Vitamins and minerals form the basic nuts and bolts that keep your system together. It is no quick fix though, and should be taken regularly and constantly, as is the case with many other nutrients. Lets have a closer look at some vitamins and minerals and what they do.
96% of the body consists of the following five macro-elements: 1. Oxygen 2. Hydrogen 3. Nitrogen 4. Carbon 5. Sulfur
The above is well supplied in the water we drink, the food we eat, and the air we breathe. The next level of macro-minerals needs more attention as far as supplementation goes: 1. Calcium 2. Magnesium 3. Phosphorus 4. Sodium 5. Potassium 6. Chloride
And for the sixteen trace elements, supplementation is crucial. These elements work in synergy, which means that even though some are needed only in a few millionths of a gram per day, they are just as important as those you need a lot of.
VITAMINS:
1. Vitamin A (Retinol) Named after the retina of the eye, retinol is an oil soluble vitamin that is essential for vision (especially night vision), the skin and mucous membranes, cell growth, reproduction, and normal immunity. Sources of this vitamin are liver and fish liver oils. Beta-carotene, the precursor of Vitamin A, can be found in carrots and dark green leafy vegetables. One large carrot for example contains 18 000 IU of beta-carotene, which is more than three times the RDA of 1000mcg RE (retinol equivalents). It takes 6 mcg of beta-carotene to yield 1 mcg RE of vitamin A.
2. Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) Thiamin is water-soluble and should be consumed daily. Thiamin is involved in the supply of energy to the body from carbohydrates. Sources of Thiamin are whole grains that are mostly processed to such an extent that most or all of the Thiamin is lost. A survey done by the United States Department of Agriculture showed that 45% of all Americans are Thiamin deficient. This may be good enough for the average couch potato, but not for someone leading an active lifestyle trying to improve his energy production. The RDA for Thiamin is only 1.5mg per day, but even at 500mg per day, no toxicity was found in studies. A healthy guideline to be used by active individuals to maintain the Thiamin status in your body, will be 50 - 200mg / day.
3. Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) Riboflavin is another water soluble B-vitamin. Its main function is to help the mitochondria of muscle cell to produce energy. This means that it works in close relationship with Thiamin in the energy supply chain.Sources of Riboflavin include meats, poultry, fish, and dairy products in amounts that vary substantially. Again, the processing of food can destroy up to 80% of Vitamin B2.The RDA for Riboflavin is 1.7mg per day, but athletes can use 25-200mg per day.
4. Vitamin B3 (Niacin) In the body, the amino acid "Tryptophan" is converted to Niacin. Niacin increases the use of glycogen in the production of energy to working muscles, and therefore is in higher demand by individuals that take part in physical recreational activity. However, mega-doses of Niacin do cause glycogen to be used quicker, but it blocks the use of fatty acids for fuel. When glycogen depletion then occurs faster than normal, fats are also unwilling sources of fuel. The RDA for Niacin is 19mg per day but athletes can take 30-100mg per day. Should you experience a flushing, burning or itchy sensation, you may have OD'd, but within reasonable amounts (100mg) should not be toxic. It is highly resistant to food processing, and at RDA level, rarely deficient.
5. Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) Pyridoxine functions at the level of protein-, amino acid-, and hemoglobin synthesis. It is also important for the enzyme "glycogen phosphorylase", which adds a phosphor molecule to glycogen to use it for fuel. It is thus important for energy supply, as well as muscle and blood formation. You get Pyridoxine from wheat germ, chicken, fish, and eggs. Although it is available in these common food sources, 33% of households in the USA were found to be Pyridoxine-deficient. Both the demand for energy and protein synthesis increase the need for Pyridoxine. The RDA is 2.0mg per day, but if you need to put on muscle mass, and you train 3 hours or more per day, you can double that figure. Over dosage of 100mg or more for years may cause nerve damage.
6. Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid) Yet another water soluble vitamin that is needed in the making of fatty acids and glucose, which forms the main sources of fuel for the body. It is also essential for the making of steroid hormones and neuro-transmitters in the brain.It is widely found in foods and the RDA is only 6mg per day, but once again it will not satisfy the needs of an athlete. You may want to consume 20mg to 200mg, which make supplementation the easiest way out. Should you develop burning hot spots on your feet, and your sleeping pattern become disturbed, you might be overdosing a bit.Pantothenic Acid supplementation of 2.0g per day has shown to reduce lactate build-up by 17% and oxygen consumption by 8%.
