Training forges performance, but diet makes it last.
For top-level athletes, every effort subjects the body to oxidative stress and perspiration, which deplete reserves of vitamins, minerals and other essential micronutrients.
What vitamins and minerals are essential for top-level athletes? Iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, vitamins B, C, D... These are all essential elements, every day, to maintain fitness, promote recovery, prevent injury and improve endurance.
Performance is not just a question of calories consumed, but also of quality. A varied, balanced diet helps improve muscle contraction, oxygenate red blood cells, repair tissues and protect the nervous system.
So, let's take a look at how to cover the nutritional needs of these athletes, and which foods to add to their plate.
Why do athletes need more micronutrients?
The role of vitamins and minerals in the body
In addition to macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, lipids), which provide calories, our body needs vitamins and minerals, which do not. These are known as micronutrients , and are essential to the proper functioning of the human body.
The body produces little or none of these substances. It uses these substances in small quantities for essential chemical reactions linked to energy metabolism, cell growth or repair, as well as protection of the muscular system or functioning of the nervous system¹.
The impact of intense physical effort on energy
Without even mentioning high-level physical activity, metabolic changes occur during exercise. Oxidative stress, perspiration and caloric expenditure increase with effort, and are accompanied by:
- hydroelectrolytic losses;
- protein losses;
- a drop in glycogen reserves;
- lipid mobilization (in the event of prolonged effort)².
This is why recovery is so important for athletes. It's the moment when the body compensates for these losses and helps the muscles to recover, thanks to the right diet and hydration. In fact, milk has long been a staple food for recovery, thanks to its nutritional qualities and its composition rich in water, protein, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, iodine, selenium and vitamins B2 - B12².
Today, we are able to obtain the benefits of milk elements for sports recovery, without lactose and without resorting to a chemically processed or modified product.
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Why do we always combine vitamins and minerals?
Firstly, because vitamins and minerals belong to the same family of essential micronutrients. They are often combined, as they play a complementary physiological role. For example, group B vitamins and magnesium work together to produce energy via the Krebs cycle, which supplies ATP. Similarly, the absorption of iron is facilitated by the action of vitamin C.
Food sources are also often the same, which explains why they are grouped together. Green vegetables are rich in vitamin K and magnesium, while oilseeds provide vitamin E and magnesium.
Essential vitamins for top athletes
Our body uses the 13 existing vitamins, 4 of which are fat-soluble (vitamins A, D, E, K), i.e. they dissolve in fat. The other 9 are water-soluble (B1, B2, B3-PP, B5, B6, B8, B9, B12, vitamin C).
Group B vitamins: annexes to energy fuels
Group B vitamins are essential for top-level athletes. They are involved in ATP and protein synthesis, mass gain,oxygenation and recovery:
- B1, B2, B5 provide energy via their involvement in the Krebs cycle;
- B3 is involved in cellular respiration;
- B6 is involved in tissue synthesis;
- B9 contributes to cell renewal;
- B12 is the muscle-strength vitamin, since it is involved in mass gain by developing proteins.
Vitamins C and E: powerful antioxidants
They are friends of the immune system.
Vitamin C is water-soluble and contributes to the biochemical reactions that support immune function in the body. It is rare to be deficient in ascorbic acid (another name for vitamin C), as the recommended intake is low and it is easily found in fresh fruit and vegetables.
However, it can be consumed in greater quantities in the event of illness for athletes who exercise intensely¹.
As with any vitamin or mineral supplementation, it is advisable to seek medical advice from a healthcare professional beforehand, to avoid self-prescription.
Essential vitamin E has an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action, and protects the fatty acids in cell membranes³.
Vitamin D: the sunshine vitamin
The body synthesizes it following exposure to light. This is why high-level athletes practicing indoor activities need to be vigilant.
Vitamin D is important for bone function. For example, it acts against osteoporosis.
Vitamin A: vision, cell regeneration, skin health
It is involved invisual acuity, which is important, even if it comes second among the vitamins and minerals essential for athletes.
Cover mineral and trace element requirements
A healthy diet also includes minerals and trace elements, whose essential role is to counter fatigue. There are over twenty of them, but let's take a look at the main ones.
Calcium, phosphorus and magnesium: the allies of sporting activity
Calcium plays a role in the growth and density of bones, but from a sporting point of view, we're more interested in its role in muscle and heart contraction.
