Nutrition

[Filero]

While on the topic of nutrition, how does everyone feel about Antioxidants?

I work for a marketing company promoting the new Snapple Antioxidant Waters and they are packed with antioxidants. i've recently learned a lot about how antioxidants can protect your body from tissue damage and I've found this interesting.


Any thoughts?

The consumption of vegetables and fruit high in antioxidants is closely linked to positive health outcomes. The consumption of isolated antioxidant vitamin supplementation is *not* linked to the same. In fact, scientists are starting to ring the alarm bells over this practice. In short, I believe it is only ignorance which could make someone believe that dumping a bunch of magic vitamins of some sort into water will make that water healthier.

If you believe in antioxidants, get them the way that is proven to make you healthier: eat vegetables and fruit. Otherwise, not only do expensive boutique vitamin/antioxidant waters probably not make you any healthier, there's a chance they'll do the opposite.

[Ghost]

While on the topic of nutrition, how does everyone feel about Antioxidants?

I work for a marketing company promoting the new Snapple Antioxidant Waters and they are packed with antioxidants. i've recently learned a lot about how antioxidants can protect your body from tissue damage and I've found this interesting.


Any thoughts?

To be fair in the process of making that Snapple drink all the antioxidants are probably destroyed.

If you want antioxidants look to fruit and so on, not Snapple.

Its a marketing gimick imo. Id like to see how much anitoxidant is actually left in a snapple drink compared to a pack of blueberries.

I bet there is no comparison.

[Filero]

Here are the ingredients, I found on the web (hopefully it's correct). A lot of sugar, some electrolytes, preservatives, a few antioxidant vitamins, and a little bit of antioxidant extracts of some sort. Ghost is probably right that the antioxidant load is reduced in the processing. Beyond that, there's no evidence consuming vitamins in water like this leads to better health. Marketing gimmick for the gullible.



Ingredients: Purified water, sugar, potassium citrate (electrolyte), citric acid, natural flavors, fruit and vegetable juices (for color), modified corn starch, calcium lactate (electrolyte), calcium gluconate (electrolyte), magnesium lactate (electrolyte), vitamin E acetate, calcium disodium edta (to maintain freshness), grape seed extract, zinc gluconate (electrolyte), vitamin A palmitate, EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), manganese gluconate (electrolyte).

[nycbattle]

The consumption of vegetables and fruit high in antioxidants is closely linked to positive health outcomes. The consumption of isolated antioxidant vitamin supplementation is *not* linked to the same. In fact, scientists are starting to ring the alarm bells over this practice. In short, I believe it is only ignorance which could make someone believe that dumping a bunch of magic vitamins of some sort into water will make that water healthier.

If you believe in antioxidants, get them the way that is proven to make you healthier: eat vegetables and fruit. Otherwise, not only do expensive boutique vitamin/antioxidant waters probably not make you any healthier, there's a chance they'll do the opposite.

Thanks for all the feedback. There are a lot of health conversations out there and its always educational to get so many informed opinions.

[Nutrition]

This is great post, it is giving very important information. Really it will workout for me,thank you very much for sharing this info.

[Filero]

Some quick follow-up. this came out recently: Vitamin supplements may increase risk of death | Science | The Guardian

Some choices quotes:

Vitamin supplements taken by millions of people do not increase life expectancy and may raise the risk of a premature death

The bottom line is current evidence does not support the use of antioxidant supplements in the general healthy population

The evidence suggests it would be safer to obtain the chemicals not as supplements but by eating plenty of fruit and vegetables.

Just more evidence that dumping vitamins into water (or whatever) doesn't make that product healthier, in fact it may make the product less healthy.

[Christine06]

Great thread,

Nutritional supplements represent a support to our body. The nutritional supplements clean the human body and restore the deficiencies present inside. While taken constantly, nutritional supplements promote good health and help prevent disease. Nutritional supplements represent a good thing that we need. It is best to satisfy the body's vitamin and mineral needs with a healthy diet.

[Filero]

Great thread,

Nutritional supplements represent a support to our body. The nutritional supplements clean the human body and restore the deficiencies present inside. While taken constantly, nutritional supplements promote good health and help prevent disease. Nutritional supplements represent a good thing that we need.

Christine, can you support this statement "nutritional supplements represent a good thing that we need", given recent research showing nutritional supplements may actually make you less healthy? I posted one link above, about antioxidant supplementation. I have other recent research showing links to prostate cancer and supplementation of certain other vitamins. I think it will be very difficult for you to come up with studies showing that multivitamins lead to overall better health, whereas it's becoming increasingly easier to show alarming links between vitamin supplementation and negative health consequences. In short, I don't think you can support your statements that nutritional supplements "promote good health" or are a "good thing that we need" with solid science showing positive health consequences such as decreased all-cause mortality. I don't think the assumption that multivitamins are a "safety net" can be supported anymore.

