5 essential minerals to help you exercise effectively

Workout nutrition isn’t just about protein, carbs, or vitamins. The minerals necessary for exercise when fully supplemented will also help you practice better and more effectively.

Essential minerals for exercise are important for muscle strength and flexibility, bone density, and heart and lung health. Besides, exercise can deplete many useful vitamins and minerals. Therefore, the identification and supplementation of minerals is extremely necessary.

Essential minerals for exercise

1. Iron

Iron is an essential mineral for training because it helps to increase your strength. When you exercise, your muscles take in oxygen from your blood, and iron can aid in this process. If you feel depressed, tired when exercising, it could be because your body is lacking iron.

The longer the workout, the more minerals you need. For example, when you run, your iron requirements will increase by 30%. The recommended amount per day for iron is 18mg. You should eat iron-rich foods such as:

• Fortified Cereals: choose products with less than 9mg of iron per serving
• Beef: each 85g serving of beef will provide 2.9mg of iron
• Types of Shellfish: A medium-sized oyster will provide 4mg of iron

Vegetarians are often prone to iron deficiency because plants contain only one type of iron, called nonheme iron. The body has difficulty absorbing and using this iron.

If you don’t eat meat, combine beans and dark green vegetables with foods rich in vitamin C, like broccoli and bell peppers, to help your body absorb iron better.

2. Calcium

Calcium is always on the list of essential minerals for exercise because of its importance for muscles and joints. This mineral helps control muscle contractions, one of the factors that determines how much and how long you can exercise.

People who exercise 4-5 times per week need 1,000-1,300mg of calcium per day. However, up to 62% of people are calcium deficient. If the body doesn’t have enough, they take calcium from the bones. This causes bone density to thin, which can lead to fractures or injury when exercising.

Calcium is useful for musculoskeletal development and will definitely be an essential mineral for exercise

For a better supplement, eat calcium-rich foods such as:

• Dairy products: 170g low-fat yogurt with 311mg calcium
• Milk alternatives: 1 cup of almond milk 240ml contains 450mg calcium
• Kale: 130g cooked cabbage has 940mg calcium
• Sardines: A can of sardines about 90g can contain 351mg of calcium

3. Magnesium

Magnesium helps your muscles use oxygen and glucose, which has an impact on your body’s strength and endurance. That’s why magnesium is one of the essential minerals for training. However, the more you exercise, the more magnesium will be lost through sweat.

You need 320mg of magnesium per day to stay active with magnesium-rich foods such as:

• Dark green vegetables: 180g cooked spinach has 157mg magnesium
• Nuts and Nuts: 28g almonds contain 77mg magnesium
• Brown rice, brown rice: About 185g of rice will contain 84mg of magnesium

Do not drink more than three cups of coffee and one glass of wine a day as they can deplete magnesium levels.

>>> See more: Do not combine food supplements if you do not know

4. Zinc

You probably already know that zinc helps improve the immune system. However, zinc is also an essential mineral for training because it helps in muscle recovery.

Zinc helps the body metabolize carbs, fat, and protein, and helps muscles repair and recover faster after you exercise.

Zinc supplements help support better muscle recovery

You need 9-12mg of zinc per day. The most zinc-rich foods are:

• Beef: 85g of beef provides 4mg of zinc
• Shellfish: 85g of lobster will contain 3.4mg of zinc
• Cheddar cheese: 57g of cheddar cheese for 2.6mg of zinc
• Chickpeas: 164g of cooked chickpeas has 1.7mg of zinc
• quinoa seeds: 185g of cooked quinoa contains 2mg of zinc
• Pumpkin seeds: 15g of pumpkin seeds will provide 2.7mg of zinc

5. Potassium

Potassium is an essential mineral for exercise. This mineral helps every cell in the body use glucose for energy. Without enough potassium, your muscles will tire quickly, you will react more slowly, and you may also feel shaky or nauseous.

The recommended daily intake is 4700mg of potassium. However, most of us only have about 50% of what we need. Therefore, it is important to add to the diet these foods rich in potassium:

• Banana: One medium banana contains 422mg of potassium
• White beans: 180g white beans have 1000mg potassium
• Potato: A medium baked potato will provide 952mg of potassium
• Spinach: 180g of cooked cabbage contains 839mg of potassium
• Dried peaches: 65g of dried peaches to help supplement 755mg of potassium

Note when supplementing essential minerals for exercisers

Supplementing minerals to ensure effective training is something that any gym person is interested in. However, you should note the following to properly supplement.

• Choose the necessary minerals for training from organic sources, ensuring safety and nutrition
• Allocate the required amount of minerals in each meal, do not put all the recommended amounts each day into one meal. Because the body will not be able to absorb all at once
• Do not eat too much fiber when you want to supplement minerals needed for exercise. You should only eat 25g of fiber per day. Because a lot of fiber will prevent the body from absorbing minerals

Instead of using functional foods, it is much better to supplement minerals needed for training from natural foods

Reference source

5 Minerals That Seriously Supercharge Your Workouts. https://www.shape.com/ Accessed date: 5/27/2020