REVIEW: Viridian Liquid vitamin D, Cherry Night, High potency magnesium

I have recently been trying out a few products from Viridian Vitamins.  These aren't like caffeine or other stim-type products, they won't really create huge differences, but if you have issues in that area help create an environment where you get slow, steady improvement over time, so do not expect to take these & have the workout of your life, but you could be getting better recovery, better performance over time, less sickness & improved mental well being. With all that said let's crack on with the reviews.

Liquid vitamin D

This is a change from many vitamin D products as it comes in a liquid form with a dropper.  This means that you can take as much or as little as you need without the hassle of gulping down tablets or capsules.  The liquid is also flavoured with a really fantastic tasting natural orange flavour.  It goes well with shakes if you prefer to mix it into that, but is also fine to pop straight into the mouth (if you like orange it is pretty awesome just swilling it around the mouth on its own).  It is also a vegan D3 form of the vitamin.

Cherry night

This was a totally new product for me.  It is a cherry-based product with magnesium & date extract in it. Cherries have been known for a while to aid in reducing inflammation & this product is a recovery, sleep aid product.  With better recovery you will perform better so if you are likely to have stress in your life or recovery could be an issue then this product could be one to try out, you take it before bedtime & then reap the benefits as your recovery improves.

High potency magnesium

Magnesium is an important electrolyte, it is also involved in everything from bone health to muscle synthesis, so it is an important mineral.  Viridians product is unusual as it contains no fillers.  All it contains is magnesium & a capsule.  It is tasteless as you swallow a capsule, but it is good to know that you are only taking in magnesium & a little cellulose (the capsule is made from cellulose).

Overview

So, that is my view on these supplements.  If your recovery is going fine & inflammation is low you may not cherry night, if you get out in the sun & live towards the equator then maybe vitamin D isn't necessary, or if you eat a load of magnesium-rich foods then you might not need the magnesium pill.  But if you feel you may benefit from any of these, then check out Viridian Vitamins.

REVIEW: Vegvit, vitashine tablets

Recently I have been trying out the new vegvit & the new vitamin D3 tablets from vitashine. Before we look at each of these separately I would like to point out that neither vitamin D, nor a multi will give you a "I took this & gained 20 pounds" or "I took this & it made the me a beast when I worked out".  A basic multi is kind of like an insurance, you should be eating everything you need to get all the nutrients, but just in case a multi will cover any you might inadvertently miss out. This is especially true for those who are dieting down as lower calories means less chances to get everything you need.  The same is true with vitamin D, you may not be getting enough, but for different reasons we'll look at below, but first let's look at vegvit.

Vegvit

Vegvit is the new multi from the makers of vitashine & opti3 vitamin D3 & DHA/EPA pills.  This is their first go at a multi so I was interested to see what they could come up with.
My first look is quite encouraging, they have pretty much everything in it you'd want, they do not mega-dose (more is not always better) & they have a nice mix of less common things added as well (like superfood extracts etc).  Also a lot of the minerals are in the form of chelates & so are absorbed more easily than other commonly used (cheaper) ingredients.
I did find a couple of interesting points that I have asked for clarification about.  The first is that in the ingredients it says "Vitamin A (as beta-carotene & vit A conc)".  I have not heard of a vegan vitamin A (Retinol) being available?  This could be just a brand name for a proprietary carotenoid blend or similar, but I have asked about it.  I liked the inclusion of the plant extracts, that is unusual in a multi pill & I thought it was a nice touch.
The only thing you may consider 'missing' from this pill is the inclusion of a vitamin K2.  There is vitamin K1.  I know that the need has not been 100% proven, but I personally believe that it is a useful addition to the diet (either through supplements or through the inclusion of fermented foods).  It would have been perfect if it had included that (I don't think there is a multi that includes it, so it is not exactly lacking in that department, it would have been nice though) - for more on K2 check out this blogpost.
So, I'd say the pill gets 99 out of 100 as it doesn't mega-dose & has a nice mixture of vitamins, mineral & natural plant extracts.

