Nutrition/Vitamin supplemants

buy the decent one

I try to go the whole food route as much as possble for nutrition and stay away from preservatives, additives, genetically modified grains, dairy hormones and deadly artificial sweeteners. I am no expert or doctor but the headaches I started getting after adding too many diet foods now keeps me far away from aspartame (nutri-sweet) and sucralose. I stopped mixing the cheap protein mix from Costco and headaches went away! Sorry for the rant but this episode really bugged me. I NEVER get headaches.

Anyways, it seems to me unfortunately, cheap vitamin supplements do not give the correct synergistic vitamin/mineral ratios for your body to assimilate properly. I used to take a natural sea water extract that contained all the vitamins/minerals in the same ratios as blood. Now I like a more "alive" enzyme blend/live culture for nutritional power. I use Nature's Plus "Source of Life" energy shake for my base nutritional support. It seems to have everything in it: vitamins, minerals, protein, live cultures, bioflavonoids, enzymes, nucleic acids, essential oils, etc. I mix it with a tall glass of soy milk and frozen organic strawberries for a great pre-workout boost. It is non-GMO/vegetarian and available at the heath food store in a yellow can. It is pricey but worth it!

But alas any multi-vitamin supplement is better than nothing if your deficient. And I would go to a heath food store over GNC. "Whole Foods" here is great!

Here's some advice from public radio:
Don't buy any vitamin supplement that boast more than 100% of the recommended daily allowance, it's just a marketing ploy.
Wherever you choose to buy your supplements, wether it's at a pharmacy or whole foods store, buy their brand. The store has more at stake when they have their name on a product.

Lee, Dude ... (yeah, I'm 30 and educated and still say dude *smirk*)

You said: "As much as I try, I don't get a balanced diet. My nutrition quite frankly sucks. I'm wondering if I should take a multi vitamin"

That's like getting your jugular cut and looking around for a band-aid. A supplement is not going to cover your horrible nutrition.

Here's something to consider. When you eat foods that do not contribute vitamins and minerals, they cost your body nutrients. When you digest food (and daily processes), your body uses up vitamins and minerals. So, if you eat food that doesn't replenish the nutrients, you're going backwards. Again, a band-aid (supplement) isn't going to fix that.

You don't put goat piss in your car and call it gasoline.

Decide whether you're serious about your training and make the adjustments.

They're called vitamin "supplements" not "food replacements" for good reason. They are intended to supplement and already healthy diet.

I am as busy as a guy can get. Training, family time (son and wife), home improvement, work, (teacher ... lots of out of class prep), etc ... I do it all.

Go to menshealth.com and use their recipe finder. Select the main ingredient you like. Find 6-7 recipes you can make in 20 minutes or while you're doing something else. Quadruple the amounts. Store the extra in "to go" plastic containers. The recipes are extremely nutritious (lots of veggies, lean meats, pasta, rice, etc), and quick to make.

Now, add a common multi to that, and you've got something going. A decent amount of vitmains are water-soluble, which means that if your body doesn't absorb them they come out making your pee look light a light saber. So, you need to get them regularly and multiple times per day (i.e. when you eat quality foods)

I guess I could have just typed "use GNC's for men vitamin" and saved us both a lot of time, but that advice wouldn't be the best I could do for you. A kick in the ass, and a finger pointed towards where you can find some quick recipes for men who eat man food (menshealth), is what is called for, and it's what I would expect if I were in your place.

Laziness and lack of prioritization are not valid reasons for not eating properly. It isn't all that tough.

If you need more help, I'd be glad to give it. A busy guy's meal plan is my speciality.

Your absolutely right!!! I needed the kick in the you know what!!! I will go to men's health and get some recipes and start a multi. Thanks, much!!!

I recommend Mulligan Stew, Mexican Mac-N-Meat, and Chicken Noodle Goulash.

There's one recipe that includes meat, pasta, tomatoes, and spinach, and some spices. It actually makes spinach taste good. I would have never eaten spinach if it weren't for that recipe.

http://www.menshealth.com/cda/recipesearch/1,6969,s1-6-0-0-0,00.htm...

Don't forget the fruit.