The Importance Of Vitamins And Minerals In Sports Nutrition
Good nutrition is very important regardless of which sport you do. A variety of nutrients are needed in your daily diet to keep fit and healthy.
A balanced diet should provide the right proportions of carbohydrate, fat, protein, vitamins and minerals, water and dietary fiber.
Energy is the most important nutritional factor for any form of physical activity. Carbohydrate and fat are the main fuels used by exercising muscles. Vitamins and minerals are also crucial in energy metabolism. A diet deficient in vitamin and minerals can compromise sporting performance.
The importance of a high-vitamin diet
In order to obtain vitamins and minerals, athletes need to eat a wide assortment of nutrient-dense foods in amounts that will maintain energy balance. This means that a person must consume 1,200 to1,500 kilo-calories a day.
Meeting vitamin and mineral requirements when energy intake is 3,000 kcal/day or higher (as is among male and female ice hockey and cross country skiers) is actually easy. Even athletes whose energy intakes may be about 2,000 kcal/day can meet their vitamin and mineral needs from food alone.
As long as a wide variety of foods are eaten, vitamin and mineral intake is adequate. Supplementation therefore is not necessary.
High in vitamins are fruits and vegetables. Many of these are good antioxidants sources as well. High-color food choices mean high vitamin content thus high energy storage. Look for yellow-orange, red, deep green, and blue in your food. For athletes, five to nine fruit and vegetable servings are recommended each day. Grains also contain both vitamins and minerals.
Is more better?
Athletes usually meet two-thirds or more of the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for vitamins and minerals. Athletes who have high calorie intakes of about 5,000 to 6,000 kcal/day may achieve 200% or more of the RDA for some vitamins and minerals just from foods they eat.
Despite this fact, most of the athletes who are concerned with sports nutrition take supplements to boost performance. 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.
For example, because B-vitamins release energy from nutrients, athletes with high energy expenditures have increased requirements for B-vitamins. However, eating more food provides the needed extra B-vitamins.
When are vitamin supplements needed?
Vitamin supplements are commonly used if an athlete's diet is not enough for his energy requirements. Vitamin supplements provide "health insurance," as sort of back-up to ensure optimal sports nutrition.
Multivitamin supplements with no more than 100% of the Daily Value (DV.) provide a safe and adequate balance of vitamins. However, it should not be forgotten that the goal is still to eat a wide variety of foods. Food contains fiber and a multitude of phytochemicals that provide many health benefits.
Supplements should never be replacements for food. While many sports supplements contain the antioxidant beta carotene, at least 450 carotenoids are only found in food. Antioxidant value exists in other carotenoids as well.
Minerals for injury prevention
Minerals like calcium, iron, and zinc are especially important for athletes.Recommendations of calcium intake are based on levels than can promote calcium retention, maximize bone mineral density, and inhibit bone loss. Lower calcium intake subjects the athlete to increased risk of stress fracture. Food that provide good calcium stores are the following: dairy products, fish with bones, broccoli, and fortified cereals and juices.
Iron makes up hemoglobin, myoglobin and oxidative enzymes and affects oxygen transport and aerobic metabolism. To achieve optimal aereobic endurance, consuming adequate amounts is a must. Iron depletion, the first stage of iron deficiency is the most common type of iron deficiency among athletes. Lean red meats, dark poultry, fortified cereals, whole grains, and legumes are good iron sources.
Zinc, which is found in meat, poultry, seafood, and whole grains, is essential for protein synthesis, healing, and immune function. Zinc is also found in antioxidant enzymes and enzymes involved in energy metabolism.
Although minerals are needed to work hand-in-hand with vitamins to ensure good sports nutrition, we must remember that consuming any mineral excessively can interfere with digestion and the absorption of other minerals. This may lead to mineral imbalances. Also, all minerals can be toxic in large doses.
(ArticlesBase SC #546945)
Article Tags:
Medical
,vitamins
,Health
,weight loss
,Skin Care
,Nutrition
,health supplements
,natural beauty products
Getting Enough Nutrition on the Heart Disease Reversal Diet
Dr. Kesten explains if women will get enough fats, vitamins, and minerals on the heart disease reversal diet. (01:17)
Vitamins and Minerals: Zinc
What is zinc and why should you care? Find out right here! (01:00)
Kale Health Benefits
Dr. Ann Kulze, compares 100 calories of sirloin steak to 100 calories of kale for vitamins, minerals, antioxidants AND protein. (01:41)
Orthomolecular Health and Naturopathy
Natural substances in the human body can be used to prevent and treat diseases. Orthomolecular health is a scientific approach to balancing the body through diet and nutritional supplements such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids and essential fatty acids. (02:56)
Benefits of Peels
Eating the peel has real nutritional appeal. Learn what vitamins and minerals are found in the skins of popular fruits and vegetables. (00:54)
Nutritional requirements also differ among people depending on their training program and personal characteristics like age, sex and body type. Their failure to recognize these may also cause malnourishment as they may take too much or less of their nutrients required.
