Effects of Workout on Vitamin Needs

An athlete in regular training and competition will have a requirement for a higher intake of vitamins compared to a sedentary individual. Exercise, even of the moderate kind, places extra stresses and demands upon the body and metabolic processes are increased, all requiring the use of vitamins taken in from food and drink. Heavy exercise and competition increase vitamin requirements further.
During training, the athlete is taking in and utilizing much more oxygen as part of the energy production process than when at rest. Increased use of oxygen results in a higher level of free radicals which need to be disarmed by the antioxidant enzymes (which are created from vitamin B2 and a number of minerals) and the antioxidant vitamins, A, C and E. Without a good supply of antioxidant vitamins, the athletes’ body is likely to incur a high level of free radical damage. As well as potentially causing disease, free radial damage has also been connected with post exercise muscle soreness, therefore, a lack of these vitamins might mean that the athlete finds it harder to recover from training and competition. Athletes training outdoors are also at risk of free radical damage from pollution in the air.
Training increases the physical stress on the body which depletes the body of vitamin C and the B vitamin complex. Also the energy production process requires all the B vitamins and biotin, either directly or in the creation of enzymes needed for energy production. All these vitamins are water-soluble and cannot be stored in the body, without an adequate daily supply, the athlete would soon be lacking in energy and finding training difficult.
Red blood cells are vitally important for energy as they transport oxygen around the body, making them essential for good athletic performance. Iron is required for red blood cell formation and good intake of vitamin C aids absorption of iron from food. Vitamin B12 is also required in the formation of red blood cells. Low levels of red blood cells, or anaemia, can reduce VO2max and impair performance so athletes need to ensure a good intake of these nutrients.
During training, damage to muscles occurs and stress is placed on ligaments, tendons and bones. The body has to repair damaged structures and strengthen them against the possibility of future damage. Vitamin B6 and folic acid help in this process as they are needed for amino acid metabolism. Vitamin C is also important for repairing and strengthening tissues as it is needed for production off collagen found in skin, bones and connective tissues.
In order to ensure the athlete’s body is functioning optimally, able to withstand heavy training and competition, able to recover well from training and be generally healthy with a strong immune system, they would need to ensure a high intake of vitamins. It is highly likely that the athlete will need these vitamins at levels higher that the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA), which is just designed to prevent deficiency diseases.
An athlete is likely to be eating more food than the average sedentary person and therefore likely to be consuming more vitamins, but the extra consumed may not be enough to cover the extra requirements as a result of their training. Also, many antioxidant vitamins are obtained from fruits and vegetables, and as these foods are high in fiber it would be difficult for an athlete to consume much more of them than should be consumed by a sedentary person, as the bulkiness of these foods may leave them too full to consume the higher carbohydrate foods required to fulfil their energy needs.
Therefore, it is recommended that the athlete eats mostly nutrient rich foods in the form of unrefined carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables and quality protein and that they also look at backing this up with a vitamin supplement. When choosing a supplement, they should look at the Suggested Optimal Nutrient Intakes (SONAs) which have recently been established. These give levels of vitamins which more closely match what is needed for optimal health and are more likely to cover the needs of an athlete.

Fasting Teenagers

Fasting teenagers may have parental support or opposition. Fasting teenagers younger than 18 years of age need to request your guardian to fast. Some parents support teenagers on short juice fasts and others radically oppose it. If they oppose, your fast may try convincing them to let you try one or two days of juice fasting and then see how it goes. If your reason to fast is due to health problems, then you need to go slowly, and learn as much as you can. I recommend the juice, egg white fast supplemented by omega oils and a multi B vitamin as the program supplies all your body’s needs in abundance.
Fasting Teenagers Often Fast For The Wrong Reason
Sadly, fasting fits very well with the psychological process of anorexia and bulimia. The fasting is a natural progression to these diseases. Teenagers are often faced with complex dilemmas and stress that do not affect adults. Most teenagers who tackle fasting, have intense peer pressure to look good, shame, guilt and low self-esteem, and their motivation is to look like a fashion model. Yes, juice fasting is excellent for weight loss, but most teenagers do not have money for a juicer or the support of a parent in fasting, so they fast on pop and fruit drinks and the results are not good. The body loses weight but the health suffers. The body can live for many months with very few calories, but without nutrition the body suffers.

