Better living through chemistry

[DiamondAFC]

Right at this moment buggerall as not been training been really lazy but when i get off my arse and do hit a routine i always follow the same pill supplements,

Multi-Vits, Zinc usually take x2 RDA, ginseng, l-glutamine, cod liver oil, vitamin c, rest of supplements are mainly powders i.e protein and then anything else came in food form.

[evilglamcaitlin]

Originally Posted by Pantgirl

I'm sure you cant get melatonin in this country....hmm not sure though

I used to use it all the time, then passed on the trait to my Dad. It's by far the best sleeping pill I've used. I've heard its not technically legal as well :/ But I got mine on ebay, and there's enough selling there so I guess it must be okay

[hotblonde]

What a shit load of money the consumer spends on a helluva lot of crap that isn't really needed. Generally if you eat a balanced diet, you don't need any supplements (not that vitamin supplements do any good anyway).

Caffeine withdrawal will only give you a headache and slight lethargy for a few days - a week. You're as well drinking a glass of cola a day and maybe some green tea (with less caffeine than coffee) rather than complete cold turkey and just ween yourself off it. 200mgs is around 4 cups of coffee and is still quite a lot. There's conflicting evidence around regarding caffeine intake and the detrimental effects on the body, mainly the cardiovascular effects. While caffeine appears to blunt mental stress induced hypertension when subjects abstain from caffeine diastolic bp drops and so does stress and tension.

There is now clinical evidence indicating that recommending glucosamine sulphate, glucosamine hydrochloride and chondroitin sulphate for the treatment of joint paint and osteoarthritis is ineffective. If you want to ward off arthritis or look after you joints (as arthritis is genetic and there's not much really you can do there), eat oily type fish, cod liver and omega 3 oils and turmeric dietary supplements are the best to take. If you cut down on caffeine intake, you probably won't need a sleep aid and you'll find you get a better overall sleep as well, but melatonin has lots of anti-tumourogenic, anti-depressant effects and helps reduce the formation of catarcts so taking that should give you some benefits.

[Zippy]

Originally Posted by i_am_blip

Ha ha ha, you're taking an appetite suppressant that gives you a boost. Sounds familiar...

Hahaha - I'm buying some!


I don't take anything in the way of vitamins, seems like a lot of shite to me - exercise and healthy eating is more appealling.

[hotblonde]

Originally Posted by Pantgirl

I'm sure you cant get melatonin in this country....hmm not sure though/

Originally Posted by evilglamcaitlin

I used to use it all the time, then passed on the trait to my Dad. It's by far the best sleeping pill I've used. I've heard its not technically legal as well :/ But I got mine on ebay, and there's enough selling there so I guess it must be okay

You can buy melatonin in the UK and it's legal, technical and/or otherwise

[Captain Cripplepants]

Originally Posted by MarkMono

Vitamin supplements have been proven to do fuck all many time over, but I take them anyway.

People and their vitamins.... When will people realise that, generally speaking, there is absolutely no need to take vitamin supplements?! As long as you have a fairly decent diet (i.e. fruit, veg, meat, fish etc) and get yourself some sunlight then you will get and/or make all of these things anyway! In general, supplements only act as excess, that can't be used! The body only needs so much, which it is usually pretty good at regulating! IIRC, one of the few groups such supplements are reccommended for (unless you do have a particular deficiency) is vegetarians/vegans, because they don't get all the normal goodness meat-eaters do. So in other-words, most people taking supplements are literally pissing their money away.

[russianfaerie]

only time i've ever taken any vitamins was the jelly babies when i was younger, and when i got iron tablets from the doctor due to being anemic. stopped taking after noticing they made me slightly ill.

i don't have the best diet ever i know but i still get by on what i do eat perfectly fine.

[PapaZeb]

So far two people in this thread have kinda glossed over my words regarding multivitamins...

Yes, some fruit or a well-balanced diet replaces the need (be it placebo-like need or actual physical need) for a multivitamin, but your average bachelor male from the college-uni days onwards tends to think buggerall about meat, veg, and fish, and will occasionally live entirely off pot noodles and pizza for a month at a time before realizing he's not had a real meal.

