vitamins to combat the winter

Hi

Ever since the clocks changed I've been getting low level headaches, feeling tired and my 10K times have dropped by a couple of minutes.

Do you think I need to start taking vitamins/iron suppliments to combat the lack of day light I'm getting.  I'm in Aberdeenshire and only see day light at the weekend or on the couple of runs I do at lunch times.

Any advice on vitamins/suppliments would be great.

ta

pete

I do consider myself to have a healthy diet.  I am a veggie.  I regularly eat my greens, pasta etc.  I just wondered if folk take suppliments as well.

daylight maks no difference to vitamin levels bar Vit D and then you only need 20mins exposure of sun/day average to get enough

just stick to a healthy diet - even veggies don't need to supplement if you choose the right veg

I agree with Dave and Buddha about not needing supplements just a healthy diet.  However you have mentioned that you've got low energy levels for a few weeks now., so it sounds like somehtings not quite right.  Therefore if you want to tke some multi-vitamins as a temporary measure to see if they help, I don't see any harm in this.

Low energy is a classic symptom of low iron levels (probably why you mentioned it!), so you could get the same effect by making some iron rich meals, see following link for examples.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/healthy/iron-rich-vegetarian/

Hi, I personally eat more vegetables and fruit to i can procures vitamins from which I need!

Yes, plenty of fruit and veg, you only get vit D in the summer months, so it doesn't matter how much sun you get over the winter, but your body should store enough during the summer to take you through the winter months. I try and get about 10 fruit and veg a day, make sure you get enough protein, if not this will make you tired; I felt tired all the time then increased my protein intake a little and now feel much better. Check this site out for some advice around a healthy veggie diet for athletes www.nomeatathlete.com/vegetarian-diet-athletes/. I take a multi vit daily as well, I haven't had one cold since I started taking them. 

Just in case there is a old wife's tale you might hear about vit C fighting off colds. It does but there has been a few claims made that if you up your vit level's it can fight the cold for you. Never been proven but persist's as above just have a balanced diet.

I  pop multi-vitamins, iron, cod liver oil and a healthy diet. Possibly means I have expensive piss! But I think they work; I rarely feel tired or get colds.

It is harder to get enough iron as a vegetarian, unless you are particularly careful about eating enough leafy greens, eggs, pulses, dried apricots, etc.  Ideally you should meet your dietary needs from a balanced diet, but it may be worth trying an iron supplement, or going to your GP and asking for testing.

Have you tried one of the full-spectrum lights? You may have SAD - something to think about?

I did wonder if I was getting enough Iron...or do I have a low level bug...I'm doing the vitamins things for a while to see what happens...thanks for all your advice...I've had a look at the recipes pages and I'll see if I can add some to my diet as well.

thanks again.