Imagine flying your own jet. Sitting in the cockpit overlooking the endless beauty of clouds, sky, and Planet Earth under you while looking forward to an amazing time at the destination of your dreams. Suddenly, the electricity shuts off. What do you do? Try to land or just jump out with a parachute? Or, maybe, you don’t even have enough time for either option and you crash straight down. Well, that’s what happens to your body when you’re running low on minerals.
Micronutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, are an essential component of an athlete’s toolbox to ensure delivering top performance and proper recovery. Minerals play a crucial role in energy production, muscle contraction, nerve impulse conduction, immune function, and a string of other bodily functions necessary for the athlete to excel. As athletes typically demand more from their bodies, they also demand more minerals, and most importantly, the right kind in the right balance. Let’s take a closer look at some of the minerals that have a significant impact on an athlete’s ability to perform and recover at his or her best.
Calcium
Calcium isn’t just for bone health for the elderly! As the proper ratio of calcium is essential for muscle contraction and the regulation of cardiac energy, calcium is particularly important for athletes. Additionally, many athletes can attest that calcium helps in the prevention of muscle cramps while strengthening their bones. Since calcium (and other minerals) are lost through perspiration, supplementation and proper nutrition are vital to achieve peak performance levels. Some excellent sources of calcium are sardines, salmon and leafy greens.
Potassium
Cramping is the fastest way to abruptly end your winning streak! As potassium is necessary to stabilize automatic and controlled muscle contractions, athletes must ensure their levels are adequate while performing their sport. Since potassium fairly quickly leaves the body through sweat and urination, it’s important to replace the lost mineral when playing hard. Consuming avocados, halibut, salmon, leafy greens, sweet potatoes, carrots and bananas are great ways to keep up your levels of this crucial mineral.
Magnesium
Research suggests that even small shortfalls in magnesium consumption can significantly impair athletic performance. Low levels of magnesium contribute to muscle cramps, early fatigue, and nausea. Additionally, magnesium plays a pivotal role in both energy and aerobic production, specifically in the metabolism of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the “energy currency” of the body. Eat plenty of avocados, leafy greens, fatty fish and pumpkin seeds to ensure adequate magnesium levels.
Zinc
Have your endurance levels dropped? Are you recovering more slowly? Are you losing muscle mass? If so, it’s possible that you have a zinc deficiency. Surprisingly, around 40% of athletes are estimated to be deficient in zinc. This essential mineral is necessary for repairing muscle tissue after strenuous exercise, protecting the overtrained body from immune invaders, maintaining healthy testosterone levels and increasing power and strength. Some easy ways to get extra zinc in your diet are to eat meat, fish, poultry, egg yolks, spinach and pumpkin seeds.
Iron
The intense demands on the elite athlete’s body result in an increased demand for iron to perform optimally. Iron is involved in energy metabolism, immune function and even brain processes. Low iron levels for the athlete mean decreased sports performance, fatigue and weakness. Unfortunately, low iron is common among elite athletes. To keep performing at peak levels, foods such as spinach, broccoli, organ meats, shellfish, red meat and turkey should be consumed regularly if low iron levels may be holding you back from delivering your best.
Sodium
As many athletes have learned the hard way, don’t leave home without salt on hard hitting days! The body is made up of a lot of water; between 50% to 70%, depending on the amount of fat and muscle that you have. The proper ratio of sodium helps maintain fluid balance by regulating the concentration of all electrolytes in the body to prevent cramping, dehydration and nausea. Sodium is also necessary for optimal nerve impulse transmission, muscle contraction and cognitive function. The best sources of sodium are salts that have a balance of minerals, such as Pink Himalayan Salt and Celtic Sea Salt.
Next Steps
Minerals are increasingly mobilized during exercise, but quickly lost through sweat and urination. Depending on the exercise intensity, climate and how profusely one sweats, mineral supplementation may or may not be necessary even if the athlete adheres to a balanced diet. During competing or training, if you’re feeling rundown and unable to perform at your best or experiencing nausea or slow reaction speeds, you may be low in some vital minerals. Try adding a balanced electrolyte/mineral supplement to see if your performance improves. Some great brands to try are Eidon (this one doesn’t contain sodium so you will need to add salt, but it is excellent ), Nuun, Trace Minerals and Hammer Nutrition.