Week 3:  Take Two and Call Me in the Morning


Remember that 1980‘s commercial that has that actor selling cough syrup and he says “I‘m not a doctor, but I play one on TV.”?  What?  They couldn’t find a real doctor to talk about Vicks or whatever that was?  They had to resort to a soap star talking about cough syrup?  I remember being in high school thinking what a totally stupid commercial that was.  (Actually, I thought most things were stupid in high school.)  But here I am in this blog doing the same thing.  I, Amy Wyrick, am not a doctor.  Oh . . . . and I’m not on TV either.  But being a well meaning and well researched running coach, let me be brash and tell you about a pill you need to start taking.  

** Wait lawyers wait!  I’m getting to it!!  Disclaimer disclaimer!  I do need to tell you in all seriousness that I can’t officially tell you to take ANY medication, over the counter or otherwise.  Nope, as your running coach, I legally can’t even recommend Advil for that muscle pain because I do not have the initials M.D. behind my name and don’t have your medical chart in front of me.  But I CAN present you with information about health and let you decide.  So here you go . . .


THE MIGHTY MULTIVITAMIN

You know how I’ve recommended to you over the past two weeks to be a more awesome you, it would be best to up that water intake and eat more fruits and veggies?  Easier said than done, right?  It seems so simple - eat clean, drink a lot, feel great - but then we are tired.  And let’s face it, school time or summer time - it’s easier to go through a drive through or just keep on with that caffeine and sugar habit.  And so that kind of eating and drinking makes us more tired so we go to the quick processed meals and drink sodas and wine for a pick me up or an instant feel good which makes us more tired.  And so the cycle continues.  Whoa.  It’s a crazy hard cycle to break.  Because tiredness leads to apathy.  Just order the pizza.  Just drink that diet Coke.  And I think that’s how really unhealthy or overweight people get into the never-ending spiral.  Malnourished leads to tired which leads to bad food choices which leads to more malnourished that leads to more tired that leads to more bad food choices.  

What the body needs is the kickstart of water and nutrients.  Your body craves the vitamins and minerals that restores all that energy that you may be missing.  I don’t know of any tired mammas that wake up peppy and say “Hey, I’m going to spend my day in the kitchen making wonderful healthy meals for me and my family!”

Enter the multivitamin.

This is your easiest new habit thus far!  Start taking a multivitamin.  It’s not a substitute for healthy eating (which is where you should be getting your vitamins and minerals) but multivitamins are SUPPLEMENTS to give our body what we currently aren’t feeding it.  It’s a great place to start and then when you are feeling a little more energetic, then you will start making better food choices.


WHY????

For the majority of my life, I’ve been a major rule follower.  I was that student that did exactly what the teacher/coach/friend said because of my fear of getting in trouble or, sadly, the fear that someone wouldn’t like me.  But in my early to mid 30s, I ran smack into my self esteem.  Well hello there newly found confidence.  My newly confident 30s morphed me into a teacher’s/advisor’s/doctor’s worst nightmare.  I had become the person that didn’t just follow somewhat blindly anymore.  And I’m now that person that has to know “WHY” when someone gives me advice or an order.  

So why exactly is it going to benefit me to take a multivitamin?  Because I’m not about to take 15 seconds out of my day to do something that is a waste of time unless it is watching reality tv.

The short, layman’s answer is because vitamins and minerals are the building blocks of health.  They enable our cells to function and our bodies to heal and grow.  And there are 13 of these essential vitamins that our body counts on each and every day.  Oh, and let’s not forget minerals.  They are just as equally important and there are about 80 of those that our body looks for in our diet to keep us movin’ and groovin’.  Without these vitamins and minerals, our body just kind of starts going into hibernation.  It just stops operating like we need it to.  Without vitamins and minerals our bodies feel listless and blah.  Wait - I can be less tired by just taking a multivitamin?!  Uh, yeah, that’s what I’m saying.   


THE GOLDILOCKS DOSE - GETTING IT “JUST RIGHT” 

For supplementation purposes, you’ll be ingesting vitamins that are either water soluble or fat soluble or a multivitamin that contains both water and fat soluble vitamins.  It’s pretty important to know the difference because you don’t want to under dose or overdose.  Water soluble vitamins are stored, delivered and carried through your body with the water that is in your body.  (You have been drinking water, right?!)  If you ingest too much of a water soluble vitamin, it may make you a little bit stomach sick, but the excess will be transported out with your water outtake.  Your body will ONLY use the amount of vitamin dosage that your body NEEDS  so there is no need to go nuts on taking multi amounts of multi vitamins.  And you can’t load up in one day on what you think your body will use over a period of days.  Consistent even dosage (and eating) is key.  This is especially true of fat soluble vitamins.  (This would be vitamin A, D, E and K.)  These vitamins are absorbed and stored in fat tissues and are harder to metabolize out of the body.  So even though your body uses just the vitamins that it needs, an overdose of fat soluble vitamins can be potentially toxic on your kidney and liver as they work in overdrive to get the excess vitamins out of your system.        


