I take a Vit C, a multi-vitamin and a high strength cod liver oil with added omega 3 on a daily basis.

Seems to work (on a strictly non-scientific basis) as I appear to be reasonably healthy with remarkably few aches and pains considering that I have passed the half century and have actively taken part in injury prone sports throughout my life. The shoulder and occasional knee pain I suffered from some years ago seems to have all but disappeared since taking cod liver oil and eating an oily fish 2-3 times a week.

What do you take (if anything) and what would you recommend from positive experience which might be a good addition?

Nothink.
If you have a good and varied diet you eat all you need.
Buy vitamins and supplemements and wee your money down the bog by all means

1 cod liver oil capsule (NOT good when they repeat on you later on)
1 high “potency” multivit and iron.

I’m a bit “clicky – knuckles, toes and ankle crack a lot – and have had minor knee issues so that’s what the fish oil is for.
And I reckon iron gives you a bit more stamina. The vitamins just seem like a good idea despite having a pretty healthy diet.

Never take any supplements and it drives me mad when my wife tries to insist I do when I have a cold or anything. A good balanced diet is all any of us need IMO.

My thoughts too SM – my diet is reasonable but can be poor due to lazyness when on nightshift but I would rather err on the safe side and wee the unnecessary down the bog than go short.

i swallow 3 powerbands a day, one with breakfast, lunch and dinner.

(vit c if i think i’ve got a cold coming.. occasonally a berroca if i havent been eating well due to illness…. keep thinking about fishy oils but never motivated enough to bother buying)

i take 1000g cod liver oil, 760g/600g glucosamine/chrondroitin, and multivitamin tablet each day.

no idea if they work that much as its hard to measure, but im rarely ill and i dont ache as much as i used to after work or exercise.

get mine from simplysupplements, which are always buy one get one free, and seem the cheapest.

if you order 180 tablets and get the same free (so 360 tablets), and theyre one a day, then its a fair old while til you need to order any more.

Interesting point you’ve brought to my attention there sadex – do tablets lose their ‘potency’ after a while ie. with 360 tablets, some are going to be well over a year old before they are taken.

Cantamega vits and minerals, glucosamine with chondroitin, vit B complex too sometimes(been feeling tired lately) – try to eat healthily, stretch lots and try to get enough sleep, try not to stress about stuff (with varying degrees of success).

Every morning.

Protein shake, high dose Vit C tablet, SevenSeas cod liver oil and multivit capsule plus an echinacea tablet.

I used to add creatine to the protein shake but it didn’t do anything, I’m hardly an elite athlete!

Don’t get used to it…..

What drives me to believe they are all (in general) bollox are the adverts that you see on the telly where they are legally-bound to say

‘MAY be of benefit to young people and the elderly’.

So scientific facts are not conclusive and there is only an outside possibility that they could, perhaps, help some of us. But not healthy adults.

FWIW, I tried fish oil tablets when training for the GNR. They didn’t do a thing to help alleviate joint pain, but Ibuprofen and ice packs did.

What drives me to believe they are all (in general) bollox are the adverts that you see on the telly where they are legally-bound to say

‘MAY be of benefit to young people and the elderly’.

So scientific facts are not conclusive and there is only an outside possibility that they could, perhaps, help some of us. But not healthy adults.

FWIW, I tried fish oil tablets when training for the GNR. They didn’t do a thing to help alleviate joint pain, but Ibuprofen and ice packs did.

Erm… isn’t that article 5 years old??

For those of us who don’t realise how slowly the wheels of the EU turn…..

The fish oil thing is a longer term prospect. You can’t take them like a pain killer, they simply don’t work like that.

I’m hoping that taking them now will help me in the future as the effect of breaking a load of bones starts taking it’s toll.

The fish oil thing is a longer term prospect. You can’t take them like a pain killer, they simply don’t work like that.

Well no, I didn’t expect immediate results, but I was training for 9 months and I took them for quite a while – not sure how long they expect it to take to work, but it is convenient for them if it takes a veeeerryyyy long time….

MF – fish oil tablets are not a quick fix. I had been taking them for months before I realised my shoulder wasn’t painful any more – way past the point of any placebo effect.

Might be worth giving them another try, or if you don’t already do so, try a couple of tins of mackerel a week. I’d recommend the ones from Lidl 😉

nowt… except the ones which are in the odd energy /protein bar I might be forced to comsume should I become starving beyond recognition with no other food in sight for some time.

Kev

MSM, Glucosamine.
Zinc, Flax oil.
Lutein, Bilberry extract (for the eyes, seems to be good)
Occasionally pop a B12.

Haribo

Rice Crispies which, I have it on good authority, contain vitamins A, B, C, D AND E, Calcium, Iron, Riboflavin AND Thiamin
🙂

So scientific facts are not conclusive and there is only an outside possibility that they could, perhaps, help some of us. But not healthy adults.