My advice here would be to stick with low-potency supplementation, if you're going to supplement. But the important thing is to re-double your efforts to get all your nutrition from food.

It is best to satisfy the body's vitamin and mineral needs with a healthy diet.

Exactly.

[DickHardman]

my diet consits of peanuts, almonds, fruit juice, protein shakes mostly. many lunch trucks have hardboiled eggs on them, i eat some of those when i see a truck that has them. i occasionally eat pizza or a burger, nothing too crazy though.

i ordered a 5 lb tub of gold standard whey protein, im going to mix a large bottle of that and take it with me to work everyday so i can just consume protein and muscle building nutrients all day long as i do manual labor to make my body even bigger and stronger than it already is.

Bulk Nutrition - Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Protein - Gold Standard at discount prices! (Whey Protein, Whey Protein, Protein, Protein, Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC), Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC), Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC), Whey Protein, Whey

[Ace Dutrey]

Great topic and great read. The problem with most people I believe is that most do not know how to differentiate between eating for sport and eating a complete balanced diet. I guess the difference is that some people eat for rapid weight loss and others eat for a gradual but healthy weight loss. The latter of the two seems a lot healthier to maintain a perfect homeostasis but takes up more time. I'm assuming people especially us Americans are so used to taking shortcuts in order to maximize fat loss that we border closely to dangerous rather than the old "slowly but surely".

[rvafighter]

All of these supplement-waters available on the market today make me realize how dumb the general public is.

Vitamin Water is probably the king of marketing trickery...for the calories, you are better off drinking a can of Pepsi than a 16oz bottle of Vitamin Water.

As far as nutrition goes, I've been following the advice of that guy from Fitness Made Simple, following this philosophy I've seen very good results (leaner body, more muscle mass, without significant weight gain or loss).

"Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper."

For breakfast I load up on a mix of eggs, deli meat, bagels, cereal, fruit, basically trying to throw a little bit of everything. Lunch is usually a sandwich or can of tuna or salmon with fresh carrots, celery, green pepper, cucumber, etc. For dinner, if its after a workout, I'll eat lean protein with a small portion (1-2 servings max) of whole wheat pasta, cous cous, or brown rice. I try not to take in any sugar after 2pm.

I cheat regularly after lunch with Sour Straws. Good god those things are good.

Basically take in the majority of your calories before 2pm, and you'll be better able to process those nutrients and have energy available.

A lot of people nowadays skip breakfast, get fast food for lunch, and gorge themselves at dinner. That is basically completely backwards as far as what to do from a health standpoint - its obvious when you walk down the street in most places in the US and it seems like 2 out 3 people are at least mildly overweight.

[Tom Yum]

Because of the training program I am going through, I am encouraged to stack up on as much food as possible because I'll burn through 1,000 - 2,000 calories per day.

While I understand this is important, I'd like to know more specifically what I should be eating?

I try to stack up on vegetables (both raw and cooked), fruit when its available and get rice whenever I can. I also get good portions of lean meat.

I've cut out caffeine during the week...but sadly make up for it on the weekends (coffee etc.)

[Lone_Knight]

I usually make a protein shake with fruit, skim milk, and whey protein isolate in the morning, and at night after workout. I usually try and consume some green tea for anti-oxidants,and take an omega 3 supplement. Other then that my diet changes depending on what I want. Healthy choices of course though.

[Filero]

Because of the training program I am going through, I am encouraged to stack up on as much food as possible because I'll burn through 1,000 - 2,000 calories per day.

While I understand this is important, I'd like to know more specifically what I should be eating?

I try to stack up on vegetables (both raw and cooked), fruit when its available and get rice whenever I can. I also get good portions of lean meat.

Eat a variety of real food. Vegetables, fruits, meats, whole grains, nuts, eggs, etc. Go heaviest on the veggies. Nuts are a nice choice for getting incredibly healthy calories and healthy fats, very calorie-dense but nutritious.

I've cut out caffeine during the week...but sadly make up for it on the weekends (coffee etc.)

How come? I understand if you just plain don't like being addicted to caffeine. That said, the evidence is pretty convincing that black coffee is one of the healthier things you can drink. Plain (no milk) Green tea, too. The only reason I would cut these out is if I just hated the caffeine addiction.

[Lone_Knight]

How come? I understand if you just plain don't like being addicted to caffeine. That said, the evidence is pretty convincing that black coffee is one of the healthier things you can drink.

Not many people drink coffee black.
Tea tastes a bit better black, i've been trying to get used to the bitter taste without milk. I read somewhere the minute you add something to tea some of the anti-oxidants leave. I'm not sure if that's true. It was some German study.