WHAT TIME IS IT?

There is no magic time of day to take a vitamin but there are some good tips to go by to get the most bang for the buck.  It’s always best to take vitamins with food.  It’s kind of like opening up the highway for easier transport because your body is awake already with digestion.  A multivitamin is perfect to take with your morning breakfast and will get you amped up for the day, but often multivitamins with iron in them tend to have a side effect of nausea.  So if that’s the case, then just take your iron fortified multivitamin or your iron supplement at night and sleep away that side effect.  Iron and magnesium are also not really friendly with calcium supplements.  They kind of fight for absorption so if you are taking these supplements, take them at different times.  Like calcium in the morning and iron in the evening.

And finally, and most importantly, I have no idea what other foods and drinks and meds your body is ingesting and processing, so YOU need to personally do a google search and see your doc on how your nutrition and medicinal lifestyle may be affected by vitamin supplements.  Thyroid medications, steroids, birth control pills, retinol, antibiotics and even aspirin can all have drug interactions with a simple multivitamin.  Check it out.  Know what is going in that awesome bod of yours.


HOW?

Is she seriously going to write a paragraph on how to swallow a pill?  No no and no.  I am aware that you can probably swallow a pill without my guidance.  But here's this:  Keep vitamins in their original or plastic container.  Do not store in a glass container.  Drink with a full glass of water.  Hey you got some water in your day too!  Multitasking!  Holla!

I take my vitamin in liquid shake form.  It’s just how I do.  It works for me and oftentimes multitasks my vitamin for the day AND a breakfast or post workout drink or afternoon snack.  I highly recommend it if you like this route of multivitamin nutrition.  Ask me whatever you want about Shakeology.  I sell it for the sole purpose of being able to buy it for me and my hubby.  I can, of course, get you a bag of Shakeology too or even a sample to try.  Just ask me.  It’s good stuff.

Shakeology Website.  Here it is.


AND FINALLY, MEET THE VITAMINS

The vitamin and mineral yearbook Who’s Who for your perusal!  You need 'em all on your running team.  Recruit them today.  They love to meet you for any meal.


Team Vitamin

13 Team Members / 11 Varsity Players

A

Great eye sight.  Never gets sick.  Loves carrots & sweet potatoes.

D

Best friends with calcium.  Majoring in bone health.  Favorite foods eggs, milk & cheese.  Always in the sun.

E

Works as an antioxidant and heals wounds after game day.  Loves salads and vegetable oils.

K

Interested in majoring in bone health.  Eats salads everyday.

C

Super smart vitamin.  Always healthy.  Favorite color orange.  Loves all colorful foods.

B 1

Birth name is Thiamin.  Loves to process carbs.  Favorite foods are bread and pasta.

B 2

Birth name is Riboflavin.  Lettered in converting food to energy.  Loves dark meats and beef.  

B 3

Birth name is Niacin.  Aids in digestion and makes energy out of food.  Favorite foods are fish and poultry.

B 6

Breaks down proteins and sugars.  Majoring in nervous system health.  Eats cereals, bananas and potatoes.

B 12

Lettered in creating red blood cells and oxygen creation.  Eats salmon and beef.

B Folate

Is the heart of the team.  Works from the cellular level.  Eats beans and salads everyday for lunch.



Team Mineral

80 Team Members / 8 Key Varsity Players

Calcium

Works out everyday with bones and teeth.  Recovers with dairy products and dark green veggies.

Chloride

Hangs out all the time with Sodium and Potassium.  Works on healthy nerves and muscles.  

Iodine

Regulates all thyroid hormones.  Has great hair and teeth.  Wants to live near the ocean to eat seafood all day.

Iron

Transports oxygen via red blood cells to all parts of the body.  Loves dark green salads.  Gets nauseous when taking pills.

Manganese

Best friends with Vitamin E as they both heal wounds and are majoring in antioxidant studies.  Loves nuts and legumes.

Potassium

Best friends with Sodium and Chloride.  Works on muscle function and balances the water in the body.  Lives on broccoli & bananas.  

Sodium

Everyone loves this mineral but too much of him goes a long way.  Controls muscle and nerve function with potassium and chloride.  

Zinc

Hangs out with the cellular group keeping them healthy.  Also gives a hand to the liver and digestive tract.  Eats eggs and lean meat each morning.


 

http://www.aomega.com/minerals/minerals.htm

http://www.freehealthguide.com/13essentialvitamin/

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/vitamin-mineral-sources