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FEMALE
BODYBUILDING
Your Growth Zone: how to get the proper
amounts of vitamins and minerals for the best bodybuilding results -
Nutrition
For optimal
muscle-building results, bodybuilders need vitamins and minerals.
The key is knowing which ones to take and how much. Too little
vitamin [B.sub.12] or a shortage of folic acid can lead to a break
in DNA, leaving no blueprint for making muscle. A deficiency in
zinc, which reduces testosterone levels in sedentary men and
high-level athletes alike, can be corrected by supplementation.
Getting enough of the vitamins and minerals you need can be crucial
for your bodybuilding success. In fact, the consensus among medical
experts has increasingly shifted toward the same kinds of
recommendations that FLEX makes regarding supplementation. The
bottom line is that correcting marginal vitamin and mineral
deficiencies can increase muscle mass, cause fat loss and promote
better overall health.
A bonus for modern bodybuilders is that dietary supplements are
better designed and better absorbed than ever before; however, as
too much of anything can sometimes be as bad as too little, you have
to be mindful of safe limits (see the chart "Inside the Growth
Zone"). Many supplements now contain added ingredients, and that can
mean a greater chance of overdoing a particular nutrient by mistake
if it's in more than one product you take. A vitamin or mineral
overdose isn't likely to put you in a hospital, but it can certainly
slow you down and cause an imbalance in your body. It can also tie
up valuable financial resources you could be using to invest in
other products. FLEX recommends keeping vitamin and mineral dosages
below the safe upper limits presented in this article. That way, you
stay in the growth range for each nutrient and you get the best
value for your dollar.
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Here's the rundown on six
common vitamins and minerals that bodybuilders take, accompanied by
suggested doses to help you keep growing.
ZINC Because it tends to be low in a diet, zinc has been added to
many products to ward off deficiency. It can ease a sore throat and,
although it does so admirably, the sheer number of zinc-containing
products makes it a mineral to watch out for during cold and flu
season. One lozenge can contain a full daily dose of 15 milligrams
(mg) of zinc. Although it is considered a safe mineral, few people
consume just one lozenge. For zinc, 60 mg per day is the absolute
upper limit, and we believe that 15 mg per day of supplemental zinc
(over and above that derived from food) covers you as a bodybuilder.
You can safely go slightly higher. Keep in mind that ZMA (a popular
zinc and magnesium supplement designed for bodybuilders) and most
multivitamin/multimineral tablets contain 15 mg of zinc.
IRON Women athletes, especially vegetarians, usually get too little
iron, and that can cause anemia. However, some male athletes,
including bodybuilders, may need to practice discretion where iron
is concerned. Studies of middle-aged men suggest that too much iron
is associated with a higher incidence of degenerative brain
diseases, as well as free-radical damage to the heart (and
presumably other muscles, as well).
The average man gets 18-20 mg of iron per day from food, so
supplementing with it is less of a priority for male bodybuilders
than it is for female bodybuilders, for whom menstruation causes
iron loss. Chicken breast and other bodybuilding foods tend to be
high in iron (even at about half that of red meat), providing more
than enough for most male bodybuilders. Supplemental iron adds
approximately 18 mg and covers you for this mineral. Pushing intake
beyond 65 mg per day is unnecessary and may carry long-term health
risks. In fact, male bodybuilders who eat a lot of red meat may want
to look for iron-free multis, a new trend in supplements. We
recommend staying well under the 100 mg per day limit for
supplement-source iron, in any event. Exceptions to this rule
include those suffering from anemia and vegetarians who shun
iron-rich foods.
SELENIUM It's wise to be moderate in the use of the trace mineral
selenium, although its toxicity very much depends on the chemical
form taken. Specifically, sodium selenite is often unsafe at levels
exceeding 600 micrograms (mcg), whereas selenium from yeast, L-selenomethionine
and sodium selenate are generally much safer. Nonetheless, too much
of any of these forms may eventually damage the liver and nervous
system, as well as cause unsightly changes to skin, hair and
fingernails. As a result, we recommend 200 mcg of this extremely
valuable trace element per day--well below the daily 910 mcg upper
limit (total of all products, including vitamin/mineral tablets).
VITAMIN A This is another nutrient to watch. Unlike beta-carotene or
vegetable-source vitamin A, high doses of the supplemental form
known as retinol can eventually accumulate in the liver enough to
cause a toxic spill into the blood. High levels of vitamin A can
cause birth defects, so it's important for female bodybuilders to
avoid this supplement in high doses (10,000 international units [IU]
or more) if there is a chance of pregnancy. Nonetheless, the
nutrient is very safe, and staying below the upper limit simply
means avoiding megadosing, as in taking more than 21,000 IU or four
multivitamins (instead of just one) per day for months on end. |
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