Vitamin,
Mineral & Antioxidant Information
Vitamin A
Function:
Vitamin A helps to
maintain the skin, bone and tooth growth
Sources:
Vitamin A is plentiful in
vegetables such as carrots, beans, yams, and spinach. Also found in liver, egg
yolks, and whole milk.
Notes:
Vitamin comes in two
forms, carotene and retinol.
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)
Function:
Vitamin B1 plays a very
important part of the energy conversion process. Vitamin B1 helps your body in
breaking down carbohydrates to energy. Necessary for the maintenance of a
healthy nervous system, growth, and muscle tone
Sources:
Bran flakes, wheat germ,
whole grains, pork, liver and dried beans
Notes:
Refined foods often
deplete Vitamin B1 from carbohydrates.
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
Function:
Vitamin B2 helps your
body in releasing energy from protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Vitamin B2 also
helps in the maintenance and growth of tissues.
Sources:
Eggs, milk, liver, eggs,
whole grain breads, cereals, meats and legumes
Notes:
An important part of
energy metabolism and supports skin care and vision.
Vitamin B3 (Niacin)
Function:
Vitamin B3 is used in
energy metabolism and supports skin care. Vitamin B3 also helps to support the
nervous system and digestive system.
Sources:
Tuna, chicken, liver,
breads, cereals and legumes
Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic
acid)
Function:
Helps transform amino
acids and fats into glucose. Fatty acid oxidation
Sources:
Found in a lot of whole
foods.
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
Function:
Vitamin B6 helps in the
conversion of stored liver and muscle glycogen into energy. Also helps in
protein metabolism.
Sources:
Liver, bananas, fish,
whole grains, nuts, vegetables, meat and chicken.
Notes:
Used in amino acid and
fatty acid metabolism.
Vitamin B9 (Folic acid)
Function:
Regulation of growth,
Helps breakdown protein, also necessary for normal production of red and white
blood cells
Sources:
Liver and leafy green
vegetables.
Vitamin B12
Function:
Vitamin B12 helps in the
production of red blood cells. Also helps metabolize carbohydrates, protein, and
fat.
Sources:
White fish, cheese, lean
meat, liver, chicken, eggs, and dairy products.
Notes:
Daily requirements are
usually low since the liver stores large amounts of Vitamin B12
Vitamin C
Function:
Vitamin C helps in the
absorption of iron and in the production of collagen. Helps maintain normal
connective tissues. May help protect against exercise induced tissue damage.
Sources:
Citrus fruits and juices,
oranges, green peppers, cabbage, potatoes, broccoli and tomatoes
Notes:
Vitamin C is an
antioxidant and may be help to decrease tissue damage caused by heavy exercise
Vitamin D
Function:
Vitamin D assists in
maintaining strong bones and teeth
Sources:
Cod liver oil, liver, egg
yolks and sunlight (your skin converts sunlight to vitamin D).
Notes:
Vitamin D can be toxic if
taken in excess. An excess of vitamin D can cause calcium deposits in soft
tissues such as the kidneys, arteries and joints.
Vitamin E
Function:
Vitamin E helps to
prevent the destruction of red blood cells. Vitamin E also helps to improve
blood flow by helping to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system.
Sources:
Green vegetables, raw
seeds, vegetable oils, nuts, wheat germ, eggs, and whole grains
Notes:
Vitamin E is an
antioxidant and may be help to decrease tissue damage caused by heavy exercise
Vitamin H (Biotin)
Function:
Helps in the breakdown of
fats
Sources:
Egg yolks and liver
Vitamin K
Function:
Vitamin K helps control
blot clot rate. Involved in glycogen formation and bone formation.
Sources:
Brussels sprouts,
broccoli, leafy vegetables, tomatoes, cauliflower, milk, and yogurt
Minerals
Apart from
vitamins, minerals are also required for growth, maintenance and repair of the
body. They help supply oxygen to cells, improve digestion, and help keep the
body in balance. Minerals also participate in the proper functioning of the
muscular and nervous systems.
The tissues in your body
contain fluids on the inside of cells and in the spaces between cells. In these
fluids are electrolytes. Electrolytes are electrically charged minerals or ions.
