Articles Archive - Vitamins and Vitamin Supplements

There are a host of choices for supplementing your Ironman diet. I'll give you descriptions of a few that I found helpful to my Ironman training and racing. I won't delve too deeply into the world of vitamins. This is an area best left to the experts. As I said earlier, if I have not used a product or diet or anything else concerning Ironman training, I won't recommend it. Here are a few of the supplements I had good success with.

I always made a point of including the anti-oxidants vitamin C, Vitamin E and Selenium to my list of vitamins. Actually I would buy the vitamin C with Selenium added. Their main function was to act as a deterent to the forming of free radicals in your body when you eat unsaturated fats.

It seemed that every few years, Ironman Canada featured a "really" cold swim. It doesn't bother a lot of people, but I had quite a hard time with it. Being super low in body fat has its disadvantages. I came across the vitamin supplement pantothenic Acid that plays an important role in energy production. I also discovered that pantothenic acid is a key antioxidant for athletes who compete in extreme conditions, especially cold water. I added it to my vitamin choices and never had problems with cold water again. If the location of your first Ironman is in a part of the world where warm water is no guarantee, I would highly recommend using it. Otherwise it probably isn't a necessary choice for you. If you do purchase it, what you ask for is calcium pentathonate, the calcium salt of pantothenic acid.

I also noticed an improvement in energy levels when I used branch chain amino acids. Amino acids, the molecules that make up every protein in our foods and bodies and can also function as anti-oxidants. I believe this vitamin supplement would be valuable to almost anyone doing the intense training demanded to prepare properly for an Ironman Triathlon. It also compensates if your diet is a bit lacking in protein. I was on such a high carb diet, that this choice was ideal for me.

My all-time favorite for a supplement is L'carnatine. I could take this one and three weeks later be five pounds lighter. I also notice a marked impovement in my energy level and recovery from training. Every Ironman hopeful should give this a try. Its "very" expensive, but well worth it. If you can find it, I would use it. I believe its available over the counter in the U.S.

So there you have it. Thats the vitamin package I use leading up to an Ironman. It took years of hit and miss to finally come up with this combination. All the doses except for Vitamin C and Selenium were 500 mgs. I would take more (1000) vitamin C with 50 mgs of Selenium added.

I also had a lot of success with algae products and its something I would certainly look into.

Regardless, anyone doing the demanding training needed to impove their Ironman chances should seriously consider vitamin supplements.

NOTE: Don't fall into this trap.......If something works really well for you, don't assume that more will be even better. Stay with the amount that seemed to make a difference.

Training for Ironman competition over a 20 year period gave me the opportunity to try many vitamin supplement combinations. My hope is that you find this information useful in preparing for your first ironman triathlon.

The name of my website is "Ironstruck."

My address---http://www.triathlon-ironman-myfirstironman-ironstruck.com

Written by: Ray Fauteux

Read More...

French wild fish stew Fiji Times Like Fijian herbal medicines, some cooking herbs and fruits have hidden vitamins that the ancient civilisations would eat or drink to prevent sickness. So continuing our Sunday journey to explore old civilisations, I wanted to find an old land that has ...

Vitamin Shoppe Voted #1 Vitamin Store Three Years in a Row by ConsumerLab.com ... Sacramento Bee About Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. (NYSE: VSI)Vitamin Shoppe is a leading specialty retailer and direct marketer of nutritional products based in North Bergen, New Jersey. The company sells vitamins, minerals, nutritional supplements, herbs, sports nutrition ... and more »

Chinese Herb Stimulates Hair Growth and Reverses Gray Hair PR Web (press release) Natures Elements, a vitamin and herbal supplement online provider, is pleased to announce the release of Advanced Shou Wu. This new product is an extension of the well-known and successful He Shou Wu, which has helped thousands of users stimulate hair ... and more »

Fox News

10 uses for plastic pill bottles Fox News However. There's one piece of the plastic puzzle that I've found as-of-yet unavoidable. Pill bottles! My vitamins and supplements and over-the-counter medications and, on rare occasions, prescriptions. You can't buy vegan vitamin K2 in bulk (yet!) ... and more »

Introducing Vital Vitamins for Vitiligo from Merry Clinic San Francisco Chronicle (press release) Dr Merry Li, a renowned Chinese herbalist based in San Francisco, brings you her unique blend of Chinese herbs, Viti-Nutrients, which may help to restore skin pigmentation and encourage healthy skin. Vitiligo is caused by the death or malfunction of ... and more »

Vitamin Shoppe Voted #1 Vitamin Store Three Years in a Row by ConsumerLab.com ... PR Newswire (press release) Vitamin Shoppe is a leading specialty retailer and direct marketer of nutritional products based in North Bergen, New Jersey. The company sells vitamins, minerals, nutritional supplements, herbs, sports nutrition formulas, homeopathic remedies, ... and more »