Friends of sports and regular exercise know that macronutrients such as fats and carbohydrates provide us with the energy for training. However, when we do sports and exercise, our need for macro-nutrients increases, as does our need for micronutrients. In this article we want to give you an overview of the most important micronutrients and their effect on the body of an athlete.
Vitamin D3
Due to the lifestyle in the 21st century, vitamin D synthesis has become difficult for large parts of the population, as only a relatively small amount of vitamin D is absorbed through food. The component of a healthy vitamin D balance is especially important for sportsmen and active people. The reason: Vitamin D3 supports muscle function and – together with calcium – bone health. For example, the body can resist the forces that act on the skeleton during sports. We recommend a daily supplementation of the vitamin D3 requirement with at least 1000, better still 2000 I.U. There are the vitamin D3 supplements in different forms, but mostly in capsules or as drops. It is optimal to take a preparation in combination with vitamin K2, as this supports the positive effects of vitamin D3 by activating proteins (such as osteocalcin) and thus making them usable in the first place.
Vitamin C
The daily requirement of vitamin C, depends among other things also on your own sport workload and your immune system. Generally speaking, people who are active in sports need more of it. The need can be met in addition to a rich selection of fruits and vegetables, through dietary supplements. When choosing, it is essential to choose a high-quality vitamin C preparation that ensures 24-hour retention in the body and is also easy on the stomach.
Coenzyme Q10
Before we take a look at the most important minerals for athletes, we should take a look at a substance that probably fewer of you have on the screen: we are talking about coenzyme Q10. This natural substance, we obtain both through our food, but it can also be produced in the body itself. Particularly high concentrations of coenzyme Q10 are found in organs that require a lot of energy, such as the heart and brain, but also the muscles. These are essential for athletes and with a targeted substitution the athletic performance can be increased. A little problematic here is the bioavailability of Q10. It is often found here that the body does not accept externally supplied Q10 well. Therefore, make sure that regardless of cellular conversion steps, coenzyme Q10 is available to the body in the immediately available ubiquinol form.
Magnesium
It doesn’t matter whether you hike, do endurance or strength sports: Anyone who is physically active has an increased need for magnesium, as the organism consumes the mineral through muscle activity. In addition, there is a loss of magnesium due to sweating during exercise. An inadequate magnesium supply can impair muscle function and increase susceptibility to muscle fiber tears and strains. For an ideal coverage of the magnesium requirement of athletes, we recommend to use a combination preparation with different magnesium compounds, which at the same time can show a broad solubility spectrum.
Since a list of dietary supplements for athletes could probably be infinitely long, and we also consider how to provide the best possible supply for as many active people as possible, we generally recommend that you consider combination preparations that provide you with an optimally composed micronutrient complex in addition to the most important endogenous substances.