As you probably noticed when reading my other articles I’m not a big fan of using a ton of supplements. Because I’m a very curious by nature when I first decided to start training, eat healthy and achieve the best possible physique my goal was to learn every bit of information about it. In the first couple of months I was a member of 3 different bodybuilding and fitness forums with tons of posts and questions. Forums at that time seemed like a good source of genuine free information and I owe a part of my success to them. Like any other forums the ones I joined had many self-proclaimed gurus, mostly these are the guys that have 100 daily posts, they claim to know everything and will answer all questions.
So when I first started like every most people I was very impatient, wanted fast results and these guys claimed to know how to get there. I was advised to buy almost every supplement that you can think of resulting that at one point I was spending over 150$ a month only on vitamin and mineral supplements. Everything these guys told me it would help I wouldn’t hesitate to buy, I took me more than 6 month and a lot of money to find out the real truth. Lesson here: take everything people write with a bit of skepticism even this post.
Vitamin and Mineral Deficiency Myth
People today are victims of information overload, we are constantly bombarded by ads that say we lack something. This is especially true about the supplement industry, at one point I was so programmed by this that I would believe that my workout would be bad if I missed to take a pill of Calcium or Zinc in the morning.
Now 2 years after taking no vitamin and mineral supplements I look and feel the best so far in my life. I guess you live and you learn, I learned the hard way after spending tons of cash and very often being stressed out because I couldn’t take some pill at the exact time which was to me back then a big deal. I personally believe that as long as you have a healthy balanced diet with enough vegetables you don’t ever come close to missing a vitamin or mineral. Even after long periods of starvation your body still manages to adapt to low nutrition intake and you won’t feel any different.
Somehow it is just too convenient that we always seem to be missing something and suddenly there’s a new pill that fixes the problem, the problem often exists only in our mind. My personal experience shows that these supplements are in most cases completely unnecessary if you have a balanced meal plan. So really consider on what you spend your hard earned money on, don’t let yourself easily be turned into a mindless consumer without analyzing your real needs first.
Are there any vitamin and mineral supplements that work?
After reading the above most of you probably feel scammed for buying all those supplements before. Even though most of them don’t work there are still a few that might have some minor benefits. Things like Zinc and Sodium ascorbate can help you with immunity and some minor digestive problems. Zinc also slightly elevates testosterone levels but it’s not some amount where you feel a difference.
Sodium ascorbate form of Vitamin C with some lemons can help fighting colds during winter period but that’s all. Magnesium in liquid form can be helpful with digestion and muscle cramps but for those to happen you probably would have to consciously avoid all kind of vegetables for weeks. Even with those supplement I believe that they must be used as a last resort, nutrition from food is the best way as your bodies systems are genetically predisposed to draw nutrition from raw natural food.
Conclusion
Be careful what you spend your money on. Best supplement investments are whey protein, BCAA and creatine. Those 3 have been backed up by tons of research and years of positive testimonials from users. Stick to the basics and get your diet sorted in the best possible way. Consult a nutritionist and your physician before attempting any rapid diet changed or use of supplements. Good luck with your fitness goals.
