You are going on a journey You can only take one supplement. Which one would that be?

[Brubru]

Im preparing for my long walk and have to take minimum things with me. Besides the weight, the non practicality of taking many supplements along The Way. So I just want to take one if that. I'll be walking for 35 days. 800k. Sleeping in albergues so need to carry the basics which includes a sleeping bag and of course my T3  

[Clutter]

BruBru,

If I had to lug them with me I'd only take supplements to correct deficiencies or very low levels.

[Brubru in reply to Clutter]

I haven't tested in a while Clutter. I take a few at the moment but thinking of taking just the most important one which I have no clue. D3 is not going because I'll have plenty of sun walking in Spain. 

[Clutter in reply to Brubru]

Brubru,

Unless you are deficient none of them are essential.

[Brubru in reply to Clutter]

Good point clutter!!! And I've been taking all of them for a while so probably not deficient anymore. Thank you  

[SmallBlueThing]

B vitamins for energy utilisation.

If you sweat much, make sure you replenish your potassium -- bananas, veggies... not supplements.

[Brubru in reply to SmallBlueThing]

Thank you SmallBlue Thing. I actually do sweat a fair bit. Noted:lots of bananas

[Framboise]

I would take magnesium because I am deficient in it and because I found it helpful on holiday when I used to walk a lot. I used to take Nutri's UltraMuscleze with me which is a powder and very light to carry, although these days I use Carolyn Dean's ReMag solution, but that's a liquid so too heavy to carry with you all that way.

Good luck, I'm looking forward to hearing about your journey when you get back, it's something I would love to have done having heard my brother enthuse about it so much

[Brubru in reply to Framboise]

I've been taking magnesium for a while, I'll have a look at the one you mention in power should be easier. Framboise, I'm actually considering setting up an instagram account, my whole family is in Brasil, and they would like to follow my journey too. As I'm on exam preparation at university, this all took a back seat, I'm trying to contain my excitement but still feeling like a child on Christmas eve at the ripe age of 44 :-). As soon as I have that account and the donation page that Louise here will help me set up, I'll write a new post. I'm following this forum, maybe it will help you decide about coming. caminodesantiago.me/community/

[Howard39 in reply to Brubru]

There is magnesium and magnesium so taking the right one is essential. A red cell magnesium test will show deficiency levels. I have magnesium sulphate injections which are difficult to take whilst travelling. However, by bypassing the stomach the majority is absorbed. According  to my specialist(and me) Bio care multi mineral capsules contain magnesium chloride which is the best one to be absorbed by the stomach. I understand aprox60% or so. That may seem low but compared with the oxide variety at 4-10 % it is very good.

Also very light to carry.

[Framboise in reply to Brubru]

Oh I will certainly follow you when you post the link and I'll donate, anyone doing those walks deserves a donation! Thank you for the link to the forum, at the moment I can manage about half a mile but one of these days my back will get better Good luck...

[Sherie7373 in reply to Framboise]

U would have to drink three glasses of milk to add up to what it takes but as u know the supplements r better if it's eaten in your foods ....... and with hachimotos they tell u not to do dairy I'm ok with that because now I'm lactose intolerant 

[brfran]

I'm on the Camino Levante right now, not carrying one more thing than I have to on a Camino with nothing much in the way of pilgrims or indeed shops, but on the Frances there are plenty of pharmacies so you can always get what you need. I wouldn't count on too much sunshine once you get to Galicia, though. Spain or not there is a reason for it being green. Remember to take your EHIC. 

Buen Camino! 

[Brubru in reply to brfran]

Brfran!!!!! You're on The Way! That's great! I'm starting on May the 14th. Thought there would be more sun by then. And yes they say on the frances better infra structure. I'm so looking forward to it.  How long are you going to walk for? Is it your first time? How's your thyroid behaving? Buen Camino!!! 

[brfran]

 my first time on the Levante, but not my first Camino. I cycled the Frances in 2001, and I've been a Camino recidivist ever since. Galicia is well, damp. I'm walking as from today, after spending a week in Alicante province donkey sitting for a friend while he had his holiday. It's sunny here, near Valencia, but very windy. I don't have a thyroid any more, after it was removed together with its cancer just before Christmas, but the meds are nicely sorted and I'm feeling good. I'll walk for two weeks, then jump ahead to Ourense so as to finish in Santiago before returning home at the end of April.

Have a great time!

[SilverAvocado]

I'd be reluctant to leave supplements behind when doing a lot of exercise, as one of the things that makes me confident they work is that I often get ill if I spend a few days not taking them. 

Do you have a chance to experiment with going without for a bit of time between then and now to make sure you won't have adverse effects? 

The other question is whether you could find a way to bring them that adds very little extra weight. Is it possible to post yourself extra supplies on that walk? 

[brfran in reply to SilverAvocado]

No need to post supplies, there are plenty of pharmacies in Spain. About twice as many as bakers.

[Rosy_Holly]

If I were only allowed one vitamin or mineral it for me would be vitamin c.  I believe we are the only animal that does not make it.

[helvella Administrator in reply to Rosy_Holly]

You believe wrongly, I am afraid.

The guinea pig.

In 1907, an animal model which would eventually help to isolate and identify the "antiscorbutic factor" was discovered. Axel Holst and Theodor Frølich, two Norwegian physicians studying shipboard beriberi contracted aboard ship's crews in the Norwegian Fishing Fleet, wanted a small test mammal to substitute for the pigeons then used in beriberi research. So they fed guinea pigs their test diet of grains and flour, which had earlier produced beriberi in their pigeons, and were surprised when classic scurvy resulted instead. This was a serendipitous choice of animal. Until that time, scurvy had not been observed in any organism apart from humans and had been considered an exclusively human disease. (Some birds are susceptible to scurvy, but pigeons are unaffected by scurvy, as they produce vitamin C.) Holst and Frølich found they could cure scurvy in guinea pigs with the addition of various fresh foods and extracts. This discovery of an animal experimental model for scurvy, which was made even before the essential idea of "vitamins" in foods had been put forward, has been called the single most important piece of vitamin C research.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scurvy

Also some birds, some fish, bats and a few others.

[Rosy_Holly in reply to helvella]

Thank you.   Very interesting.   Still we do all need Vit C.

[brfran]

Oh, that's all right. Plenty of citrus fruits in Spain. Fresh orange juice squeezed in front of you for breakfast.