Dietary Supplements

[Transient Being]

Anybody carry supplements with them? I've always taken them at the house with good results. I usually take fish oil, multi-vitamins and vitamin D. Thinking about what would be beneficial for long distance hike, besides vitamin pop-tart, haha. Also, I've been taking the Maximum Greens powder which is like 5 servings of vegetables:

More antioxidant capacity than 6 standard servings of vegetables. ** Produced from over 26 nutrient-dense superfoods. All natural, non-GMO & Vegetarian formula. Offers a superior blend of greens, fruits, vegetables, antioxidants and enzymes to help support good health. Greens Blend - Organically grown barley grass, wheat grass and alfalfa, combined with nutrient-rich spirulina and chlorella, to naturally supply chlorophyll and the vitamins, minerals and amino acids essential in a balanced diet. Fruit and Vegetable Blend - Optimum handpicked blend containing unique phytonutrients. These brightly-colored, fat and water-soluble pigments protect plants from the potentially damaging effects of sunlight and the environment. Research is confirming the role that these well-established compounds can play in maintaining good health.

This stuff would take the place of multi-vitamin and weight is like 15 oz. for 30 day supply. With the lack of vegetables on the trail, might be worth carrying.

[dshideler]

I take about a tbsp of bee pollen daily. It is very high in carbs, protein, amino acid, vitamins and minerals. It is considered a complete food. With the addition of roughage and water you could actually live on bee pollen alone.

[Carbo]

My body usually tells me carbs, carbs, and more carbs, which is also how I got my name.

[leaftye]

Well, you're not going to need vitamin D.

[map man]

Yes, I am a vegan and I take supplements in normal life as well as on the trail to make sure I get enough Iron, Calcium, B-Complex vitamins and Omega-3 fatty acids (I take flax seed oil in capsules for that last one), among other things.

[Pollen]

bee pollen. It is light weight and travels well.

[Blissful]

I carried Vit C, multi vite, calcium, cranberry, glucosomine, coQ10 along with my prescriptions

[Blissful]

Well, you're not going to need vitamin D.

Some many not know the reason why though....

Because you get it from sunlight

[KeyWest]

I didn't take any daily supplements on the trail, however, I think they're a great idea. I saw a lot of hikers go down because of their unvaried diet of pop-tarts and peanut butter. My method is to try to get the greatest variety of food possible. That can sometimes prove difficult on the trail, so your Maximum Greens Powder seems like a winner.

The one thing I did carry was little packets of electrolyte/vitamin B/vitamin C energy drink mix. Put it in your water to replace electrolytes. There's sugar and diet ones available at almost every supermarket along the trail. Electrolyte loss on the trail sneaks up on you sometimes, but when you get those salts back in your body, you pick right back up.

[JAK]

I have only recently learned that parsley is a great source of iron, calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C.
Who knew?

My approach is...
1. first look at what's already in my regular food.
2. next see if I can change my diet to make up any shortcomings
3. if there might still be a shortfall, consider the logic behind why it can't be practically corrected using real food rather than supplements.
4. finally, if it makes sense, take a supplement

When I looked at my exercise and hiking diets, I looked at different ways of covering the food groups and macronutrients and how it effected the vitamins and minerals. What I discovered was that there were certain vitamins and minerals which were most likely to be deficient, and it you got those right, everything else tended to be ok. The most common ones to be deficient when hiking are probably iron, calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C. For nutritional reasons and personal preference my hiking diet has evovled into...

1) oatmeal with some nuts, seeds, and dried fruit
2) tea with skim milk powder, and spices
3) lentil soup, with dried vegetables
4) some homemade jerky for something to chew on
5) some honey and or vegetable oil

This diet provides a good balance of all food groups, and is pretty flexible if you want to change the ratio of macronutrients; protien, carbs, fats. It also does a fairly decent job of covering all the vitamins and minerals, as long as you don't go overboard on honey and vegetable oil. Where it is somewhat weak is in vitamin A, and vitamin C, and also possibly calcium unless you drank alot of milk, and iron if you drank too much milk at the expense of other stuff.

