Back to 5k road racing & a shout for the blessings of chelated zinc

[Danielj1]

Just.a message of hope for those in the early stages of recovery - with a decent diet, all the best supplements, restful sleep, restoration does occur.

Whilst my time was 5 minutes slower than a PB from 5 years ago the exciting thing was I found it all very easy and little strain to generate the muscle glycogen to get around.

If you had asked me to do this even a month ago there was little chance.

I will shout this from the roof tops my sense is at the moment (and my views may change over time ) but the number 1 supplement that has made all the difference is chelated zinc - compared to kelp, vitamin d, iron , b vits , fish oil , giving up gluten, giving up dairy, dietary changes.

In recommendations on these threads zinc gets a much smaller mention than some of the other supplements - I may be wrong but throw in my 2 pennies worth if it is of interest : )

[greygoose]

Daniel, I have been known to mention zinc, as have others. It did a lot for me, too. But, it's important to remember that supplementing with vitamins and minerals is only helpful if you need them. Excess doesn't help. With things that are water soluble, the excess is excreted. With things like iron and vit D3, excess is toxic. Which is why we always suggest people get tested before embarking on supplementation of things like that. There is no such thing as a magic, super supplement.

Congratulations on finding just what was necessary for you.

[bluebug]

Zinc and other trace minerals get a small mention because the majority of posters who come on here have such severely poor nutrient status with iron, vitamin B12 and/or vitamin D they needed to be started somewhere.

[Danielj1 in reply to bluebug]

Ok that makes sense

[Babette]

It's great that you've found something that works for you. Well done on such a good time, too. I hope that I'll soon be back running and cycling so your post has shown that it's possible. I'll ask for my zinc levels to be checked at my next blood test.

[Hidden]

Too much zinc and taken for too long can decrease copper in the body. Excessive amounts of zinc are known to contribute to infections, anemia ad scurvy like symptoms. You we lucky but please be careful.

[Danielj1]

I have taken multi vits for years but I was advised by someone on these threads that the quality of ingredients can often be poor and taken in combinations eg with iron I think become less effective

So taking this advice on board purchased some chelate zinc with added copper to avoid deficiency there for the RDA and have been delighted what a difference it made

It is a complete pain to have to take 6 individual tablets now for vits and mins compared to a multi but the huge difference in quality makes this a necessity

I did look at a solgar 2000 product that appears to have higher quality ingredients in a single pill - does anyone use this on these threads ?

[Achilles_Pain]

Sounds similar to my situation. I'm a runner, of sorts, and back in 2015 had to stop for a few months as I could barely walk (amongst all the other symptoms) after my GP decided I was cured and stopped my meds in December 2012 and I just went downhill for the next three years. After changing to a different practise my new GP put me back on levo, but warned me it will take time to get back to where I was before I was taken off the levo. The way my new GP described it was "...You know how your body is continually breaking down and rebuilding itself? Well, the thyroid controls the rebuilding, so if it isn't working you carry on breaking down but don't rebuild properly. Your body now has a lot of catching up to do, which will take a minimum of 12 months, probably a lot longer...." or words to that effect. He also said it would be a saw tooth recovery (get better, go backwards a bit, get better, go backwards a bit) and he's been right so far.

I'm still running slower than when I got all my PBs in Feb/March/April 2014, but I'm slowly getting back closer to where I was. I find the problem is my stamina, not my speed. I can run just as fast, but whereas I could maintain a 7:45 pace for 10k, now I can only keep that pace for 3/4k before I start slowing. It doesn't help I put on 2 stone while I was off my meds and I'm only slowly losing it - carrying round all that extra weight doesn't help! Recovery takes a while, too, especially the post run aches and pain. I've never tried zinc, but as I've never been tested for it I'm not sure I should just dive in - maybe I'll get myself tested as my last on the NHS was T4 only.

[Danielj1]

I have never been tested for zinc so simply decided to take RDA levels of the supplement - the main reason why was that it was promoted by a few web doctors as having the greatest effect on T4 to t3 conversion so risk / reward wise seemed to suit me - everyone has their own circumstances of course

I take the earlier point I need to confirm zinc levels so once I have used up the 2 months supply will consider a test