Phosphorus is another very important mineral for athletes, acting on bone structure and helping to regenerate tissues. It is also the mineral involved in phosphorylation, during the manufacture of ATP, our energy fuel.
Finally, who hasn't heard during training that you should eat dark chocolate and bananas to combat cramps? It's true, magnesium deficiency can lead to cramps or muscular tetany, as can potassium deficiency. Magnesium is found in many foods, including bananas, dark chocolate, water and lentils.
Iron and zinc for oxygenation and mineralization
A sufficient quantity of iron in the body guarantees an adequate quantity ofhemoglobin. This protein is important because it transports oxygen throughout the body. Iron is found in meat and meat products, but beware of its quality. Iron of plant origin, for example, is less well assimilated by the body than iron of animal origin.
Menstruating women and growing children have temporarily higher iron requirements.
Zinc, on the other hand, is a trace element used in response to heavy sweating during intense physical exercise, or during the recovery phase when it aids the mineralization process. For sports enthusiasts, zinc deficiency can be linked to iron deficiency.
Sodium and chlorine for hydration and cellular exchange
Sodium is responsible for water exchange within cells. Combined with chlorine, it forms cooking salt or sodium chloride. Beware of excess salt, synonymous with dehydration, which has serious consequences for the body, as well as impairing sporting performance.
The opposite is also true: salt deficiency is to be avoided, which is why salt is added to drinks accompanying intense exertion lasting more than an hour in a hot environment (around 1g/l).
Silicon and copper: antioxidant protection
Silicon is a trace element that improves recovery, particularly in the case of fractures, where it helps to combat bone-related difficulties. In sport, it also has an anti-inflammatory effect on joints and tendons.
Speaking of anti-inflammatories, copper also plays a role in theoxidation of glucose for energy purposes. It is considered one of the essential minerals for athletes.
How to avoid vitamin and mineral deficiencies?
If an athlete's nutrition is naturally balanced, and there are no particular cases of pathology or injury, daily mineral and vitamin requirements are generally covered.
Focus on natural food sources
To reduce fatigue, improve sporting performance and optimize recovery, top-level athletes need a varied, balanced diet. Insufficient intake can lead to deficiencies, with different negative effects depending on the vitamin or mineral concerned.
There is no scientific evidence that vitamin and mineral supplementation improves performance, except in cases where a deficiency exists.¹
So we prefer fresh fruit and vegetables (rich in vitamin C), as well as legumes, oilseeds, oily fish and wholegrain cereals. Above all, avoid processed foods and sugary drinks.
A healthy intestine for optimal nutrition
More and more studies are focusing on the intestinal microbiota, and the quality of this microbiota impacts the quality of digestive absorption and the assimilation of micronutrients⁴.
There are several microbiota in the body. These collections of bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi constitute ecosystems that are unique to each individual. At intestinal level, for example, the microbiota is involved in:
- the assimilation of nutrients by the intestine;
- the synthesis of certain vitamins (K or B) and amino acids;
- the absorption of calcium and magnesium.
The idea of a personalized approach is making headway in the search for a link between microbiota and disease, but in time, this individualization could enter the field of top-level sport. In the meantime, the best thing to do is to continue taking care of it.
When is supplementation really necessary?
Dietary supplements are useful in certain cases, such as deficiencies, periods of intense sporting activity, strict vegetarianism and so on.
For the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), supplementation can be justified when there is a reduction in dietary energy intake, for example when traveling to countries with limited food supplies. Consumption can also be explained by a period of restriction necessary to manage body weight, body optimization or in people with severe food intolerances.
However, the AIS reminds us that vitamin and mineral supplements do not contain the variety, at the chemical level, found in fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices.
Conclusion
Vitamins and minerals play a vital role in sports performance, especially in the world of top-level competition, where athletes must follow precise, demanding dietary plans to meet their metabolic and muscular needs. Their main functions are to produce energy, strengthen the immune system, promote recovery, maintain water balance and protect the body from oxidative stress.
Among the best-known are vitamins B, D, C, E and A, as well as minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, sodium and potassium. While dietary supplements are tempting, food remains the primary recommended source of vitamins and minerals. In practice, a varied, natural and well-balanced diet is sufficient, except in a few special cases requiring medical supervision. Proper absorption also depends on the health of our intestines, so let's take care of our microbiota to optimize our daily nutritional intake.
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