The simple solution was, in one word, parsley, or more generally, dried leafy green vegetables, i.e. herbs, but parsley turned out to be the best, because it is high in iron, calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C, and can be taken in fairly high daily quantities, like up to an ounce of herbs in total if mostly parsley or something similarly. Some herbs are high in vitamin A, but not so great on C, or are too strong in flavour or certain compounds that should only be taken in smaller doses. Parsley is subtle enough that you can take up to about an ounce per day, added to soup, and that is enough to be a great supplement of iron, calcium, A and C. I pack 1 ounce of herbs for about every 2 pounds of food, which is 1-1.5 days of food for me. It is mostly parsley and chives, with some other herbs in smaller amounts. I also throw in some paprika, which is considered a spice, but is really dehydrated fruit (sweet red peppers). I tend to mix and pack my herbs and paprika directly in with my mixed vegetables and lentils, for my lentil, vegetable, and herb soup; but I keep my other spices separate and add to taste. Also the soup itself tends to vary in the amount of lentils, vegetables, and herbs, just because of the way it settles in my containers. My spices are the spices that are used in chai style tea, most of which are also good with oatmeal, or with soup. These are cardamom, cloves, ginger, black pepper, anise, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

But, if you want a good 'supplement', consider parsley.
Some say, "no one eats parsley", but you should.

[rusty bumper]

I took a multivitamin along with a baby aspirin and my BP meds every morning on my 5 month hike.

[garlic08]

I'm going to quote author Michael Pollan from "In Defense of Food": Be the type of person who takes supplements, but don't take supplements. Read the book (and it's a good one) for the explanation. Notable exceptions are vegans, like MapMan above.

I believe a relatively healthy trail diet that's not completely devoid of fresh food and variety provides what I need. I do not take supplements at home or on the trail. I'm one of those who believe supplements are money down the toilet, literally.

[BrianLe]

"I took a multivitamin along with a baby aspirin and my BP meds every morning on my 5 month hike."

Like rusty bumper, I take exactly these things, plus an Omega 3 fish oil pill daily --- whether at home or on the trail. BUT overall I'm inclined to agree with Garlic. 3 of 4 of the things I take on trail are to combat the heart disease that runs in my family (yes, even when I'm in great shape, sadly). I'm not really convinced that I need the multi-vitamin, especially on the AT. A person eats so many town meals along the way on the AT, that IMO if one takes care to get some reasonable nutrition in some of the tons of calories consumed in town stops, all is likely to be well. I do try to get some protein in every trail meal; seems like a good idea and not too difficult, but still. IMO folks worry too much about getting a really balanced diet on backpacking trips (short or long).

[Transient Being]

Some many not know the reason why though....

Because you get it from sunlight

I've actually heard that life guards are vitamin D deficient (from a knowledgeable source) plus all the publicity it has been receiving lately makes me want to take it.

[swjohnsey]

Most of the studies seem to indicate that supplements are a waste of time and might even do harm. That said, I take a multivitamin daily plus a low dose aspirin.

[JAK]

Before taking a supplement I always ask, is this making up for something that could be taken naturally. Otherwise, why would we need it? It would be interesting if brushing your teeth by chewing on a yellow birch twig, or something similar like willow or whatever, would give you the same benefit as a baby aspirin. If so, it might support the idea of taking a baby aspirin, or alternatively, brushing your teeth with sticks, if that's your thing. I suppose toothpaste and baby aspirin are LNT. I like the leaves and sticks approach because it is more in keeping with hiking in the woods. Some people might want to be on a intravenous drip and take supplements and do the 2000 miles on a treadmill. I'm more into leaves and sticks solutions. More so than the money, or health reasons, that's why I avoid supplements. Supplements exist for people to make money. Leaves and sticks simply exist.

I do take real drugs when they are prescribed by a doctor for good reasons. But I try and do what I can so my doctor doesn't have to prescibe drugs. Hiking and a good diet are good preventative and corrective medicine. Don't know why people would waste such an opportunity on pop tarts. Sure, I'll pound back the odd pop tart, but I certainly wouldn't base my hiking diet on junk food, or junk science.

[MNBackpacker]

I carry a one-a-day type multi vitamin as well as Emergen-C joint health.

[Plodderman]

No vitamins on the trial except Vitamin I.