The electrolytes help
regulate water balance on either side of the cell membranes and also help make
muscles contract.
The two main electrolytes
are sodium and potassium. Potassium helps regulate fluids on the inside of cells
while sodium helps regulate fluids on the outside of cells.
For optimum functioning,
electrolytes must be kept in balance.
Here is
a partial list of minerals and there functions:
Sodium
Function:
Maintenance of fluid
balance on either side of cell walls; Also helps in muscular contractions and
nerve transmissions
Source:
Found in most foods
Potassium
Function:
Maintenance of fluid
balance on either side of cell walls; Assists in the conversion of glucose to
glycogen; Helps in muscular contractions and never transmissions.
Source:
Fruits and vegetables,
bananas, and potatoes
Calcium
Function:
Essential for blood
clotting, muscle contractions, and nerve transmissions. Also helps with bone and
teeth formation
Sources:
Green leafy vegetables
and dairy products
Chlorine
Function:
Helps maintain water
balance by regulating pressure.
Source:
Kelp, table salt
Magnesium
Function:
Helps in neuromuscular
contractions. Also helps the metabolism of carbohydrates and proteins.
Source:
Whole grains, green
vegetables, and legumes
Phosphorus
Function:
Helps stimulate muscular
contractions. Helps metabolize carbohydrates, fat, and protein. Also assists in
energy production.
Sources:
Chicken, fish, Meats,
whole grains, and nuts
Antioxidants
Anti- what? Antioxidants have been getting a lot of attention lately in
the sports industry. Antioxidants, mainly beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E,
and the minerals selenium, zinc, copper, and manganese have been generating a
lot of excitement regarding their disease fighting properties.
Antioxidants help fight
free radicals or rather chemicals naturally produced by the body that cause
irreversible damage to cells. Free radicals can leave your body open to such
diseases as cancer, advanced aging, degenerative diseases, and cardiovascular
diseases.
What causes free
radicals? Nobody knows for sure but certain environmental factors such as
cigarette smoke, radiation, exhaust fumes, certain drugs, stress and too much
sunlight contribute to the increase in free radicals.
Oddly enough, steady
exercise and weight lifting seems to increase the amount of free radicals in the
body. No one really knows why exercise increases free radicals in the body but
it is important to understand that there are ways to combat free radicals.
It is important to build
up your immune systems while weight training and getting enough antioxidants is
one way to do it.
Vitamin C
When you get a cold, what’s the first supplement you reach for? I’m guessing
it’s vitamin C. Vitamin C is an essential part of our diets and operates in
the formation of connective tissues. Vitamin C is also involved in immunity,
allergic responses and wound healing.
As an anti oxidant,
vitamin C also helps keep free radicals from destroying the outer cells. As a
weight trainer, a cold or infection can side line you pretty quick. Vitamin C
can help cut the risk of respiratory infections and boost immunity.
The best sources of
vitamin C come from citrus fruits and juices, green peppers, kiwi, cantaloupe
and green leafy vegetables.
Vitamin E
As an
antioxidant, vitamin E has been shown to protect against after workout muscle
damage and the free radical production that follows.
Part of vitamin E’s job
is to scavenge free radicals produced by weight lifting therefore saving tissue
from damage. Vitamin E also seems to prevent the destruction of oxygen carrying
red blood cells, which means improved oxygen delivery to your muscles during
exercise.
The best sources of
vitamin E come from wheat germ, seeds, nuts, fish oils, and vegetable oils.
Beta Carotene
Once the body
ingests beta-carotene, it is converted to vitamin A as the body needs it.
Beta-carotene destroys free radicals after they’ve formed and may help reduce
muscle soreness after weight lifting.
The best source of
beta-carotene comes from carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, spinach, and
cantaloupe.
Summary
It is important
to note that vitamins and minerals do not directly build muscle or supply
energy. Vitamins and minerals have very precise functions that help synthesis
muscle tissue and in the metabolism of energy.
Supplementing with a
vitamin and minerals will not boost the body’s muscle building abilities but
rather ensure that you have the optimal amounts to enhance the bodies ability to
help synthesis muscle tissue and metabolize energy.
Think of supplementing
with a quality vitamin/mineral supplement as covering your nutritional bases.