Supplements for exercise and general

Medicines Supplements
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Sorry, long post, a buncha stuff here…

I know that ideally we would get all the nutrition we need from the food we eat. We would get it all from good wholesome freshly prepared and perfectly-balanced meals.

But the reality of life is that sometimes we don’t get that. We don’t always eat the way we should and don’t always spend the time to make good things from natural fresh ingredients. Sometimes life gets in the way.

Raise your hand if you always have perfectly balanced meals made from fresh wholesome ingredients, and eat properly every day.

Because of the realities of life, I think there are some nutritional supplements and meds that can be helpful.

Two groups here - some things that I think can be a general help for diabetes, and things specific to exercise.

General:

Alpha-lipoic acid:

Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is an antioxidant. Antioxidants protect against damage to the body’s cells.

ALA may help reduce the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy / nerve damage that can be caused by diabetes.

A few studies have suggested that ALA supplements may enhance the body’s insulin sensitivity.

Personal note:
I have been taking ALA for about 25 years. Like before it was even a “thing” anybody did.

I have commented before on how I don’t think Fiasp is any different for me. But I don’t know, maybe it is because pretty much any insulin I use works tremendously well. Maybe the fact I don’t see much of a difference in Fiasp is because NovoLog or Humalog are also super fast. It might be from exercise, or my metabolism, I truly don’t know.

But possibly the fact that I have been taking ALA for so long means insulin just kicks ass for me. :man_shrugging: I don’t know.

Based on personal experience and from what I have read, I recommend ALA. I take 600mg daily, and I’ll do the milkshake challenge with any non-D.

Lisinopril

Lisinopril is an ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitor. ACE inhibitors are used to slow the progression of kidney disease.

There is an enzyme that acts as a vaso-constrictor in your body (tightens or constricts the blood vessels). The one the ACE inhibitor targets is angiotensin, it is a protein hormone that causes vaso-constriction and an increase in blood pressure.

What an ACE inhibitor does is inhibit this enzyme, so it reduces its effect of constricting the blood vessels.

By blocking angiotensin it reduces pressure directly in the kidneys. Reducing pressure within the kidneys reduces the damage to the vessels that make up the kidney. They have found that angiotensin is the one to go after for kidney protection.

Talk to your endo about Lisinopril. Keep your kidneys safe for the next 100 years. I have been on it for about 25 years, and my kidneys are doing great.

Exercise related:

(Tagging a few exercisers here @John58, @Trying, @daisymae, @LarissaW)

Yes, I know, getting everything from your meals is best. But…

Magnesium pills:
If you are sweating 5-10 pounds on a given afternoon…
:man_shrugging:

A magnesium deficiency can reduce exercise performance and can amplify some of the negative consequences of strenuous exercise like oxidative stress. Strenuous exercise is believed to increase magnesium requirements by 10-20%.

B Complex Vitamins:
B vitamins have a direct impact on energy levels. It supports the growth of red blood cells. Since it is water-soluable, there is not much of a concern for over-dosing if you take a supplement.

Sublingual B12:
B12 does not absorb well in the stomach, so the sublingual one is preferred. B12 helps with RBC formation and can help prevent certain types of anemia. It can also help with energy like the other B complex vitamins. The stress of exercise makes this a good thing to take.

To reduce muscle soreness after exercise:

I don’t believe too much in Advil or Tylenol. I rarely take them, and only after I have earned it.

But for general soreness and muscle pain from exercise, here are a few things that are natural ingredients or extracted from food sources.

Tart Cherry:
Tart cherries contain flavonoids and anthocyanins, and have anti-inflammatory properties. They can help reverse the oxidative damage that can result from strenuous exercise.

(You gotta use the tart cherry for this one, not regular cherries. I use a bottle of it - tart cherry juice - and drink a few tablespoons after exercise.)

Turmeric / Curcumin:
Same as the tart cherry, curcumin (a substance in turmeric) has been shown to reduce inflammation.

@daisymae, are you using the one with piperine? That helps with the absorption.

So, what else do you guys use?

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Really interesting and helpful! I’m going to look into supplements, too. I’m already taking magnesium for muscle cramps and it has made a difference between night and day!

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Yes, the magnesium has helped me very much.

Living where I do, sometimes the long runs are ridiculous with the heat. Before taking the magnesium, I was not considering the amount I was losing from sweat. Check out that article.

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Thanks for that article…helpful! I always enjoy reading your posts containing solid info like this.

I don’t use any supplements but might give the ALA and magnesium a shot. I do tend to sweat like a bovine when I skate. A mental thing has been holding me back from the supplement world: I don’t trust the purity/honesty of the typical supplier…Every jar I see screams “label fraud” at me. Any ideas for a trustworthy supplier ?