7. Folate (Folic Acid) Folate forms part of vital coenzymes that control amino acid metabolism. Insufficiency of folate will therefore inhibit growth of new muscle and blood cells.Folate is widely found in dark leafy vegetables, legumes (beans), and egg yolk. It is still found to be deficient in many populations because it is very susceptible to food processing and storage, which can kill up to 80% of the vitamin.Although the official RDA is set for 200mcg per day, it used to be 400mcg, which will still does not satisfy the need for repair and growth in active individuals. Studies has even shown that 211mcg per day is deficient for sedentary people, let alone activity driven junkies. It is recommended that at least 800mcg per day should be taken, although studies indicated no adverse effects with a dosage of 10,000mcg per day for four months.
8. Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin) This vitamin is an essential part of the coenzymes essential for all cells, especially cells with a rapid turnover, like red blood cells, the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, and bone marrow cells. Deficiency is uncommon, which is lucky because it will wipe out your nerves, and make you raving mad before it kills you.Unfortunately for vegans, Vitamin B12 is only available in animal foods. 8 to 10mcg or more per day should be enough, although athletes taking 10,000 times the RDA showed no sign of toxicity.
9. Biotin Firstly, as part of the B-complex vitamins, it forms part of two important enzymes, pyruvate carboxylase and acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase. These two are essential for gluconeogenesis (formation of new glucose) and fatty acid synthesis, which forms two of the major fuel sources for the body. Secondly another coenzyme called 3-methylcrotonyl coenzyme A carboxylase is essential for the breakdown of branched-chain amino acids, which means without it the body cannot break down these amino acids to use them again as building blocks for muscle.Deficiency of Biotin will speed up the balding process, and leave you skinny and weak. Active people should take 300 to 5000mcg daily, even though the RDA specifies only 30-100mcg.The best food sources for Biotin are liver, sardines, egg yolk, and soy flour. Raw egg whites as used by some bodybuilders contain Avidin, which binds biotin and make it useless for the body.
10. Vitamin C (Ascorbate) This is certainly one of the best-known vitamins that is regularly found on chemist shelves in different forms. The general application of Vitamin C is to fight off scurvy by helping to form collagen, the white fibres of your skin, bone, and connective tissue. You only need 30mg of Vitamin C per day to prevent scurvy, but for active individuals the key function of Vitamin C lies in its antioxidant functions. You may use between 2 and 12 grams of it per day if you lead a very active lifestyle, which would help you to stay healthy and fight off the aging process.Citrus contains Vitamin C in varied dosages, but just to be on the safe side, supplement it regularly throughout the day to prevent acute shortages. But don't only use the general Ascorbic Acid1 form of the vitamin; also use a combination of Calcium Ascorbate2, Magnesium Ascorbate3, and the fat soluble Ascorbyl Palmitate4. Overdosing with ascorbic acid alone will certainly cause diarrhea.
11. Vitamin D (Cholecalciferol) Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is synthesized in the skin when exposed to direct sunlight. It is important for bone growth and the mineral balance in the body. The RDA is 10mcg and because it is fat soluble, it can build up to toxic levels in the body if only four times the RDA is taken.Fortified milk and dairy products contains plenty Vitamin D, and it is seldom insufficient in our diets.
12. Vitamin E (D-alpha-tocopherol) The main function of Vitamin E is as an antioxidant, but food processing destroys most of the vitamin E in food. Athletes could take 400 to 2000 mg alpha TE (alpha tocopherol equivalents). Vitamin E deficiency can lead to anemia even with ample supply of Iron around, and it is also required for the metabolism of Vitamin B12 and Zinc. This means that inadequate supply of Tocopherol will result in weak and damaged red blood cells. As athletes induce more damage to blood cells and muscle cells, there is an increased demand to combat free radical damage to muscle during and after exercise. It thus makes sense to supplement Vitamin E together with folate, zinc, cobalamin, pyridoxine, and Ascorbate.
13. Vitamin K (Phylloquinone) This fat-soluble vitamin is essential to make blood clot, which makes it important for athletes because of their continual hemolysis (blood loss) caused by exercise.Fresh green leafy vegetables are the best source providing 50 to 800mcg per 100 grams. The flora in the human gut also produces some Vitamin K. Physical trauma like strenuous exercise increases the need for Vitamin K, although it is uncertain how much is needed. 80 to 100mcg should be sufficient, and since it is oil-soluble will build up to toxic levels if over-dosed.
14. Choline Choline is not a vitamin and your body can make it. Most of your choline comes from your diet, and it is an essential part of lecithin (phosphatidyl choline). Lecithin in turn is important for the health of all the cell membranes. In the brain, choline forms part of the neuro-transmitter acetylcholine which improves your anabolic drive and memory. Your diet should include about 300mg, which should be met by the normal diet.
15. Inositol Myo-inositol, which is its form in the body, forms part of the lipids in your cell membranes. It is also important for normal calcium - and insulin metabolism. Although it is uncertain how much should be supplemented, some athletes are given 50 - 500mg per day.
