Vitamins and Minerals: Functions, Benefits, and Sources | PRO7fitness.com

Most of us eat inadequately (don’t doubt it), lacking important nutrients that are vital for the normal functioning of the body. For many, the state of acute, ongoing deficiency of vitamins and minerals lasts for years. The consequences of a lack of essential vitamins and minerals can be catastrophic (especially for athletes), even leading to death. Vitamins for athletes are just as important as protein: one of their functions is to aid in the digestion and absorption of protein and amino acids, which means more effective muscle mass gain.

This article is from the category of “basics of sports nutrition.” The goal is to understand what vitamins and minerals are, what types exist, their functions in the body, and in which natural products they are found.

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Vitamins

Vitamins are natural components of food necessary for the normal functioning of the body. One of their most important functions is their role in the synthesis of enzymes (ferments), which are catalysts for chemical reactions, including digestive ones.

Vitamins are vital, but unlike macronutrients (fats, proteins, and carbohydrates), they are not a source of energy.

In general, all vitamins are divided into water-soluble and fat-soluble, depending on what they dissolve better in.

Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble. In order to be absorbed, they must first be dissolved in dietary fat.

In the body, fat-soluble vitamins are stored and accumulated in those cells that contain fat particles in one form or another. Thanks to this unique storage ability, vitamins of this type do not need to be consumed every day.

Partially fat-soluble vitamins of this type are excreted from the body with feces.

Vitamins of the B group and vitamin C are water-soluble. They are transported in the body with the help of protein molecules.

Since there is a constant circulation of water in the body, water-soluble vitamins are not stored in large amounts, and as a rule, are excreted with urine along with their breakdown products. This is why it is important for them to be supplied through food to the body every day.

A short-term deficiency of fat-soluble vitamins is not dangerous, while water-soluble vitamins must be supplied to the body every day

Interestingly, water-soluble vitamins can leach out of foods during cooking and storage. Therefore, they are best preserved when cooked in a microwave, steamed, or baked. During boiling, some of the water-soluble vitamins migrate into the water and are lost if the water is drained afterward.

Frozen and canned vegetables are generally very rich in vitamins.

Vitamins are best preserved when cooked in a microwave, steamed, or baked; during boiling, water-soluble vitamins leach out. Frozen and canned vegetables are generally very rich in vitamins

There are no universal recommendations for vitamin intake, nor can there be, as many factors determine individual needs, including:

• gender
• gastrointestinal health
• medications used
• psychological state
• level of physical activity
• age-related changes.

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Minerals

Like vitamins, minerals are not direct sources of energy, but they are essential. They serve as building blocks for various cells, including teeth and bones, enzymes, and are involved in the processes of transmitting nerve impulses from cell to cell, etc.

Minerals do not require digestion, as they are the simplest elements. They do not break down when heated, remaining in foods during cooking processes.

Minerals do not break down when heated, remaining in foods even after cooking

Minerals enter plant foods from the soil and water during the growth of plants. They migrate into the meat of animals during the feeding of animals on plants. That is, whether you eat plant foods or dairy – in both cases, natural minerals enter your body.

Minerals are involved in the creation of enzymes (digestive enzymes that accelerate the digestion process) within the body or can play their role themselves. They are also components of intercellular electrolytes (solutions of charged particles), which facilitate the transport of electrical charges in the body, nerve impulses: the brain works, the heart beats, and the limbs move.

Important
In natural food products (usually plant-based), there are often other substances, phytates and oxalates, for example, that hinder the absorption of minerals. This is a serious problem primarily for vegetarians, especially those who mainly consume foods high in these substances (only rice, corn, soy, etc.), as the risk of developing mineral deficiencies increases. In the case of a mixed diverse diet, there is nothing to worry about.

Plant products often contain substances that hinder the absorption of minerals; vegetarians have an increased risk of mineral deficiencies

Important
Synthetic vitamins and minerals that can be purchased at the pharmacy differ from those found in natural food. Micronutrients in natural products come in combinations that are optimal for absorption, triggering cascade reactions in the body and therefore are maximally beneficial. It is practically impossible to model something similar in vitamin and mineral complexes produced in a laboratory.

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Phytochemicals

Like vitamins and minerals, phytochemicals are not energy carriers, but they perform a variety of health-promoting functions.

Scientists continue to discover new substances in this class. Currently, about 10,000 are known. But it is important to understand that they are merely naming substances that have always been part of plants. This is one explanation for the benefits of plant-based foods: not only because they contain known substances, but also because there is still much that we do not know about them.

Phytochemicals not only give plants certain colors (green, red, yellow, etc.): color serves as a kind of indicator of what disease the plant is beneficial against. A deficiency of certain phytochemicals in the diet can lead to an increased risk of chronic diseases.

A deficiency of certain phytochemicals in the diet can lead to an increased risk of chronic diseases

One statistical study notes that approximately 31% of people consume insufficient amounts of green vegetables and fruits, 22% – red, 21% – yellow and orange, 14% – white, 12% – purple and blue.

The power of individual phytonutrients is immense. For example, naringenin in grapefruit affects the body’s susceptibility to medications. Raspberry seed oil has a sun protection function. Garlic thins the blood.

Phytonutrients act through various mechanisms:

• they are antioxidants
• affect hormonal function
• protect DNA from carcinogens
• have antibacterial and antiviral effects
• reduce inflammatory processes
• affect blood clotting
• prevent the synthesis of fat cells

The variety of mechanisms is enormous. Some of them can be very complex in nature. For example, some phytonutrients can even affect certain cells in the body, subjecting them to mild stress, thereby training them and making them stronger by creating an internal defense mechanism (scientifically called “hormesis”).

Conclusion: consume plants of different colors, as they are rich in phytonutrients. Do not replace them with special phytonutrient supplements that are not comprehensive, balanced in composition and quantity of components.

Phytonutrients from natural plant foods are balanced in composition and quantity of components and therefore more beneficial than special supplements

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