Frequently Asked Questions
What are Minerals
Around four percent of body mass is made up from 22 minerals that are distributed in all body fluids and tissues.
Minerals are found freely in nature in oceans, lakes, rivers and in soil. Plants have root systems which absorbs minerals and eventually enter the tissues of humans and animals that eat plants.
Minerals have important parts in enzymes which are used for metabolism and serve in synthesizing glycogen, protein and fat, they also provide structure to bones and teeth.
A well structured diet will normally provide adequate intake of minerals except in some geographic locations such as iodine, or when an athlete trains to the extreme or is heavily dieting for fat or weight loss.
Calcium, which is mineral plays a primary role in the combat of osteoporosis which has reached almost an epidemic amongst older individuals, especially women. Regular resistance training and adequate intake of calcium help in providing a defence against this nast disease.
women who train regularly seldom eat enough to to match energy output which reduces body weight and fat levels to a point which affects menstruation which causes significant bone loss at an early age, getting menstruation back to normal does not necessarily fully restore bone mass.
Iron is another important mineral, in America around forty percent of women of childbearing age suffer from iron deficiency. This can lead to anemia which can negatively affect aerobic and anaerobic training. for vegetarians because of the lack of heme iron which is in red meat they have more chance of iron deficiency as nonheme iron is harder to absorb so an increase in vitamin c is required to aid in intestinal absorption of nonheme iron.
During summertime during long spells of endurance training can sometimes reduce sodium, potassium and magnesium levels in the body so that your performance is hindered so a good isotonic drink like Viper Active is a good way of stocking up on your minerals and also hydrating your body from water loss.
