[pct-l] Vitamin Confusion

[bmclaughlin at bigplanet.com (Brian McLaughlin)]

----- Original Message -----

> I am a little confused about my vitamin intake on a hike.  Since I am
using
> a lot more energy and body resources on a hike, should I double my vitamin
> intake too?

I don't think it is as simple as doubling your intake.

Your body uses vitamins to help build compounds
that it uses in a wide variety of tasks, like neural
or immunity functions or maintaining your veins in
good working order. Only some of these tasks will
be doubled in intensity by strenuous hiking.

Since I am not a nutritionist, I'd recommend using
the Internet to find some of this info. A lot of this
stuff has been extensively studied by sports
researchers looking to find an edge for athletes.

However, if you are not interested in spending the
time to do the research, a relatively innocuous strategy
would be to increase your intake of water-soluble
vitamins. These vitamins need to be renewed daily,
because your body flushes away any excess intake
quickly (as opposed to fat-soluble vitamins your body
can store). It's much harder to overdose yourself on
water-soluble vitamins.