16. Coenzyme Q10 (Ubiquinone) Coenzyme Q10 is essential for virtually all energy production, by transferring electrons in the energy cycle in the mitochondria (furnace) of the cell. It also helps to maintain immunity, helps with normal heart function, and is a potent antioxidant.CoQ occurs in many foods like polyunsaturated vegetable oils, which the body converts to CoQ10. Activity junkies with their high energy turnover, may need extra CoQ10.CoQ10 has been associated with increased exercise tolerance in heart patients, and well trained athletes showed an improvement of up to 12%. This makes CoQ10 an important consideration for athletes seeking performance.
MACRO-MINERALS
1. Calcium: About 1.9% of the body weight in a lean athlete, consists of calcium, of which 99% is in bones. The remaining 1% moves about controlling impulse conduction in nerves, muscle contraction, and so on. This traveling 1% has to be kept between narrow margins (8.7 to 10.7 mg/dl of blood), which means if you don't eat it, you eat away your own skeleton to make up for it! Stress fractures are a common sign of calcium deficiency.
Calcium is found in dairy products and green leafy vegetables. Calcium in grains and cereals are bound by phytates, so it cannot be absorbed, so does oxalates in spinach, rhubarb, cocoa, chocolate, and coffee.
The best time to supplement calcium is at night. Calcium will only be transported to the bone, if you do regular exercise, and have adequate supplies of magnesium, silicon, fluoride, zinc, copper, boron, manganese, phosphorus, and Vitamin D. The RDA for calcium is 1 200mg per day, and most diets do not supply that. The maximum bone mass and bone strength is achieved between ages 18 and 35, so you should use this time to accumulate as much as possible. Both strenuous exercise as well as high protein intake can lead to calcium loss, which also needs to be replaced. Active people therefore should supplement calcium on a continuous basis.
The answer is not simply to indulge in mega doses of calcium, it puts stress on the kidneys causing kidney stones, inhibit iron and zinc absorption, and disrupt the synergy of mineral use in the body. Supplementation can be anything between 400 and 1600mg per day.
2. Magnesium: Of the 20 to 30 grams of magnesium in the body, 60% resides in the skeleton, and 40% in soft tissue. Magnesium forms part of over 300 enzymes in the body, and it is essential for the burning of glucose as fuel, muscle contraction, genetics, etc.
The best food sources are legumes (beans) and whole grains. Unfortunately the germ and outer layers of grains which usually gets lost, contains 80% of it. The RDA for magnesium is 350mg for males and 280mg for females. Athletes lose a lot of magnesium in energy production and sweat, so anything between 400 and 1200mg per day is used.
3. Phosphorus: 700 of the 800 grams of phosphorus in the body is contained in the bones. It is also important for energy production in the making of ATP and creatine phosphate. Is also contributes to the metabolism of red blood cells. Fish, meats, milk, and whole grains supply it. Some phosphorus is also added through food processing. Phosphorus levels are hard to measure and as far as is known, need not be supplemented in general.
4. Sodium: Sodium, potassium and chloride are the three main electrolytes in the human body. Sodium is the main positively changed electrolyte outside the cells. It is added so much during food processing that shortages are scarce. The RDA is 0.5 grams per day, but we end up eating up to ten times that. Except for ultra endurance events, no one really needs additional supplementation of sodium.
5. Potassium: Potassium is the main cation (positively charged electrolyte) inside the cells that interacts with sodium and chloride in the conduction of nerve impulses and other functions.
Most of the fresh foods we eat, have a much higher potassium content than sodium, even seafood that grows in a high sodium medium, contains 24 times more potassium than sodium. Processing and preservation reverses this process, resulting in a detrimental overload of sodium in canned and preserved foods. Fresh tuna contains 100 parts potassium and 20 parts sodium, where canned tuna is still 100 parts potassium, with a whopping 330 parts sodium! Freshly grounded wheat flour is 120 parts potassium and 1 part sodium, but whole wheat bread gives only 100 parts of potassium for every 570 parts of sodium! The overall ratio of potassium to sodium in fresh food is 7:1, but in the normal refined diet it is reversed to about 1:2.
The easiest way to overcome this problem if you need salt on your food, is to use a potassium salt in stead of the normal sodium chloride (table salt). The RDA for potassium is 3500mg per day, and the normal diet supplies only 2500mg. Lots of potassium is lost through hemolysis and sweat in athletes, and need to be replaced. Active people need to supplement 100mg to 500mg per day to replace losses. Even up to 5 grams per day may not be toxic, but may cause nausea.
6. Chloride: On the opposite end of the scale from sodium and potassium (cations), lies chloride, which is the main anion (negatively charged electrolyte) outside the cells. It mainly comes from the chloride bit of sodium chloride, or table salt. With the two actions, these three electrolytes control fluids and electrolyte balance inside and outside the cells. Overload, and not deficiency, is the main problem with chloride. The minimum requirements are only 750mg per day.
