Vitamins and fitness

Do you take vitamins or supplements in the hope that your sports performance will be enhanced? Do you know how much and what kind of vitamin or type of supplement is needed for success in your activity?

There are 13 vitamins, divided into two categories, fat-soluble and water-soluble. Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble vitamins that are stored in the body, They can build up in the body to toxic levels if too much is consumed.

Water soluble vitamins, the eight Bs and vitamin C, are washed out of the body via sweat and urine. Theses are important facts if you are taking any type of vitamin or supplement.

If you are a serious competitor with a structured practice schedule, you may consume between 4,000 and 6,000 calories per day. If those calories are based on a well-balanced diet, you probably have little to worry about regarding vitamins. Vitamins or supplements, whether in the natural food you eat or in pill form, are metabolic catalysts that regulate the chemical reactions in your body, acting as partial enzymes.

Extra vitamins will not give you a winning edge or build muscle. They will not prevent injury or stop illness. And they will not enhance your endurance or provide you with added energy. Strenuous exercise does not necessarily increase your need for additional vitamins. In short, they will not be a key factor in your losing or winning that race.

Vitamin C is an example. There are 60 milligrams of vitamin C in a small, 6-ounce glass of orange juice. It is all that a body needs for 100 percent of the daily RDA dose of C.

Athletes often drink a quart of orange juice in a single sitting. If you consume 4,000 calories of nutritional food a day, you may take in as much as four times your normal vitamin requirement.

Eating a well-balanced diet long before you compete in any sports event will be your best advantage for winning.

If you suffer an injury during competition, your body will need calcium and phosphorous for maintaining and developing strong bones. It also needs vitamin C for fighting infection and maintaining healthy tissue. And it needs zinc for healing. All are products found in daily balanced nutrition.

Your body also needs an adequate supply of minerals. About 7 pounds of minerals are found in an average 150-pound person. You can get those required minerals from good, nutritious meals. Minerals are picked up from the soil in foods as they grow, meat and in the water you drink.

So a healthy diet should be adequate for competition, unless your doctor denotes a problem area that needs to be enhanced.

-- Jerry Vance is owner of The Sweat Shop/Wet Sweat. She offers classes through Carson City Recreation and Aquatics Center and is a fitness instructor for the senior center.