The vitamins athletes take, as thousands compete at the Paralympics
The Paralympic Games Paris 2024 are underway, following the highly anticipated Paris 2024 Olympics which took place between July and August. In preparation for these elite sporting events, athletes will have undertaken strict diet regimes to optimise their nutritional intake.
This includes the types of vitamins they take to ensure they can perform at their best. Once they have determined what macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fats) best suits their sporting needs, the focus turns to micronutrients, which comprise of vitamins and minerals.
The human body requires 13 essential vitamins, which all play different roles in helping the body function normally - including vitamins A, C, D, E, K, and the B vitamins. Minerals like calcium, iodine, iron, and folic acid are also important.
But for athletes, a select few really stand out to boost performance, such as B vitamins, calcium, and vitamin D. Christianna Aristidou Karaolis, registered nutritionist at Nutriburst, explains to Yahoo UK: "B vitamins are crucial because they are involved in numerous essential processes, including energy production; so not having optimal levels will compromise how much energy is available to the body.
"B vitamins are also involved in many of the body’s nervous system processes and nerve transmission, which play a role in peak performance."
Calcium and vitamin D are involved in building and maintaining strong muscles and bones, which are crucial for athletes. "[This is] partly to ensure optimal performance, but also because they place more demands on their muscles and bones through intense training; so ensuring they are healthy reduces the risk of injury and promotes more efficient repair," Karaolis says.
"Most athletes can get sufficient calcium from their diet, but since sunlight is our best source of vitamin D, supplementing is usually recommended to maintain health levels all year round."
She advises that anyone looking to take a vitamin D supplement should ensure it has vitamin D3 and also contains vitamin K2, which helps the body absorb it.
Other nutritional supplements that can be deeply beneficial for athletes include anti-inflammatory compounds such as turmeric. The active compound in turmeric, curcumin, can help with recovery, Karaolis says.
"The process of exercise and training is inflammatory, causing microdamage and inflammation is a necessary part of growing muscle and getting stronger," she explains. "However, we want to help the body reduce this inflammation faster and promote more effective recovery; one of the best ways to do that is by utilising nutrients like turmeric which have been repeatedly shown to have powerful anti-inflammatory properties."
Karaolis adds that ashwaganda - a herb grown in Asia and Africa that is commonly used to treat stress - can have beneficial effects for athletes as various studies show improvements in strength, cardiorespiratory endurance and recovery.
In addition, Karaolis says creatine monohydrate is another nutrient that can "truly enhance athletic performance" as it has been shown to "help increase muscle mass [and] improve strength and endurance".
Last but not least, magnesium and zinc are key minerals for athletes. Magnesium helps with energy production, while zinc plays a role in the growth and repair of muscle tissue and effective functioning of the immune system.
When it comes to vitamin deficiencies, Karaolis says some deficiencies are commonly seen among athletes due to the greater demands they put on their body compared to the average person.
This includes vitamin D deficiency. "Another reason vitamin D deficiency can affect performance is that it is crucial for the healthy function of the immune system," Karaolis says. "Because athletes often push themselves to their limits, they can feel run down and more susceptible to illness. So a robust immune system is truly important to avoid illness."
Iron deficiencies are also common among athletes as their bodies have increased iron demand and iron loss. They require significantly more iron than the general population and if a deficiency in this mineral goes unaddressed, it can "lead to impaired muscle function, reduced energy, less endurance - all of which can hinder performance".
As for athletes who follow a vegan or vegetarian diet, B12 deficiencies may be common. They must therefore be more mindful about upping their intake of vitamin B12, as it is crucial for energy.
Karaolis adds: "Ultimately, athletes need to be even more mindful of their nutrition, understand their individual needs and deficiency risks. As well as having a healthy balanced diet, quality supplementation will help keep them in good health and performing at their best."
Read more about health and nutrition:
The health products you can skip, from detox teas to vitamin shots (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)
Nutritionists issue major warning as half of Brits say they would follow fad diets (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)
How to eat like an Olympian (Yahoo Life UK, 7-min read)
