Vitamins and Minerals for Athletes
Vitamins
Vitamins provide no calories and provide no direct energy. Surprised? Most people are. Again, vitamins do not give you energy! So when you buy your “PowerFood-like-product-bar” (that Grandma would not recognize as food) which is loaded with vitamins, they do nothing to supply your body energy while exercising. If you want to save some money you can buy Bit-O-Honey and get the same effect as eating the “PowerFood-like-product-bar” and it is a lot cheaper. So why are vitamins so important?
Vitamins play a major role in the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats which are your muscles primary fuel source. Vitamins ignite the cell metabolism that harness, store and use energy. They also play a role in repairing and building muscle protein.
Increase in Exercise Does not Mean Increase in Supplemental Vitamin Intake
Real food
or from a pill
Does exercising more mean that you need to take more vitamins? The general consensus is no. Even though you are burning more calories you most likely are eating more food and covering the bases of getting all your vitamins. During your training and racing you may find that you eat carbohydrates in the pounds, and proteins in the grams. The more energy that you are burning the more carbohydrates and proteins you need. So it seems reasonable that you also need to increase your vitamin supply. However, vitamins are measured in milligrams and even micrograms, which makes it is very easy to take too much through supplements. Some vitamins are called essential because your body needs them, but can’t produce them. It is best to get them through food; supplements are not a replacement for food.
While vitamin and mineral deficiencies impair physical performance, research indicates that supplementation of a nutritionally adequate sports diet does not improve physical work capacity, endurance, oxygen consumption, cardiovascular function, muscle strength, or resistance to fatigue*. In other words if you eat a healthy diet you do not need to take supplemental vitamins.
Two Groups of Vitamins
Vitamins are broken down into two major groups: Fat Soluble and Water Soluble. The vitamins that are soluble in fat are: A, D, E, and K. Your body can store them in the liver, and other fatty tissues. Water soluble vitamins are: B and C. The water soluble vitamins must be supplemented since they are not produced by your body.
Fat Soluble Vitamins
Vitamin A: Important for vision, resistance to infection, skin health, and mucous membranes.
Sources: liver, dairy products, eggs, green leafy vegetables, and yellow vegetables.
Too much: dry skin, painful joint swelling.
Vitamin D: Helps your body metabolize calcium and phosphorous for your bones and teeth.
Sources: Dairy products, and fish oils. It is also produced in a form of cholesterol in the skin during exposure to the sun.
Vitamin E: Is an antioxidant. It helps protect Vitamins A, Vitamin C, and fatty acids from breaking down in your body.
Source: Green leafy vegetables, vegetable oils, margarine, and rice.
Too much: can lead to high blood pressure. Only a very small amount is needed.
Vitamin K: Important for blood clotting, aids in fat digestion, needed to produce glycogen in your muscles. It is produced in your intestines when certain bacteria are present.
Source: Green leafy vegetables, liver, alfalfa, wheat, rye, and fish meal.
Water Soluble Vitamins
Vitamin B: Is essential for the breakdown and utilization of carbohydrates and fat in metabolism. It regulates the growth of cells, blood cells, and for normal functioning of the nervous system.
Source: Meats (like liver), brewer’s yeast, nuts, and whole grains.
Vitamin C: (also known as Ascorbic Acid) Is necessary to form collagen (a cementing substance that binds cells together). It aids in the absorption of iron, the healing of wounds and fractures, and the production of energy sources during aerobic work.
Source: Fresh vegetables and fruits.
Where to Get Your Vitamins
Get your vitamins from: fruits, vegetables and whole grain foods. Have a nutritional plan that is full of fruits, vegetables, salads, milk, and grain products with meat and fish thrown in for good measure. To maximize your vitamin intake eat green or colorful vegetables. Minimize the time you cook your vegetables since overcooking often results in the removal or the degradation of the vitamins.
Minerals
Minerals, what are they and where do we get them? If asked, most of us can name most of the major vitamins. But when it comes to the minerals in our body’s most of us can only name a few. Plus, most people do not realize the role that minerals play in their bodies.
The following is a high-level view of the roles minerals play in our bodies: Minerals play a major role in the development of our bones, teeth, and nails. They are essential to proper cell function. They control the flow of liquids in cell membranes and capillaries. They regulate nerve tissue and muscle response. They maintain proper acidity in cells and regulate blood volume and assist in water metabolism. They are excreted daily and must be replaced by food intake or supplements.
Minerals are broken down into two basic groups: Major Minerals and Trace Minerals.
Major Minerals: calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, sodium, potassium, and chloride.
Trace Minerals: fluorine, chromium, manganese, cobalt, copper, iron, zinc, selenium, and iodine.
Calcium: 98 to 99 percent of your body’s calcium is used in your bones and teeth. Vitamin D is critical for the absorption of calcium. Do not use supplements made of bone meal or dolomite.
The other small percent is used for muscle contraction, blood coagulation, hormone secretion, and nerve impulse transmission. Exercise helps your bone’s ability to retain calcium (this is important for beginning runners that are putting new stresses on their body; which is a whole other article).
Source: Your daily intake should equal the amount in four glasses of milk. This can be in the forms of ice cream, cottage cheese, yogurt, and hard cheeses. Calcium is also found in dark green vegetables, tofu, and fish with soft bones (tuna and sardines).
Too little: If your calcium intake is inadequate your body will maintain blood levels of calcium by dissolving and absorbing bone.
Phosphorus: It is the catalyst in muscle contraction. It is essential in the conversion of glycogen to glucose. Phosphorus combined with calcium provides mineral constitutes that give your body’s bones part of their strength.
Source: beans, cheese, eggs, lentils, liver, milk, peanuts, and whole wheat.
Chloride: Helps maintain your body’s proper blood acidity. Also helps in the formation of hydrochloric acid for digestion.
Source: mostly through sodium chloride (salt).
Too little: lose of sodium and chloride lead to muscle cramps.
Sodium Salts: They are necessary to preserve that balance between calcium and potassium that maintains normal heart action. Sodium salts also play a role in electrical balance between the inside and outside of a cell. And they guard against excessive water loss from tissues.
Potassium: It is the principle mineral within your body’s cells. Potassium is essential for proper functioning of muscle and nerve cells. And along with sodium, it determines the amount of water held in tissues.
Iron: Is vital for the production of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the oxygen carrying component of the blood. Deficiencies in hemoglobin results in reduced oxygen to your body’s muscles which in turn results in inadequate burning of carbohydrates.
Source: red meats, whole grain foods, nuts, and dried fruit.
Vitamins and Minerals — The bottom line
Here is where to get your vitamins and minerals, not from a pill
Vitamins and minerals are team players; they work together with nutrients in food. While antioxidant vitamins E and C and beta-carotene appear to have low toxicity, the effects of long-term supplement use are not known. In contrast, habitual consumption of foods high in antioxidant value (fruits, vegetables, whole grains) is associated with significant health benefits. Hundreds of antioxidants, some of which act synergistically, are available in foods. Supplementing here and there with one or several vitamins or minerals is unlikely to help and may waste an athlete’s precious time and resources. Keep the focus where it belongs on making healthful food choices that benefit exercise training and performance.*
*Montana State University