Vitashine 1,000 & 2,500IU tablets

I'm guessing that many of you have tried out the 5,000IU vitashine capsules or the spray.  They have now expanded the range to include a 1,000IU & 2,500IU solid tablet.  Unlike a multi, you do not generally get vitamin D in plant foods (unless they are fortified).
The ideal is to get vitamin D from the sun, unfortunately, many of us work indoors & only have limited times of during the year when it is possible to synthesis vitamin D.  I have seen studies that have shown that as many as 50% or more of the population of western societies may have sub-optimal vitamin D levels!  How does that affect you?  Well, if you are a strength athlete then vitamin D can also be classed as a hormone & levels have been shown to affect strength, so if you are chronically low, then your strength may be being held back by low levels.  Also bone & teeth strength are linked to vitamin D, so adapting to a new load could be slowed if the bones are not adjusting to increased loads as quickly as they should (bones & ligaments are the slowest to adapt to changes, so they could possibly hold you back at times).  There are dozens of ways that vitamin D may affect training from immune function to strength output (in some studies), so if you are serious about strength you will make sure your vitamin D is at an adequate level.
Other factors you might like is that the tablets taste like sweets!  They are very tasty, so I would rate them for that.  If you have a sweet tooth, it could even help take off that edge?  I'm not really a 'sweet' person in general, so I'm guessing, but I thought it was worth mentioning.  The good thing is that you now have loads of options.  You can go for the spray, the 1,000IU pill, the 2,500IU pill or the 5,000IU capsule, so you have a load of choices.  Personally I will probably stick to the 5,000IU during the winter, so my levels stay high, but during the summer I may drop down to the 1,000IU or 2,500IU (depending on how the summer is going).  A lot will depend on where you live, how much you can get outside & your skin colour when deciding which might be the best vitamin D for you.  The darker your skin, the less time you spend in the sun & the further north (or south in the southern hemisphere) you are will mean the more you ought to consider taking.  So, there isn't an easy answer about intake.  If you have any concerns you can get tested for vitamin D as it is a fairly common test available now, for more on vitamin D take a look at this post on the subject.  I rate vitamin D as pretty vital for anyone not getting out into the sun on a very regular basis (& for those in the far north or south even that does not increase levels), so I consider this a absolutely vital supplement for me!

Where to buy
You can get vegvit pills here
You can get vitashine vegan vitamin D3 here
As a side note they do also make a DHA/EPA pill that you can get here

Vitashine vitamin D3 spray

I've just received my first batch of Vitashine Vitamin D3 spray a few days ago, so I thought I'd give you a quick write-up as this is (to my knowledge) the first vegan D3 available in the UK. I know you may have several questions. First off what is the difference between the vegan vitamin D that you can get now (D2) & this newer product which is D3. I won't get all technical as these days you can look up details like that on wikipedia, but the basics are that D2 is a type of vitamin D available from some plants (like mushrooms exposed to UV rays), this is not identical to the vitamin D you have in your bodies; it is close, but not identical, whereas vitamin D3 is identical to the vitamin your body produces. Some studies have pointed out that vitamin D2 may not be as efficiently utilised as D3 in the body - the studies are mixed in this regard. I know there are some people making big claims about the "dangers" of D2, these are false judging by most of the research out there...but most studies that show a difference tend to show that vitamin D3 works much more efficiently in the body because it's the same stuff you make yourself, so it is going to be used in the best manner.

So, with that said I chose the move to vit D3 as it seemed to me that using a vitamin that replicates the bodies own vitamin (rather than a near copy) might give me better results in terms of assimilation & utilisation. Vitamin D is not like a creatine, or a stimulant; you won't get an immediate buzz or gain 5 pounds of muscle weight in a week, although if you are very low you might get some strength gains. Vitamin D for the athlete does everything it does for 'normal' people, stronger bones, stronger teeth, etc, but some other factors also come into play a little more than the average person. The main asset, in my view, about vitamin D is immune normalisation. Many studies have shown that vitamin D can boost lowered immune systems & as athletes one of our problems is we do compromise our immune systems by training very hard, very frequently & in some cases we diet on top of that! I don't care how 'fit' you are, fitness & health are not identical terms & often to get fit for our chosen activity we are forced to compromise on our ability to fight off infection. Vitamin D is great for aiding the immune system in 'bouncing back' & so could aid you in fighting off that infection, also in some studies it appears that diseases like influenza (real flu, not those sniffles you had the other day) could be harder to catch with a higher level of vitamin D than is average today - that 'could' also work with other viruses, I've not found studies, but it would make sense. Other factors are low vitamin D can affect cardiovascular health, so bear that in mind as in some studies many people in the UK & US have been found to be low in this vital vitamin. You can have a test if you are particularly worried, but for the vast majority taking between 1-2,000 IUs a day will keep them at a reasonable vitamin D level.

So, for a few squirts of this vitamin D you'll get an improved immune system response, improved bone & teeth, as vitamin D can affect on your hormones you could get an improved hormone profile, so I'd suggest you take it if you have any concerns about your vitamin D levels.

Let's get to usage of the product - it was pretty easy to use, just open your mouth & squirt. Even I couldn't go very wrong with that one! It does have a very slight taste of oil that lasts for a few seconds, if you really can't stand the taste of oil I suppose you could squirt it into a fake milk or onto food, I've not tried that, but I can't see why you couldn't. I actually liked the product quite a bit & asked them if they'd be interested in giving us a few of their products to give to the winners of our contests which they agreed to do. As I said you won't take one squirt & then be ready to step onto the bodybuilding stage, but it could help you get less illness, so train more consistently, so make more gains, so achieve your goals more quickly, it could also affect bone & teeth health in a positive way which again can only be a good thing. All in all I'd say it was worth at least giving it a go if you have any concerns about your vitamin D levels. Right now (in the UK) you are at your highest levels of vitamin D if you've been out in the sun WITHOUT sunscreen (sunscreen blocks the bodies ability to produce vitamin D), but even so from here until summer 2012 your levels will be falling unless you take some action right now & keep those levels nice & high. What's more it may mean less illness over the winter months & so by summer 2012 you'll be looking pretty awesome with 6 months of consistent training under your belt!

If you're interested you can check out vitashine at http://www.vitashine-d3.com/