BUILDING BLOCKS

Prioritise these vitamins and minerals for optimum health and fitness

Feeling your best, and fulfilling your performance potential, depends not just on how you train your body, but what you put into it. In fact, working out religiously is going to get you nowhere unless you’re also putting the right mix of macro (protein, carbs, fats) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals and other essential molecules) into your system. Chances are, you know all about the big three macronutrients, but on the micro level things can seem a little more complicated. To put it simply, vitamins are organic substances that act in tandem to keep your body’s cells working normally. Minerals, meanwhile, are inorganic, chemical elements – including calcium, zinc and sodium – that aid everything from bone health to metabolic function (turning the food you eat into energy). While there are 13 essential vitamins, some should be sought out more than others. Minerals, on the other hand, number in their thousands. So, to cut through the confusion, make this list your priority. Vitamin D is vital for strong bones and a healthy immune system, as well as increasing absorption of other crucial vitamins. Athletes deficient in vitamin D are more at risk of bone fractures and breaks, so if you play a high-impact sport regularly it’s critical you keep on top of your intake. Although UVB radiation in sunlight triggers its production in the body, in the UK that radiation is not strong enough in winter, so the government recommends supplementing with 10ug/day. Magnesium is an important mineral involved in numerous processes that affect muscle function, including oxygen uptake, energy production and electrolyte balance. Strenuous exercise results in an increased loss of magnesium through sweat and urine, so it’s worth adding it to your supplement list – particularly as it has been shown that magnesium supplementation, or increased intake of dietary magnesium, can improve exercise performance. Get your blood levels monitored for an accurate view of your magnesium status. Iron helps transport oxygen around the body, making it Zinc is another micronutrient fundamental for both recovery that’s essential for anyone and muscle function. Anyone who trains consistently. Zinc following a plant-based bolsters the immune system diet need to pay particular and can speed up recovery attention to their sources of between workouts. However, iron, because while it’s readily as it’s a mineral lost through available in animal products, sweat, if you play highintensity the main non-animal sources sport you need to up are leafy green vegetables, your intake. Research by the soy, legumes, quinoa and University of Otago found that pumpkin seeds. athletes have lower levels of zinc than non-athletes, so the scientists recommended a low-dose zinc supplement in addition to a balanced diet. Natural food sources include meat, milk, fish and eggs, as well as spinach, oatmeal and wholemeal foods. Calcium, like vitamin D, plays a key role in maintaining strong muscles and bones. Dairy products, dark-green vegetables and soft-boned fish like salmon and sardines are rich sources of calcium. Vitamin B12 is a crucial vitamin for energy production. It also aids the synthesis of fatty acids, making it particularly useful for anyone trying to shift some weight this summer. As it’s most commonly found in animal products, vegans and vegetarians should take a supplement to prevent weakness and fatigue.