WHICH VITAMINS AND MINERALS YOUR BODY NEEDS DURING EXERCISE

Your preferred workout could include lifting weights, jogging on the treadmill, or playing one-on-one basketball with a buddy. But no matter how you stay active, you know when you’ve hit your sweet spot of physical activity. You sense your mind becoming bulls-eye focused on the workout, and you hardly notice the sweat or the muscle fatigue until you take a break.You appreciate how your mental and physical health tick up every time you exercise, but you wonder how you could enhance those benefits even more. How about ensuring that your muscles have the vitamins and minerals they need to stay strong through your workout? Include the nutrients below in your gym water bottle to replenish what you lose during exercise.

Sodium

If you’ve heard TV doctors and news reports rail against high-sodium diets, you likely think of sodium as a nutritional enemy. You should limit your sodium intake, but that’s not the whole story.You sweat out some salt during exercise, so give your bloodstream an adequate supply before you work out. Pay special attention to sodium intake before endurance exercise or while exercising in hot conditions.

Potassium

Bananas make a great post-workout snack because they have loads of potassium. Potassium encourages your muscles to recover faster and experience fewer cramps.Together with sodium, potassium serves another essential function during exercise. The nerves in your muscle fibers send electrical messages using charged sodium and potassium ions. In other words, your muscles cannot contract without those minerals. When you notice your muscles twitch or become weak, you’ve felt your body’s response to depleted sodium and potassium.

Magnesium

In addition to sodium, your sweat contains magnesium, so you need to replenish your body’s stored magnesium after an intense workout. Plus, your muscles contain more than 25% of your body’s magnesium. Magnesium also contributes to strong, dense bones and allows your metabolism to operate correctly-it’s a component in hundreds of enzymes.

Calcium

Unless you missed the decades-long “Got milk?” campaign, you know that milk builds strong bones. Those strong bones come in handy when you perform activities that put stress on your joints. Make sure you get a dose before tennis, racket ball, basketball, or a daily jog.Like sodium and potassium, calcium and magnesium act as a team when you put your muscles to work. Your muscle fibers use calcium to shorten, or contract, and they need magnesium to lengthen and relax after a rep. That’s why you should supplement with both before weight lifting or repetitive muscle movements.

Iron

Iron has dual meanings in the exercise world-the kind you pump and the kind you take. Without enough iron, your red blood cells won’t carry the required oxygen efficiently to your muscles. Insufficient iron leaves your muscles-and you-gasping for air.Take your iron before you head to the gym to stave off fatigue.  This mineral ensures that your muscles can store and produce plenty of energy. It allows you to endure all your reps or cover several miles.

Zinc

In a previous blog, we told you seven surprising facts about zinc (http://naturesenergy.wpengine.com/blog/?p=43). Here’s another one: low zinc reserves lead to lower oxygen. The USDA released those research findings (http://agresearchmag.ars.usda.gov/1999/jul/zinc) after noting that many athletes avoid beef, a major source of zinc. Your body relies on oxygen during aerobic
exercise, so take some zinc before your cardio work out.

Use the nutrients on this list to load up on vitamins and minerals before your workout. Get your doses from supplement formulas (http://naturesenergy.wpengine.com/ecommerce/category.i?cmd=subsubcat&catid=1:3) designed for maximum bioavailability. Outside the gym, remember to eat a balanced diet so you receive plenty of nutrients from whole food sources as well.