Trip - that headache? Caffeine withdrawal. I've gone through that one too many times to be buggered going through it again because I don't want to drink soda anymore.

Melatonin's legality - In America, the FDA has yet to approve it as a food additive or a drug that may be legally prescribed to people. However, it may still be sold on at health stores as an over-the-counter dietary supplement. Unsure on the UK's status on it, but that may be any sort of illegality you've heard about

hotblonde - thanks for the advice re: the joint stuff. While there is clinical evidence coming out that claims otherwise on the chemicals, after taking the stuff about 2 months my hands feel better than they have in the last 3 years, even though the work load has generally increased on them. Thank you for recommending some additional things though, may try switching out (but with my bloody forgetful and generally lazy lifestyle, concentrated form is usually a lot easier to handle than setting up a meal idea)

While I know that caffeine is something I should generally cut out, I'd like to say that I've never smoked, I've never tried illegal drugs, and I'm an infrequent drinker. I'd like to have one vice - also, I've been gradually lowering my dosage over the course of days. 200mgs was chosen as a starting dosage when I moved off the soda as that was just a little under the amount I was intaking between tea and soda. I've only been off the soda for nearly a month now, and I didn't want to face the caffeine AND sugar DTs at the same time (since the processed sugar is something I really wanted to cut out of my diet as opposed to caffeine which is my friend and buddy)

[Hammer]

At various point during the day, I take one Berocca tablet (for B comples vits) and 6 Omega 3 & Omega 6 pills.

I've definatly felt better since I started taking them. The Berocca really does give you an energy boost. The Omega oils are meant to be good for concentration, memory and mood, and they've definatly had a positive effect on me. It's just annoying that you have to take so much of it to actually get any benefit from it.

As for the suppliment haters, my diet is fucked anyway since I don't like fruit or fish and I seldom manage to get five portions of veg a day.

[LesMTS]

Originally Posted by Hammer

The Omega oils are meant to be good for concentration, memory and mood, and they've definatly had a positive effect on me. It's just annoying that you have to take so much of it to actually get any benefit from it.

There's surprisingly little in the way of actual evidence that omega fish oils do anything of the sort (that's different from saying they don't do anything though).
They've been the subject of much criticism on badscience.net recently. They've been trying to get some of the companies that make and market these pills to hand over their research. They're having an absolute nightmare trying to get them to hand over anything but the results.
"Here's our research."
"That's just the results."
"Yep, and it shows omega oils are amazing."
"How did you get these results?"
"Not tellin'."
Is how it seems to have been going around and around in circles.
http://www.badscience.net/?p=307

[djbarry]

From what I'm told, it's hard to get academics to study dietary effects and really the big companies still rely on endorsement from academia. So I think Les has a point.

[StuntGirl]

I rarely eat meat, drink way to much coffee, diet coke etc and I've been on a diet for most of my life, so I'm rocking the supplements big style:

1x holland and barrett complete multivitamin with iron
1x zinc
1x vitamin B complex
3x Skin Hair and nails supplement from holland and barrett
1x gingko biloba (I actually couldn't remember why I took this, and found it quite amusing when my boyfriend pointed out it was for memory and concentration)
6x MetoExtreme diet pills

and I still feel like shit all the time.

[hotblonde]

You do realise that half the crap you're taking there is repeated? The zinc will be in multivitamins and the skin, hair and nails, as will the vit B complex. Why on earth are you popping MetoExtreme diet pills? No wonder you feel shit honey.

[fallen_nemesis]

ooooooh i forgot actually. I drink loads of green tea if that counts

[bikuki]

Am I the only one who finds this thread as a bit of a shock/eye-opener? I have never been in the habit of taking supplements, nor do I ever plan to unless there is a serious medical need (ie. like Laura's ferritin problem). I didn't realise so many people took supplements as a part of everyday course, and so may of them. I genuinely wouldn't even think of taking a supplement if I was feeling lethargic or having trouble sleeping etc but would first think of changing my diet or routine.
Btw I'm not preaching or getting on a folk who do take supplements, I'm just saying that I didn't realise it was so prevalent.

As I side note, am I the only one who finds it slightly hilarious (and worrying) that some people need to take a stimulant during the day, then a sleep aid at night...