Supplements/Vitamins

dazz_ni45

Hi everyone,

I've basically had a bad run of colds/chest infection/bugs over the past 3 months which is significantly impacting on my cycling/training. If I have any sort of hard ride a day or two later I am dosed with the cold again.

I'm generally quite healthy and managed the whole of the last winter without even a sniffle but it seems to have coincided with changing job, more stress, additional commuting etc.

I currently don't take any supplements or vitamins so I'm thinking it is time to start taking something to bolster my immune system.

Any recommendations?

Thanks

daniel_b

I am in a similar boat as you right now.

I tend to take Vitamin D, and Echinacea to try and boost my immune system during the year, but didn't take any earlier in the year.

For the first 9 months of the year, I'm pretty sure not a single cold happened.

Then I had 3 in fairly quick succession, and it just kind of goes on from there :?

Back on the bike now, but doing lighter and less sessions just to see if I can use that to help shift the leftovers - it's worked for me before, and also makes me feel more energised, so less likely to turn to biscuits and chocolate, which further compounds the issue.

Will be very interested to see what replies are added :-)

joenobody

The advice from my nutritionist was the following to generally support an active lifestyle:

Multivit
Magnesium
Zinc
Vit D
Omega 3/6

There are fairly affordable blood tests you can do yourself (collect sample, send off for analysis) if you're interested in knowing specific deficiencies and your GP is resistant to doing it (many are).

daniel_b

JoeNobody wrote:

The advice from my nutritionist was the following to generally support an active lifestyle:

Multivit
Magnesium
Zinc
Vit D
Omega 3/6

There are fairly affordable blood tests you can do yourself (collect sample, send off for analysis) if you're interested in knowing specific deficiencies and your GP is resistant to doing it (many are).

Out of interest, was that every single day, ie even during the sunnier months?
That sounds like a lot of tablets.

One other strategy I have picked up from a nurse as a meant to fight off upcoming colds, is that as soon as you feel one starting to come on (for me that might be itchy throat, sneezing, mild temperature varitations), take 3 of those effervescent berocca style (Any own brand one will do) 1000mg vit c tablets across one day, and more often than not, the symptoms abate, and it doesn't develop.

Interested in the sound of the send away blood tests.

cooldad

JoeNobody wrote:

The advice from my nutritionist was the following to generally support an active lifestyle:

Multivit
Magnesium
Zinc
Vit D
Omega 3/6

There are fairly affordable blood tests you can do yourself (collect sample, send off for analysis) if you're interested in knowing specific deficiencies and your GP is resistant to doing it (many are).

That's her job. But if you have a balanced diet you don't need any extras. Most are useless anyway.

sloppyschleckonds

^WHS

joe2008

I used to suffer from seasonal colds, chest infections etc

I have been taking Astragalus Root capsules for 3 winters and have not had a single illness in the time I have been taking them.

joey54321

I'd spent the money on making your own kefir or Saukeraut. More and more information points to our gut bacteria having a huge effect on our immune system. Could be worth ago?

Ben6899

Go and see your GP. If any of your vitamin levels are low, then there'll be a cause.

Vitamin D could be as simple as not getting enough UV light, for example.

I go through stages of moderate anaemia (I know the cause) and treat it with iron supplements (because unfortunately there's no permanent fix).

cruising on empty

dazz_ni45 wrote:

Hi everyone,

. .

Any recommendations?

I take Echinacea, 8000mg a day.

Perhaps it's worth addressing your clothing. Staying warm and avoiding rapid changes in temperature is important.

photonic69

I usually take MultiVits with Iron, C with Zinc, Selenium and Glucosamine tablets every day on top of a veg and fruit rich diet. Usually quite healthy but last 3 months been feeling below par. Don't get hammered with alcohol but have a few beers over the week.

Anyway, went out on both Friday and Saturday night to two different do's (given up going out for years) and got quite hammered both nights! Saturday was a LOT of Tequila. Today feeling better than I have for months! Weird huh?

joenobody

Daniel B wrote:

Out of interest, was that every single day, ie even during the sunnier months?
That sounds like a lot of tablets.

No need for the vit D in the sunnier months, as long as you're getting out in it.

Interested in the sound of the send away blood tests.

Thriva are one, but I'm sure there are others.

joenobody

cooldad wrote:

That's her job. But if you have a balanced diet you don't need any extras. Most are useless anyway.

Perhaps, but as she's also my wife she's not just saying it because I'm paying for her advice As I understand it, some are just a sort of "top up/it can't hurt to have more" thing (primarily multivit), while others are more necessary despite a "balanced" diet because of the active lifestyle, and also because most people who eat what they think is a balanced diet are not actually balancing their diet in a strict nutritional sense.

joenobody

Ben6899 wrote:

Go and see your GP. If any of your vitamin levels are low, then there'll be a cause.

Good luck getting them to test if there are no obvious symptoms of a deficiency. Your GP might be better than mine, but if you're only concerned about the possibility of a deficiency mine won't even consider a test.

sloppyschleckonds

A balanced diet is a beer in each hand, no?

dazz_ni45

Thanks everyone for the advice and suggestions.

The blood test may be a good idea to see if there is anything underlying. My GP took tests a few months ago, but my guess is that this was only to check for certain things.

ric/rstsport

what everyone has failed to mention thus far, is that URTIs rise the more training that you do. There's a J shaped response to how people get ill with URTIs (upper respiratory tract infections), where the start of the J is a normal/sedentary person, the bottom of the curve of the J (just prior to the straight line) is where someone who does a moderate amount of training, in that URTIs drop at this point compared to the normal population. The top of the straight line is elite athletes who have significantly more infections.

evidence also shows us that URTIs decrease when carbohydrate intake is increased. Multiple research by Nieman et al., has shown that increasing carbs help reduce the number of infections. Thus, the OP may need to increase their carb intake. However, if you've just had an infection and continue to train before it goes, or right at the edge of it going it's likely that you're just making yourself ill again. you may therefore, need a period away from training (a few weeks?) perhaps just doing very light cycling etc. (i.e. not training).

Ric