Is Alli the answer to your weight-loss woes? A Mayo Clinic doctor discusses the strength of Alli, an over-the-counter weight-loss nutrition.
I thought I would share my story with you in the hopes of inspiring you with a real example, and not just the lies that companies use. I'm no medical guru or anything like that. I'm just a young mom who figured out a system that works better than all the famous diets you have tried (you know, the ones that didn't work?).
Sports nutrition supplements need not be complicated. In the first place, health must be within reach and never difficult. However, it should not be seen as mere swallowing of pills or tablets. Sports nutrition supplements are simple in a way that they generally mean three things.
Protein supplements should be part of sports nutrition, without these said sports nutrition supplements; athletes would not be the way they are at present. However, contrary to what most people think, diets jam packed with protein do not necessarily build up muscle strength.
Sports nutrition has been changing through the years around the world. It's not just that the topics are different;the emphasis and approach have also changed. A sports magazine carried an article on dehydration in runners on October 1990, its maiden issue. This article compared the benefits of plain water with those of dilute glucose solutions
The secret of all in one sports nutrition lies in its ideal balance nutrients, compacted in one package. This will save you so much time in just preparing and consuming different sports nutrition when you're in hurry. This will also save you money since you wouldn't be buying several packs of the sports nutrients with overlapping nutrients contents.
It has been observed that a very high percentage of elderly women either suffer or die from the disease of breast cancer. This is really a cause of worry and warranties immediate attention of the medical scientists as well as the other concerned agencies
Regardless of the specific method used, these treatments have many benefits including keeping your complexion younger and healthier for longer, as well as increasing self confidence.
In a medical coding career, whether you are a supervisor or waiting to become a supervisor someday, you need get your priorities in order.
The various advantages of the intermediary world of sciences has been the development as well as invention of some of the most revolutionary instruments and technologies that have really given the world of sciences and technologies a great leap in every sense of the term
Researches done in this field has been mainly focused on reasons affecting the renin-angiotensin-andosterone system, the system responsible for aiding the body regulate its blood pressure, mainly by controlling the balance of salt, and the state of elasticity within the arteries.
Are you curious to know about the two blood pressure numbers? These numbers are given utmost importance by the doctors. But hardly we know what do they mean.
Some dangerous side effects are caused by hypertension medications. The famous words from medical firms are "No efficacy without side effects" these words are only to defend themselves.
In this interesting and informative article a leading British psychotherapist shares his top tips for those who truly want to end their addiction to tobacco and cigarettes.
Don't worry about inspiration. You can't force it; inspiration hits when you least expect it to, for those unpredictable yet inevitable moments you should prepare. An idea could strike you on the subway, yet alas, you poor unfortunate soul; you have no sheet of paper to scribble down a thought that could change the world
Life need not to be perfect for people to be happy about themselves. Self improvement and loving yourself is not a matter of shouting to the whole world that you are perfect and you are the best. It's the virtue of acceptance and contentment. When we begin to improve ourselves, we then begin to feel contented and happy
There are different books and seminars that can help you gather some self improvement guide. All these sources are against the negative factors in your life. This self improvement guides are intended to offer you the best solutions to eliminate these factors for good.
Some people believe that great leaders are made, not born. Yes, it may be true that some people are born with natural talents. However, without practice, without drive, without enthusiasm, and without experience, there can be no true development in leadership
The first step is to love yourself. My theology professor once said that "loving means accepting." To love oneself means to accept that you are not a perfect being, but behind the imperfections must lie a great ounce of courage to be able to discover ways on how to improve your repertoire to recover from our mistakes.
We're all pelted with problems. Honestly it shouldn't even bother or even hinder us to becoming all we ought to be. Aspirations as kids should continue to live within us, even though it would be short-lived or as long as we could hold on to the dream
Lack of motivation happens to us all, but if you do not encourage yourself to accept opportunities and be challenged, no one else will. It is most important to keep your eye on the goal, find ways to keep going, and in no time, you shall reap its benefits.
Optimism has been linked to positive mood and good morale; to academic, athletic, military, occupational and political success; to popularity; to good health and even to long life and freedom from trauma.
1