I’ve been munching on dried cherries as well as other dried fruit or berries for a while but nowhere near the “high dose” used in the study (45-200+ cherries per day). Have not used them in lieu of Aleve as anti inflammatory but rather just as a general healthy snack. Might give the tart cherry juice a try.

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I agree that the pills are kind of a hit-or-miss proposition. You never really know what is in there. I try to stick with bigger and older companies for things like that, instead of the new fly-by-night companies. Nature Made has a pretty good reputation, and so does Klaire Labs.

If you really want to dig into it, the Dietary Supplement Label Database gives a bunch of information. You have to compare the different brands, but it is very detailed.
https://dsld.nlm.nih.gov/dsld/

For tart cherry, I use this. They have done the work for you, just taking the juice out of the cherries. It is completely natural, nothing but tart cherry juice. So it is easy to get the “cherry” amount. Otherwise you’d have to spend all day eating them one at a time and spitting out seeds. :grinning:

Try this!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007RC6J72/

Definitely try them out! I was dying a lot before the magnesium pills. I got a recommendation from another runner and have become a huge believer in that.

Weigh yourself before and after a game, and subtract the weight of the Gatorade and water you drank during the game. You will be amazed at how much you lose from sweat!

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I’m gonna chime in on the Tumeric situation. I’ve tried two types so far, and I just bought my third brand. the first one I bought, was a complete error in judgement; it was laced with hidden sugars. I took it and my BG skyrocketed. took me a few experiments to figure this out. of course, I am no genius. then I went and returned it for another one. this one only had (less than) 1 gm of carbs and no other significant sugars, hidden or otherwise. problem with that one was that it didn’t work, even when I was taking double the recommended dosage. also, I realized that it didn’t include the Piperine (Pepper) that I needed (I think for aborbtion) and it relieved NOTHING. brought that back without the recipt for store credit (I had to purchase $38 bucks worth of yogurt to even out my store credit…thats a lot of yogurt :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:) (I eat the sheeps milk and the goats milk ones 'cause they seem to be the only ones I can digest without feeling ill in the tummy; I also prefer their flavors to the old fashioned cows milk)

then I went to The Vitamin Shop where the manager has worked for over 25 years. (she’s proven very very helpful in the past). we talked for a long while about needs and what I was hoping for. she knew her Sh**) So, I purchased a "triple strength turmeric with 900mg and 855mg of Curcumin and 5mg of Piperine the recommended daily dose is 1 tablet. However, Beverly (the manager) told me that she actually takes it for her migraines and that it took her a while to figure out what dosage was right for her, bc not every “suggested” daily dose is right for everyone.

now I am not just taking this for sports pains.I am also taking this for my arthritis pain. so, who the heck knows how much I will need. all I know is that I bought a good product at a reasonable price and got 50% off the second bottle bc I am a Vitamin Shop “member” and they were having an “insider’s special.” (also, even if opened and used, they let you return their products, even without a receipt, and I respect that kind of customer satisfaction service.)

so, today is my first day trying this product out. I will, as I always do, keep you all posted on whether it is working or not before I go and make any recommendations.

PS: I wanted to add that I tried the Tart Cherry (capsules) and they spiked my BGs immediately. perhaps I will try out another brand. I don’t know if it was bc of the what the capsule was made of or if it was the “cherry juice.” just food for thought; maybe this will help someone 'cause YDMV.

Signing off,
DM

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Thanks for the info DM!

I have not really noticed any issues with BG, but I always take it after exercise, along with a bunch of replenishment carbs from other sources, like chocolate milk and tart cherry juice. So anything like 1 gram would be laughed at by the rest of the stuff in my stomach!

Keep in mind, this stuff is not like a pain pill. It reduces inflammation, and can reduce the amount of pain or soreness you might not feel. But it is not as fast or as strong as taking Advil or Tylenol or aspirin.

The good thing is that it is not as harmful as continued long-term medications. It is a natural ingredient. Long-term Advil use can cause kidney issues, so I try to limit those.

On the other hand, curcumin can possibly have positive benefits for the kidneys:

5. Summary

…Curcumin is a cheap nutritional ingredient with negligible side effect. It is also clear that curcumin has significant anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and various other features which make it a strong candidate to be included in therapeutic armamentarium for treating CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease)

Link:

An easy way to think about the piperine is this. The stuff that works is the curcumin.

It is like how you take insulin. You can take insulin with a pump or with an IM shot. You have found that insulin works more efficiently and faster with an IM shot than with the pump

Piperine is simply like the IM shot. It makes the curcumin get absorbed better, nothing else.

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thanks for that. of all I have researched and read, nothing has been easier or simpler to understand than your explanation!!! :ok_hand:

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Same here! So far, I’m only taking magnesium but it has made a world of difference for me. I used to have multiple, severe muscle spasms, even during runs, per day. Now I rarely have them. I just take one capsule a day of Nobi Magnesium Complex 500mg. Thanks for the excellent article, @Eric.

