View Full Version : Question about vitamins and carbs.
Timinator
06-04-2012, 17:38
Ok so I have 2 questions. First, is a multivitamin good enough to supplement myself on the trail or do I need some additional, specific vitamins as well to stay healthy? Second, how many grams of carbs do I need daily on the trail? Thanks
Check on page 6 of this 10 page article on hiking the AT from Backpacker Magazine. ignore the popup. It also provides a wonderful summary of what to expect in each major trail section.
http://www.backpacker.com/november_2008_american_classic_hiking_the_appalach ian_trail/destinations/12530?page=3
Thru hikers typically burn about 5000 calories a day. I carried a good multi-vitamin and even supplemented olive oil in my daily trail dinners to boost my calorie intake. Look at a thru hike like a series of 3-7 day hikes before hitting town where you can fuel up even more.
I'd also suggest adding a variety of foods in your pack to avoid getting burned out on eating the same old stuff. Carry fresh fruit out of town or even a deli sandwich to eat that same day or night. Lots of options.....
Cheers,
Odd Man Out
06-04-2012, 19:23
Ok so I have 2 questions. First, is a multivitamin good enough to supplement myself on the trail or do I need some additional, specific vitamins as well to stay healthy? Second, how many grams of carbs do I need daily on the trail? Thanks
There have been a few threads recently on hiking nutrition and even more if you search back further:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?84674-Energy-drinks
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?11348-Muscle-Management
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?84547-Lightest-amp-Most-Filling-Food
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?78200-Master-Cleanse-and-Backpacking
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?84234-Eating-healthy%28er%29-on-the-trail
The bottom line is there is no consensus. As for a multivitamin, taking one won't hurt, but many people don't and do fine. My opinion is that looking for that one nutritional supplement that makes you healthy, or look for that perfect balance of carbs, protein and fat are quests doomed to fail.
Eat a balanced diet. If you are hungry, eat more. Eating colorful foods with short ingredient lists can't hurt. Take a multivitamin if it makes you feel better. Stay hydrated. Don't worry, be happy.
That last bit is probably copyrighted and used without permission. Sorry.
Feel free to accept dissenting opinions.
Happy Trails (nuts, that's probably copyrighted too).
Ok so I have 2 questions. First, is a multivitamin good enough to supplement myself on the trail or do I need some additional, specific vitamins as well to stay healthy? Second, how many grams of carbs do I need daily on the trail? Thanks
If you want a gram count of the carbs you need we will have to make some assumptions. If you are hiking 8-10 hours day in and day out and your burning 5000 cal per day like Spokes assumes then you need at least 700 grams of carbohydrates each day. That's between 55 and 60 percent of your total daily calories. You can do a web search on the subject and get gobs of information.
ChinMusic
06-04-2012, 21:14
Do I need a multivitamin on the trail?
All I know is that I am beating the hell out of my body when hiking 8-12 hours a day. I figure it needs all the help I can give it, so yes, I take a multi.
It's nearly impossible to know if you'll need additional vitamins on the trail or in one day of your life. Have you ever completely found the vitamin and mineral content of everything you put in your mouth in one day? I did that during a diet many years back, and it was tedious enough that I limited my diet to a very small selection of foods because I didn't want to do the research on other foods. I even created a web page so I could combine several different foods and quantities to easily determine if I got 100% of every mineral and vitamin. So much work.
Fortunately you don't need to worry about that. Just eat as much as you can, and take a multivitamin anyway. If you crave any particular food when you get to town, be sure to indulge. You probably crave that food because it has something your body is deficient of.
Don't make things more complicated than they need to be. Task #1 is to eat enough. That's not easy if you're like most of us.
Don't try to guess how many carbs you'll need. Just eat as much food of all kinds as you possibly can. Personally I've been bringing more fats than carbs these days and that seems to work really well for me, but I'm not thru-hiking. When you are thru-hiking you need to eat more of everything no matter what you are carrying. Whatever you have, it won't be enough. Hence those epic town binges.
Nothing wrong with finding out how many carbs are in your trail diet though. Along with fat and protein. Finding that out is how I learned that I have a HUGE amount of protein in my trail diet before I even add protein powder. That's why I've been looking into powdered flavoring and sweetener so I can replace the protein powder with carbs and/or fats.