How Vitamins and minerals work together with nutrients in food?
Vitamins and minerals work together with nutrients in food. While antioxidant vitamins E and C and beta-carotene should be obtained by habitual consumption of foods high in antioxidant value (fruits, vegetables, whole grains). Hundreds of antioxidants, some of which act synergistically, are available in foods. Supplementing is unlikely to help.
Thus, the key to obtain the adequate vitamins and minerals is to eat a wide variety of nutrient-dense foods in amounts that will maintain energy balance, Fruits and vegetables are particularly rich in vitamins and antioxidants as well. Supplements are not replacements for food. Vitamin supplements are commonly used by athletes to make up for less than optimal diets. It is well known that vitamin and mineral deficiencies impair physical performance. However, research indicates that if there are no deficiencies, supplementation above nutritionally adequate sports diet does not improve physical work capacity, endurance, oxygen consumption, cardiovascular function, muscle strength, or resistance to fatigue.
Consuming an excess of any mineral can interfere with digestion and absorption of other minerals and lead to mineral imbalances. In large enough doses, all minerals can be toxic. Hence, one should be very careful in taking vitamin and mineral supplementation and the intake should be discontinued periodically to prevent toxic effects. So by now you must have understood that success in sports relies on many aspects, and nutrition is one of them. Thus, to excel in sports it is very important to strategically plan the pre-event meal, to maintain fluid and electrolyte balance during the game and to build up a post-game recovery strategy.