You can’t out exercise a bad diet. Nor can you supplement your way to health. Supplements are designed to add to an already good diet or provide something that may be missing from your good diet. There are also things you can’t necessarily get from your diet.
Last week we talked about glucosamine, fish oil and DHEA. Those 3 things are very difficult to get in your diet. You can eat a lot of fish and still have an oega3 vs. omega 6 imbalance. And that is a big problem for inflammation in your body. This week we will tackle 2 more.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is required for the regulation of the mineral calcium and phosphorus in the body. It plays an important role in maintaining proper bone structure.
Most people get Vitamin D from sun exposure. You should be able to get enough Vitamin D through exposure to sunlight. If you expose your arms, legs, hands, and face for about ¼ of the time it takes to get a mild sunburn you should produce enough Vitamin D. Here’s the problem, however. We don’t spend enough time in the sun. We wear sunscreen.  And as we age our bodies become less efficient at producing Vitamin D from the sun.
As supplements go, Vitamin D is relatively inexpensive and easy to take. 2-5,000 IU should do it.
Protein powder
If you are eating right you may be getting enough protein to support your activity level. If you are building muscle or spending a lot of time in the gym you may need to supplement your diet with additional protein. Protein powders are an easy way to get more protein into your system quickly. You should be ingesting anywhere from 50 grams up to 1.5 times your bodyweight in protein grams a day. 1.5 times would be for a muscle building phase. Generally if you weigh 150# you should be eating between 100 and 150 grams of protein a day. You should know how much protein you are eating a day.
There are lots of sources for protein powders. Read the label and make sure you are getting protein and not sugars and other stuff you don’t want. I prefer whey protein myself and I love SFH fuel for taste and the little extras (MCT) that are in it. SFH makes very high quality protein product from grass fed dairy cows. You could use protein from any number of sources…egg, soy, rice or other vegetable sources. The choice is really yours but make sure it is clean and free of unhealthy additives.
I take a protein shake after I work out to get protein into the system. I will also get one in when I am in a hurry and need some quick fuel.
Again, we should try to get most of our dietary needs met with real food on a regular basis. Constantly trying to find a “magic pill” that will “fix” us is a futile pursuit. There is no magic pill except diet and exercise, working hard and eating right.
Get in the kitchen first!
John Mariotti
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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