Increasing Energy Levels With Vitamins And Minerals

Any athlete knows that maintaining a healthy body requires good nutrition in order to reach peek performance levels during training and competition and this includes bodybuilding, weightlifting or other muscle building program. Consuming a variety of nutrients should be an essential part of your daily diet to help keep your mind and body physically fit and mentally alert.

Most of this will require following a program and strict balanced diet which will simply supply you with the right proportions of fat, protein, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals and of course, water.

With bodybuilding or any muscle building program, energy will be the most vital nutritional factor that you will need to maintain a specific level of physical activity. Getting plenty of carbohydrates and fats, which are the primary fuels needed when exercising your muscles is important. Also, adding the right amount of vitamins and minerals to your diet is crucial as these help with energy metabolism. If your diet and meal program is low in vitamins and minerals than you are basically hurting your overall performance levels.

In order for you to get the necessary vitamins and minerals required, it's essential that you eat a wide variety of nutrient rich foods that will help you to maintain your energy balance. While different athletes may utilize more energy faster than other athletes, this simply means that their energy intake and diet will be higher compared to others. All of the nutrients needed for most athletes can be supplied from food alone. The key is adding a wide selection of foods that provide enough vitamins and minerals which could be considered adequate. Since this is the case, most athletes would not require additional supplements in order to maintain there energy balance.

Fruits and vegetables are extremely high in vitamins and many of these also provide a good source of antioxidants as well. Basically, choose foods that are rich in color as they are generally higher in vitamin content which will give you more energy storage. Look for foods that are yellow and orange, deeper green, blue and of course, red. Usually, most athletes can consume anywhere from five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables which should be sufficient and recommended for daily optimal performance. Don't forget that grains are also an excellent source to get added vitamins and minerals.

As a rule, most athletes, which includes bodybuilders, usually require additional amounts of vitamins and minerals, up to two thirds more of the Recommended Daily or Dietary Allowances (RDA) for both vitamins and minerals. Some athletes who are on a high caloric intake around 5,000 to 6,000 kilo calories per day might be able to achieve up to 200% more of the RDA for some of the vitamins and minerals they consume and most of these can be achieved directly from foods that they eat.

A lot of athletes sometimes worry about their sports nutrition diet and alternatively seek supplements as a way to boost physical energy. While it is true that any athlete that is lacking the necessary vitamins and minerals needed will suffer with lower performance levels. Some research has indicated that adding supplements to an already existing diet of high nutrition does not necessarily mean that athletes will see greater results through physical activity, cardio training, overall endurance, muscle growth and strength or suffer from fatigue.

A typical example is with B-vitamins. The B-vitamins simply release energy from existing nutrients, so any athlete with higher than normal energy requirements will obviously need added B-vitamins in their diet. Thus, consuming additional amounts of nutrient rich food can provide all the required B-vitamins that you would need.

However, vitamin supplements are common and not only with athletes. Some athletes due to certain diet restrictions do not get enough nutrients through eating and therefor require some kind of vitamin supplements that will help them to maintain optimal performance.

While it is the goal of every athlete to eat a proper nutritional diet that consists of a wide selection of nutrient foods, sometimes these levels cannot be achieved. A safe alternative is through the addition of multivitamin supplements that do not go over the 100% daily value. Adding these will help to keep your balance of daily vitamins. Remember, food is one of the best sources of fiber as well, and contain Phytochemicals that simply provide additional and valuable health benefits.

Never make the mistake of thinking that supplements are a good replacement for nutrient foods or that of eating a well balanced diet. Any good bodybuilding or muscle building program will never put supplements ahead of nutrient rich food.

Written by: K. Ho from buildmusclefast.synthasite.com

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