Are There Particular Supplements (vitamins, minerals, etc) that You Recommend for Basic Fitness Folk?
Absolutely! Medical science has confirmed that no diet, no matter how whole, organic, fresh or raw, can sustain the human body with every known essential nutrient. Our requirements change dramatically due to exercise, injury, infection, stress and aging.
For example, chromium (Cr) is an essential trace element required in glucose and lipid metabolism. It's present in organic beets, but not in beet or cane sugar (sucrose). How much chromium have you obtained in your diet lately? Do you know?
We all take it for granted that we're getting everything we need from our food, but when is the last time we had our diet analyzed to confirm this assumption? Dietary analysis goes hand-in-hand with a complete fitness and health assessment. The facts speak for themselves. Ideally, our training and nutrition program should be based on science and evidence gathered from a personal evaluation of our diet, lifestyle and exercise capacity.
Half the women in the United States are anemic. Why? They simply don't eat enough of the right food to provide them with reliable sources of B-12, folic acid and iron. Vitamin D has recently been shown to be commonly under-supplied, as well as vitamin A and many minerals important for adrenal and thyroid function, such as potassium and selenium. If the female population obtained optimum amounts of essential nutrients there would be less need for medical intervention and prescription drug use (abuse).
Don't take vitamins to compensate for shortages and disordered eating. Add essential vitamins and minerals to the best diet you can eat. Think positive. Be liberal with your health. As we age we need more essential vitamins, minerals, enzymes and phytochemicals to compensate for damage but less food energy (calories) to compensate for the decline in our metabolic rate. As we burn up in the fire of time, we all experience a reduction in mitochondrial function, metabolic enzyme activity, hormones and organ reserve.
Dr. Cory Holly is the founder and director of the Cory Holly Institute (CHI). CHI is an online university that specializes in sports nutrition, anti-aging, health & fitness education. For more information please visit coryholly.com