Overeating After Fasting

Overeating after fasting is a common problem. Here are some ideas to deal with overeating after fasting from a person having problems with overeating after fasting.
I would like to do a water fast for healing and weight loss. However, I fear the inevitable extreme need to feed after breaking the fast.
I’ve done two 3-day water fasts in the past 2 years and both times I have a few days that I do really well eating small amounts and not wanting more, but then after about 5 days I get incredibly hungry and all I want to do is eat.
My thought patterns change into only wanting to eat and take over. Then I ended up overeating to nausea. I don’t want to start a fast unless I know how to deal with this. Any tips?

Overeating and Emotional Cravings

Emotional cravings is the main reason why most persons who sacrifice and do a long-term fast soon gain the weight back.
What I have discovered in my case is that the mind, after fasting, seems to unleash an unconscious thought pattern that tells me I better eat all that I can before the “starvation” torture is again inflicted upon the body.
So, every time I have completed the fast, the hunger pains seem to return with a vengeance when I start eating solid food again.
My biggest weapon for this has been to eat and chew slowly and not succumb to the voracity that wants me to devour my plate. This is done one bite at a time, one meal at a time.
After a few days, or sometimes weeks, the voracity dies down and the body accepts the new diet regimen. When I say diet in this case, I am referring to the new eating habits that MUST be part of your post-fasting lifestyle.
So, in short, what happens when you overeat after fasting is that you are succumbing to the body’s unconscious signal that, in order to avoid future “starvation,” you must eat, eat and eat.
Once you are done fasting, your body is clean. The hunger pains at this point also often are the symptom of the same emotional issues that caused me to overeat in the first place.
I may finish a fast and feel insecure, thus food can be my buddy to cover that up. Or I may feel lost and sad because suddenly I am no longer in the “safe zone” or binging and overeating.
When one has been overweight for a long time, this “fat” image can become a person’s identity. Any change to that image brings up fear, a feeling of being lost and intense insecurity.
These feelings very often result in increased hunger and, unfortunately in some cases, a relapse into overeating.
It also happens that being slimmer and healthier is “uncharted territory.” For me, it was always easier to remain fat, shy and withdrawn, than to change.
I knew that just losing the weight was the tip of the iceberg, but that the weight loss had to be accompanied by changes in my thoughts, behaviors and approach to life.
I knew I had to come out of the shadows and join humanity in a more dynamic fashion. This was terrifying to me, so I gorged again and gained all the weight back - leading me to the cave that was so painful yet so familiar.
The bottom line is that the first three to six months after fasting are crucial because you are actually forging a brand new image of yourself.
And the hunger pains will increase as a defense mechanism against future “starvation.”
But if you keep yourself vigilant, continue to practice self discipline and learn to eat slowly and deliberately, the “voracity” will go away and you will find yourself establishing positive and constructive life-long eating habits.

Over Eating Is Loss of Thought Control
Our thoughts have such control over our bodies. We can give in to negative thinking processes and return to old eating habits. Overeating it may be a way of rewarding yourself after putting so much effort into meeting your goal. Overeating may be meeting a psychological unfulfilled need.
When you are done fasting, your body is clean. The hunger pains at this point also often are the symptom of the same emotional issues that caused me to overeat in the first place. I may finish a fast and feel It also happens that being slimmer and healthier is “uncharted territory.” For me, it was always easier to remain fat, shy and withdrawn, than to change. I knew that just losing the weight was the tip of the iceberg, but that the weight loss had to be accompanied by changes in my thoughts, behaviors and approach to life. I knew I had to come out of the shadows and join humanity in a more dynamic fashion. This was terrifying to me, so I gorged again and gained all the weight back - leading me to the cave that was so painful yet so familiar.
The first three to six months after fasting are crucial because you are actually forging a brand new image of yourself. And the hunger pains will increase as a defense mechanism against future “starvation.” But if you keep yourself vigilant, continue to practice self discipline and learn to eat slowly and deliberately, the “voracity” will go away and you will find yourself establishing positive and constructive life-long eating habits.
Fasting isn’t just for losing weight. Fasting heals the mind……….and the soul (our body). Remember, our minds lead our body and a healthy body soothes our minds. I wish you success!