So I have a new roommate and the other night she watches me down a handful of vitamins. She then turns to me and asks for recommendations for what she should be taking. I have no idea about female nutrician so maybe someone here can help.
A little background on her: She’s 25, 5’6" 130 lbs x college polo/swimmer competes in a lot of open water swimming and several sprint to oly distance tris each year but will do her first 1/2 this year she trains about 14 hours a week eats a pretty healthy diet, a lot of whole foods
It’s hard to say without knowing the medical history. i take a bunch of stuff, I had a naturopath guide me thru this. The common stuff I take goes as follows ( I am 31, 5’4 121lbs)
Now, I take others stuff such as nettle leaves and licorice but that is way personnalized to me. 14 day prior to menses, I start the B6, magnesium and progesterone to curb PMS… It works! I don’t know if this helps, it is very hard to generalize to all female…
Most people don’t need to take anything. It’s not uncommon for some women to take extra calcium or iron (but don’t take them at the same time, they will compete for absorption). A multivitamin can’t hurt.
Hid, I think usually women supplement their tops with socks or tissue paper when they are young. Later, they move to silicon or saline-implants.
Actually, 14 hours of working out per week is a lot. She could take a chill-pill on one of her normal workout days instead of working out! I’m jealous when others have this much time to work out.
To get to your real question, it sounds like a simple multivitamin (and, of course, the usual “get enough calcium” stuff) might cover any big gaps in her nutrition. Non-menstruating women probably don’t need the iron so much, but, (I know this is a gross generalization) so many women that are working out as much as she is have some “odd” eating habits. If she doesn’t get enough dietary iron from red meat, spinich, etc., she might need a little iron supplementation.
I lived with a girl for over a year and I don’t think we ever had that conversation, wow. I am no doctor but isn’t that an issue for 25 years old? Is it caused by her training level?
I don’t know why she should need anything special because she is a woman. I would say some basic supplements including Glutamine, Antioxidants and a good diet with right protien levels etc.
"A second factor that happens during some women’s training is a disruption of the normal menstrual pattern. This can be due to training overloads, caloric deficits, or a host of clinical problems. (Never assume that menstrual irregularities are due to training. Always consult a physician.) " http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=8383&sidebar=630&category=activewomen
Not to be a total pain in the ass, but I don’t think any medical professionals would consider glutamine to be a “basic” supplement. Not that there’s anything wrong with taking it (I’ve used it in a recovery drink) but I feel that too often people feel pressured to take supplements they don’t need. Hid’s original post illustrates this perfectly.
If a person’s diet is really balanced well, there’s no need for any supplements. I know my diet usually isn’t, so I take a multi and occasionally flax seed oil. If I want convenient calories after a workout and don’t want to prepare food, a Cytomax+Whey protein cocktail (substitute your favorite recovery drink here) works great, although probably not much better than a banana, bagel, and a tall glass of skim milk.
My point is not that people shouldn’t take supplments, but that they shouldn’t automatically feel like they’re “missing out” if they’re not.
Actually, metabalance is not quite a multi vitamin, I take 2 of it… Remember that I had blood test done, and saliva test and a professional told me what supplements I needed and what kind of diet I should be on… i disagree with whoever said we don’t need supplements… Maybe average jane eating a good diet doesn’t. I train 15-20 hours a week and own a business with lots of stress. The main goal here was to fight my constantly suppressed immune sytem from all of the above… it helps… glutamine is for immunity, in my case. Not menstruating isn’t normal. I would be concerned about that for sure. Either body fat is too low or she is overtrained.
Sorry, wasn’t clear. I consider Glutamine to be a basic for me as an athlete not that the general population does. I disagree that people don’t need supplements. Most of the general population doesn’t eat well enough to provide basic needs. Considering the obesity problem I doubt those people put a second of thought to the nurtritional content of anything so even basic supplements would help them.
As for athletes who train regularly, I think it is a neccessity because your body demands so much more nutrition to repair and fuel your body.
Marisol, I was refering to the average Jane with a good diet. For expample, nothing in Hid’s posts suggests that his friend needs glutamine… your situation seems different if you feel like your immune system was suppressed. I didn’t mean to say that people shouldn’t take specific supplements for specific reasons.
Not menstruating isn’t normal. I would be concerned about that for sure
I agree, but I also feel that she should be discussing this with her physician.
She has talked with her physician about not menstruating. I don’t know many of the details (I’ll ask later). All I do know is that it was recommended that she take in a lot of calcium.
She eats five to six times a day and extremely healthy. For instance dinner last night was a VERY large bowl of spinich with sliced strawberries, apples, dried cranberries, blue cheese and pine nuts followed by stir fry with chicken breast and brown rice. All meals pretty much follow this example.
Another fact is that she broke her back, has two rods in it and had to relearn how to walk while attending college. I believe this is the reason for the calcium recommendation.
5280, re-read my comments - I’m referring to people with well-balanced diets. I’m in total agreement with you that the average American diet is far from perfect. Regardign obesity, however, we’re not talking about a lack of supplements, but rather too many calories and too little exercise. Also, take a look at this
Exercise, nutrition and immune function.
Gleeson M, Nieman DC, Pedersen BK.
J Sports Sci. 2004 Jan;22(1):115-25.
School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK. m.gleeson@lboro.ac.uk
Strenuous bouts of prolonged exercise and heavy training are associated with depressed immune cell function. Furthermore, inadequate or inappropriate nutrition can compound the negative influence of heavy exertion on immunocompetence. Dietary deficiencies of protein and specific micronutrients have long been associated with immune dysfunction. An adequate intake of iron, zinc and vitamins A, E, B6 and B12 is particularly important for the maintenance of immune function, but excess intakes of some micronutrients can also impair immune function and have other adverse effects on health. Immune system depression has also been associated with an excess intake of fat. To maintain immune function, athletes should eat a well-balanced diet sufficient to meet their energy requirements. An athlete exercising in a carbohydrate-depleted state experiences larger increases in circulating stress hormones and a greater perturbation of several immune function indices. Conversely, consuming 30-60 g carbohydrate x h(-1) during sustained intensive exercise attenuates rises in stress hormones such as cortisol and appears to limit the degree of exercise-induced immune depression. Convincing evidence that so-called ‘immune-boosting’ supplements, including high doses of antioxidant vitamins, glutamine, zinc, probiotics and Echinacea, prevent exercise-induced immune impairment is currently lacking.