How Important Are Vitamins and Minerals To Athletes?

Vitamins and minerals are important for the athlete and the nonathlete alike. The key to getting the vitamins and minerals your body needs is eating various foods that have a high amount of nutrients. This will help you preserve a high-energy balance, which is important for those people taking part in a physical activity. Most male and female athletes will meet their vitamin and mineral needs by eating a varied and balanced diet. Even female figure skaters can normally get their nutritional needs by food alone.

Vegetables and fruits are especially high in vitamins. Many also have valuable antioxidants, which are also needed by our bodies. If you concentrate on fruits and vegetables that have a deep color such as yellow, orange, red, blue, and deep green you will receive plenty of antioxidants. If you are an athlete, you need to include from five to nine fruit and vegetables to your daily diet. Meat and dairy products are high in minerals and foods in the grain group contain both minerals and vitamins.

An athlete who is consuming 5000 to 6000 kcal each day will get almost 200 percent of their daily recommended allowances from the food they eat. Kcal is the equivalent of one calorie.

Will athletes perform better if they take extra vitamins and minerals? The B vitamins help in releasing energy from nutrients needed for a high metabolism and therefore need more of these vitamins. You can eat more of the foods that provide vitamin B but studies show that taking added B complex vitamins does not increase performance. Shortages of valuable vitamins and minerals can cause an athletes performance to be decreased but does not show that it improves performance or improve physical work capacity. Studies also show that it does not improve endurance, oxygen consumption, muscle strength, or cardiovascular function.

There may be one exception to this but more research is needed. Vitamin E, which is found mostly in animal fat, is an antioxidant that protects cells from oxidative damage during intense periods of exercise. It is unclear if more vitamin E will help active people. Aerobic exercise increases antioxidant enzyme production so adapting an athlete’s training may be enough to provide the extra vitamin E.

If an athlete’s diet is not the best, supplements can be taken. It is important that an athlete should choose a multivitamin that does not provide more than 100 percent of the minimum daily requirement. Taking a multivitamin will ensure your body is getting its needed nutrients if the athlete’s diet is less than healthy.

The goal of the athlete should be to eat a larger variety of fruits and vegetables, and food that contain fiber. Fiber has many phytochemicals that provide many health benefits. Supplements are not meant to take the place of foods. If you are an athlete, either male or female, the advice is to eat a balanced and healthy diet filled with natural fiber, fruits, and vegetables. The deeper the color of these fruits and vegetables, they better they are for your body.