I fast intermittently. Taking my vitamin in the morning gives me a tiny bit of B-12, among other things, to help me start my day. I see no con to taking it if my body can actually use/absorb quite a bit of it.

[Eazy]

Hey there! You don't need any "special vitamins" for building muscles, the best idea is good diet for this, your diet should have more protein and less carbohydrates. Why? Because if you're working for muscles you should burn more carbohydrates than protein. And also try to not drink too much cola/fanta/Mountain Dew/etc. the clean water is the best.

[iLive]

Thanks for the answers (Radux <'3). I decided to buy Livol (Danish) containing the following:

* Mængde: Amount
* Procent: Percent (of recommended daily intake)

[takolin]

They're really only excreted like that if they're hydrophobic, meaning they can't really be absorbed in the body -- we only gain use of it while it's going through digestion. There are some things (like manganese) that are just stupid and don't necessarily need to be in there. But there are plenty of other things like Vitamin D or Calcium that are great additives. Yes Balance diet can cover a lot (most) of things. A small vitamin can just make up the rest.

For me, personally... I don't eat breakfast. I fast intermittently. Taking my vitamin in the morning gives me a tiny bit of B-12, among other things, to help me start my day. I see no con to taking it if my body can actually use/absorb quite a bit of it.

The thing is that assuming you eat healthy enough and your dietary intake of vitamins/minerals is sufficient, then whatever supplements you take becomes useless. I'm not saying it's bad as such, but it's usually throwing away money unless it's been proven you actually have a shortage.

Now what you say about calcium/vitamin D isn't wrong, but if you would have a shortage, it'll be cheaper to just get Calcium/vit D supplements rather than the whole package. Thus general supplements are rarely a good thing to take.

[Radux]

Yeah, I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you on that end, takolin. Do I get my normal regiment of Omega 3 from eating enough fish? Hell yeah I do. Oily fish is awesome. Using that as an example, though, I know my wife has to take that particular supplement because the only 'fish' she likes that isn't fried to shit is Salmon. I can't afford to have salmon 3 times a week for both of us. This means I'll eat tilapia on nights she'll eat something else.

I actually don't get my normal amount of calcium from normal diet because I don't drink milk that often. It's not because I don't like milk -- I grew up on milk. It's mostly that dairy doesn't do a ton for my nutritionally that I can't get from some other form of nutrition. I'll only push milk if I take it in my protein shake after a kickass workout. Also... damn I miss pigging out on cheese.

Regardless, I eat very well and mind what I eat. However, there are things my body can use that I won't get because of eating Paleo that can help me. It's not that I don't necessarily need them, but it won't hurt me from having them. That's why I take a multi-vitamin. That's why it's generally a much better buy than buying a ton of individual vitamins/supplements. Your average person who isn't overly mindful of what vitamins go into their body via foods won't know what they're missing. For the average person, a multi-vitamin is a good thing.

[handsdown]

Radux, you teach me something new every day - can I ask what multi-vitamin you are taking? Secondly, consuming fat after a lifting session? Have I been mislead? D:

[Radux]

Radux, you teach me something new every day - can I ask what multi-vitamin you are taking? Secondly, consuming fat after a lifting session? Have I been mislead? D:

Realistically, there's no major difference between one multivitamin than another. Some just have more of something and less than another. The general consensus is that if it has shit in it that you have no idea what it does, you probably don't need it.

So yeah I basically just the typical GNC vitamin for men or something (would have to look at it for exact name). Yeah there's stuff in it I probably don't need, but /shrug. I'm not gonna make a huge deal out of finding something specifically tailored to my needs or whatever.

As for fat and whatnot. No. You don't really need it after a workout.

Eating Paleo basically means I splurge on Protein/Fats and go low on Carbs. The way I do it is to go low(basically none) on wheat/grains, low(er) on dairy and everything else through the roof (though, Fruits are every once in a while, like they should be).

The big reason behind this is to keep a lower body fat and a higher lean muscle. When your body burns stuff for fuel, it burns it in order of Carbs>>Fats>>Proteins.

This means if I eat little carbs, those will go first leaving by body to burn fat for fuel. This takes more energy to burn but still keeps me going just fine. And protein, of course, is there to keep me rebuilding/going strong.

Muscle milk is there for fat content because I can't just take down packs of bacon. Grease still takes its toll on my digestive system. So if I can get fats from other sources and the other food I eat keeps my insides sated and happy -- Awesome.