That said, I’ve had the same issue as @daisymae in buying supplements. They are frequently laced with sugar, colors, and other toxic ingredients. I purchased a Vitamin B and Calcium supplement online without seeing the full list of ingredients. Big mistake, full of toxic things.

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a new one I found, although not truly considered a “supplement” is something I bought to help me digest dairy products. there was absolutely NOTHING on the label suggesting any kind of glucose; yet, 2 times in a row my BGs rose considerably (88 to 125 within an hour and again from 66 to 130 ).

BEWARE OF THE SUGARS FOR THEY HIDE BEHIND TREES, etc. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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So @eric - I got excited about ALA a while ago because I take tonnes of insulin to cover carbs compared to the textbook and becasue I was worried about long term diabetes compilations to nerves. (As an aside, my son has the same issue with the tonnes of insulin to cover carbs so it could be genetic.). So when I went shopping I got all confused.

Some people said you need to go with R ALA and then I tried to find that in the pharmacy and failed.

Any tips on what I should look for on a bottle of ALA?

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The R form is the natural form, but it not very stable in pills, while the S form is the one that is chemically produced, but it may not be fully absorbed.

Ideally we’d eat foods that contain enough naturally, like spinach, broccoli, etc. But since I can’t guarantee that I eat enough of that stuff daily, I take a pill. Even if I am only absorbing half of it from the pill, taking the pill still means I could be getting more than I would otherwise get. The pills I use have 600mg, which I think is the highest amount I have seen. At least that used to be the case.

Yes, there is no guarantee of what you are getting when you buy it. But like I said earlier, I think a well-established company seems to be a good way to go.

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Thanks that is helpful. The info I was questioning basically said that if it was not R ALA it was useless and you should not waste your time. I could not find R ALA very easily and when I did find it, it was expensive.

Your comment makes sense - just take a reasonable dosage of synthetic ALA and do not worry that it is not all absorbed. :slight_smile:

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I certainly can’t say for sure. But I know I have been taking the synthetic forever, and I am happy with how everything has been working for me.

I don’t know for sure. It might be because I am a Type 159 as my endo @LarissaW has recently declared.

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Fantastic post! Agree wholeheartedly. !!! I take alpha lipoic acid but together with. Acetyl l carnitine. For nerve protection. Look it up they work synergistically :slight_smile:

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I feel like you’ve read my mind. I’ve recently been focused on an anti-inflammatory/antioxidant diet to try to get rid of this damn frozen shoulder and added a few additional supplements… in addition to the ones that I already take. My pill box is exploding at the seams. My list of current supplements is below and I also just ordered ALA. I currently take all of them at the same time (on a full stomach, or they come right back up). Any need to separate out throughout the day? Should I be worrying about the affect on kidneys/liver with any of these? I also have prescription anti-migraine medications that I take after dinner, on that full stomach.

  • calcium
  • probiotic
  • B-2 (riboflavin)
  • turmeric curcumin (w/pepper)
  • vitamin D
  • black cohosh
  • butterbur
  • feverfew
  • flaxseed oil / fish oil
  • magnesium
  • iron

Phew! I’m guessing, to a degree, that my urine is quite expensive. Jessica

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LOL

Yep, I could go down your list and check off a lot of the same things!

Vitamin D for heart health (I take D3), turmeric/curcumin, all the B Complex, including B12, probiotics, iron, magnesium, the oils…

For the oil, check out this one. It tastes pretty good. I put it on sandwiches and salads. And other times I take a few spoons straight from the bottle.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010ED3DQ/
image
Try it :arrow_up: sometime!

The HDL/LDL thing has been discussed here a few times, we can find those if you are interested in cholesterol stuff.

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Thank you! I just ordered the Udo’s Oil and will give it a shot. My husband (who runs marathons) and I are trying the anti-inflammatory/antioxidant stuff together. He is looking for faster recovery / better health … I just want to get back to playing tennis and being able to sleep through the night without pain!

Have you had any side effects with Lisinopril? Thanks! Jessica

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Great! Let me know what you think. If you have not taken too many oils, start off a bit slow on it and gradually build up the amount you are taking. You can eventually build up to a few tablespoons a day. If you are not used to it and you start off with too much, it can have some side effects. :toilet: :roll_of_toilet_paper:

I have not had any problems. Some people report a slight cough from it. But I never had that issue.

If you have a cooperative endo, it’s easy to try though.

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@eric - I started dropping acid two days ago :joy:

@JessicaD - If you start on ALA (and you are lucky to have the gene related to “asparagus pee”) then your urine will be expensive and smelly…

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