Podcast Episode #77: The 4 Supplements That You Should Definitely Be Taking

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In this January 13 free audio episode: how to pick supplements, tylenol PM for sleep, what are oxalates, coffee in the evening, multivitamins and urine color and how to run faster.

Remember, if you have any trouble listening, downloading, or transferring to your mp3 player just e-mail ben@bengreenfieldfitness.com.And don't forget to leave the podcast a ranking in iTunes - it only takes 2 minutes of your time and helps grow our healthy community! Just click here to go to our iTunes page and leave feedback.

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Listener Q&A:

Do you have a question for Ben? Just call 1-877-209-9439 and leave a voicemail, leave a Skype voicemail to username "pacificfit", or e-mail ben@bengreenfieldfitness.com.

Listener Kai asks: "Here is a fundamental question regarding nutrition – how can the average person make educated decisions on what their intake should be? There is a massive amount of information out there regarding what people should / should not eat or take in terms of supplements, but the challenge is deciphering what is valid science and what is marketing. Good recent example – I know you had a podcast on fish vs. flax seed oil and the verdict was flax seed. At an intuitive level the analysis made sense to me. I opened up the recent issue of Men’s Fitness, and there is a small paragraph about some study that concluded flax seed was linked to something bad (don’t have the article in front of me now). It seems very difficult at times to make intelligent decisions given the volume of conflicting information out there. Any guidance on some basic principles / rules?"

Listener Bryan asks:"Do you have any thoughts on the use of Tylenol PM. Even with heavy training and being tired I still have sleep issues of falling to sleep or being such a light sleeper I awaken thru out the night. To overcome such I have been using the Tylenol PM but don't like and wondered about using it often."

Listener Jason asks: "What are oxalates and should I be concerned eating too many of them if I especially enjoy eating foods such as sweet potatoes and spinach? I have also read about certain foods containing "enzyme-inhibitors" and was wondering if this is the same as oxalates and if those should possibly be avoided as well?"

Listener Tracey asks:"I am interested in finding the best resource(s) on functional training, and wondered if you could tell me what you recommend. I live in Canada where I have just begun to teach “CAGE Fitness” classes, and I’m a certified personal trainer who does in-home training with clients who have little or no equipment. I bring along bands, and some light weights, but I am limited in the amount of weight I can bring to my clients. I am new to personal training, but I have been doing MMA for a few years and have found that bodyweight and functional training are the best for overall fitness, and I’d like to have an arsenal of funcitonal training exercises that range from beginner to expert to use with my clients."

Ben recommended to Tracey the free exercises photos and videos at http://www.pacificfit.net, as well as the highly function moves in the book at http://www.shape21.com.

Listener Pete asks: "You talk about green tea or coffee in the morning before going for the morning movement session, and was wondering about any similar protocol before bed. I've been making sure I eat at least 2 hours before sleeping, though am curious to know if there is any benefit/adverse effect from drinking coffee or green tea within that 2 hour period before sleep or should I just stick with water? Obviously, some people have trouble sleeping as a result of the caffeine, though I never really have this problem."

Listener Jason asks:"Been listening to your podcast for a few months now and just had a question for you. I have recently started taking a multivitamin and have noticed that the color of my urine is much more yellow than it was previously. I typically drink a lot of water during the day and always have clear to lightly colored urine, so I don't think that dehydration is responsible for this change. I'm guessing that this color difference is due to excess vitamin which is not absorbed by the body being excreted in the urine. My question is, is this safe? By ingesting more of certain vitamins and minerals than my body is using, am I making my kidneys work overtime to get rid of the excess? The point of taking the multivitamin is to benefit my health; I want to make sure that I'm not unknowingly damaging it. Also, if you think it is okay to continue use, are you familiar with this product and do you think it is a good choice for multivitamin? Many thanks for your help, and love listening to your show."

Listener Lisa asks: "New to your podcast (which I think are awesome) and new to triathlon. I did a few sprint distance races last year and my goal is an olympic distance this year. Here's my question...my swim and bike times are competitive with my age group (I'm 43), but my run time is slooooow...it's killing my overall time. How can I improve my speed?"

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For the next 2 weeks, the podcasts from Ben Greenfield Fitness will primarily focus on "Listener Q&A's", due to Ben's undertaking of a huge triathlon-focused side project that is going to bring you an instant and affordable way to get customized triathlon training advice! For more information on that project, and to stay in the loop on what's going on with that project (called the Rock Star Triathlete Academy) simply go to http://www.rockstartriathlete.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.