Trace Elements
1. Iron: Iron is widely available in whole grains, vegetables, meats, and eggs. Heme iron that is found in meat, has the best bio-availability to the human body at about 10%. Non-heme iron from vegetables is poorly available at only 1%. Vitamin C aids the absorption of Iron, and calcium, fibre and antacid inhibits it.
The main function of Iron lies in the hemoglobin of red blood cells where it transports oxygen as oxy-hemoglobin. It is also involved with enzymes and additional iron gets stored in the bone marrow and liver.
Active individuals need about 20 to 30mg of iron per day, and you can supplement about 10 to 25mg per day.
2. Zinc: Zinc is essential for enzymes, sperm production, and other bodily functions, but to us athletes, a very important function of zinc lies in the production of testosterone, and cell growth stimulation.
The best sources are meats, eggs, and seafood. The RDA of 15mg may fall short for athletes because exercise causes loss of zinc, which you may want to supplement daily with 15 to 50mg.
3. Copper: Again, copper is also needed for many enzymes, including those that produce nor-adrenalin, one of your get-up-and-go hormones. Organ meats and seafood are your best sources. The Copper requirements for humans are still unknown, but the RDA handbook recommends 1.5mg to 3mg per day. People who train need more nor-adrenalin, so you may want to take more copper by supplementing with 0.5mg to 3.0mg per day.
4. Manganese: Manganese in the body is needed for proper bone and cartilage formation, and for normal glucose metabolism. It is naturally supplied to us through whole grains and black tea, which may not be adequate for athletes with their greater turnover in bone and soft tissue. The RDA is 2.0mg to 5.0mg per day, which an athlete can use on a supplementation basis.
5. Chromium: A lot of hype was made about this element in recent years, with enough proof to back it up. Chromium is essential for normal glucose metabolism, insulin metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and muscle growth. It thus gives you better glucose tolerance and makes you more insulin sensitive.
The best food sources are whole grain and shellfish, but gets destroyed easily by processing and storage. Our average intake is somewhere around 25mcg and 33mcg, but according to the RDA handbook we need at least 50mcg to 200mcg per day. That makes it one of the most deficient minerals in the modern food supply. The body needs sugar to deal with exercise and to digest sugar, so you may want to take 200mcg to 800mcg of chromium picolinate per day if you are active.
6. Selenium: Selenium works with Vitamin E as part of an enzyme to destroy free radicals, thus acting as an antioxidant. Selenium and Vitamin E deficiency can result in many diseases, including heart disease.
Sources of selenium are seafood and meats, and an RDA of 55mcg to 70mcg is required. If animals were bread on selenium-poor soil, they would not produce any, making supplementation the easy way out. Athletes may use the form L-selenomethionine to acquire between 200mcg and 400mcg per day. But remember that mega-doses of selenium is toxic and anti-ergogenic.
7. Iodine: Your thyroid hormones control all energy in the body, and they are dependent on Iodine for production. That makes it very important to have this one right. We used to see pictures of people living in remote places with huge sacks hanging from their throats, as the thyroid try to grow bigger to try to increase the thyroid hormone production. In the end this also led to mental retardation. The problem occurred in areas where the iodine content in the ground, on which crops were grown and animals were bread, was poor in this element.
This problem is mostly solved today by iodized salt, which supplements iodine into our diets. Natural sources include seafood of any kind. Most people get more than the RDA of 150mcg of iodine per day. Athletes may take 50mcg to 200mcg of the element daily, but too much iodine leads to acne.
8. Boron: The application of Boron in sport comes from its involvement in the production of some natural steroid hormones in the body that are involved in calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium metabolism in bone, and muscle growth. Clinical research suggests that adequate boron status is necessary for normal testosterone production. Before you get all excited, the key word here is adequate, so more than sufficient will only interfere with the metabolism of other nutrients like phosphorus and riboflavin.
Athletes seeking the anabolic advantage may want to take an additional 3.0mg to 6.0mg of Boron citrate and Boron aspartate per day.
9. Molybdenum: Dietary molybdenum forms part of three essential enzymes. No one knows how much is needed or how to measure it in the body, but the RDA recommends 50mcg to 250mcg per day. Toxicity starts only at 10mg per day, and athletes can supplement with 40mcg to 150mcg per day. Other Trace Elements: Silicon is essential for bone growth, cobalt is an essential part of Vitamin B12, Fluoride is needed for teeth and bones, and Nickel is essential for growth.
Other Trace Elements: Silicon is essential for bone growth, cobalt is an essential part of Vitamin B12, Fluoride is needed for teeth and bones, and Nickel is essential for growth.
