Vitamins and Minerals - Daily Supplements
Completely natural supplements, proper vitamin and mineral intake are absolutely necessary for a bodybuilder's daily diet. Some vitamins and minerals are easily ingested through common foods, while others are found most easily in vitamin and mineral supplements.
Vitamins
Vitamins can be broken up into types: Fat-soluble and water-soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins are actually stored in your body's fat cells, so you do not necessarily need to ingest them on a daily basis. Water-soluble vitamins, on the other hand, are not stored in your body, so you absolutely need to get these vitamins daily from either foods or supplements.
Fat-soluble vitamins include: Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E and Vitamin K. Water-soluble vitamins include all forms of B-complex vitamins as well as Vitamin C.
Regardless of whether they are water or fat-soluble, these vitamins are all essential for any athlete. Vitamin C and the B-complex vitamins are considered to be the most important for athletes, probably because they are not stored in the body in any way.
Minerals
Minerals, like vitamins, are also essential for everyone, especially the serious athlete. Minerals such as Iron or Potassium can be found in common foods (spinach and bananas, respectively). Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in olive oil and salmon. In general, maintaining a very healthy diet of lean meats, plenty of vegetable and whole grains will get you many minerals you need on a daily basis. Of course, to be sure that you are getting the correct amount of minerals, you will most likely need to take a supplement.
Vitamin and Mineral Supplements
Second to real food, a multi-vitamin is the best way to get all of these essential vitamins and minerals every day. On the back of your multi-vitamin package, there will be a list of all of the included vitamins as well as the daily recommended percentages. Some vitamins and minerals included will make up well over the daily recommended percentage, while others will replace under 10% of what you actually need. For these situations, it is wise to take an additional pure vitamin and mineral supplement. You can find 100% Vitamin C or Iron supplements at any drugstore. For less common vitamins and minerals you can visit your local natural vitamin store.
For a review of the best vitamin and mineral supplements, please see the Supplements Review page.
Disclaimer: Before attempting any exercises, programs, routines, or modifying your current diet/supplement program you must get approval from a licensed medical practitioner. Any methods or advice given in this web site must be reviewed with your physician. Before attempting any new exercises or routines a full physical examination is highly recommended.