I believe that’s at least partially to avoid being sued by people with a good diet who don’t need to take them, do anyway and wonder why it doesn’t make them ubermensch .. the ‘worried well’ I think they’re known as in the trade.

I take the Wellman tablets.. about the cost of 2 pints a month. Don’t really drink so I don’t consider it an enormous waste. Mainly for the iron, as a veggie I’m concious that I often don’t eat well enough to absorb some of the harder to get elements, and supplementation covers it better. I generally feel better on them, but I agree there is no need to take them if you have a decent diet.

Oh, and if you don’t like what fish oil does to you Surf Mat, Vertesse do a plant sourced Omega 3 6 9 combo that doesn’t repeat on you like a Grimsby fishwife 🙂
About 4 quid for a months worth, in Holland and Barrett.

Multi vitamin, Zinc and echinacea drops,from october to march 3 weeks on one week off. I avoid excessive boozing too as it seems to zap my immune system quite dramatically.

If you have anything approaching a reasonable diet you are wasting your money.

I take no supplements whatsoever. I eat good food, it contains vitamins and minerals. When I train harder I eat more good food. I’ve yet to see convincing independent evidence supporting any need to supplement a healthy diet.

RDA of vitamins/minerals etc is for a average person, not adults partaking in (what i think is) a grueling sport where you can be exerting yourself for hours on end.

You really think 2500 calories is enough for any serious cyclist? Likewise with other minerals etc. Not supporting one or the other just trying to point out its not as clear as you might think with the healthy diet bullshit.

I take a Probiotic Multivitamin, the ones for active people. If i’m training hard I really do notice if I don’t take them. I also used to take Glucasomine to try and combat my joint pain, didn’t seem to have much affect and I’ve now stopped them after the NICE report said they don’t do anything.

I have a balanced diet, plenty of fruit and veg and good meats etc but I find that I can get pretty run down if I don’t keep the vitamins up.

Cheers brassneck – will try and find some of those!

yesiamtom – Member

RDA of vitamins/minerals etc is for a average person, not adults partaking in (what i think is) a grueling sport where you can be exerting yourself for hours on end.

Gruelling sport? Really? How many hours a week do you cycle for? How does cycling mean you need supplementation? Does it destroy the vitamins in your food?

When i was a bit sick with glandular fever a while back i went and saw ‘crazy herbal man’ that;s not his name like but its what i call him.
Since then i take a teaspoon of buffered vit c poweder and some magnaese every morning with a new thing which has whisteria in it (sp?) which is like a herbal happy pill. I dunno, its really chilled me out and i rarely get sick as well – placebo perhaps but i’m happy to be placebo’d. I do feel the benefit of it when i am training hard (25-30hrs per week at the mo) and can’t eat enough or am emptying my battery a fair bit.

I take 1000mg of Ester C and 15mg Zinc each day. I have been doing this for about 9 months now and so far no colds, still get the “sniffles” and the off day but none as taken hold. So far so good.

TJ – the thread was started in order to gain +ve experiences and info, not to start an argument on the why’s and wherefors and taken to the far end of a fart starting with your rhetorical questions 🙄

Been taking cod liver oil daily for many years.

Don’t suppose it counts, but I try to have a bit of salad most days as that also guarantees about 3 tablespoonfuls of olive oil.

I also have vitamin B some days/on and off. And that’s it, apart from if I have a cold – then it’s C, zinc, and Echinacea.

You really think 2500 calories is enough for any serious cyclist?

Can’t see this claimed anywhere in the thread?

Woody – just giving folk info
There is no evidence of any benefit to healthy folk with a decent diet in taking any supplements.

Not rhetorical questions – direct questions to someone who posted something that I believe needs explanation

You might as well take sugar p[ills or have a power balance hologram on

You might as well take sugar p[ills or have a power balance hologram on

Ok, you’ve stated your position and I’m sure you can prove it, so can we get on and see if anyone else has had +ve experiences?

Berroca changed my work mate, he does eat proper shite for lunch mind. I take them a bit and real- really like theuminous wee. It’s like star wars when you go to the toilet 🙂

U31 – Member

“Nothink.
If you have a good and varied diet you eat all you need.
Buy vitamins and supplemements and wee your money down the bog by all means”

This, with respect, is balls. There are good reasons why a good and varied diet might not cover all the bases- gastro conditions being one, obviously, but physical exertion is the one healthy cyclists should be watching more.

For example, we sweat out a lot of calcium- you basically need to double the RDA to offset a sweaty ride and most people don’t cover the calcium RDA at the best of times. (1000mg per day for adults). The link between cycling and low bone density is well known and supplements are a practical way to get round it.

(not helped by cycling being generally low impact but that’s a different issue)