Sport: the supplements you need the most

Today the offer of food supplements for athletes is really vast and often we find it difficult to choose. Here’s how to orient yourself.

As far as food supplementation is concerned, each sportsman is a special case: much depends on the state of health, the type of diet and the type of sport practiced.

And while the availability of products for athletes is expanding, with always different formulations, opinions on the appropriateness of hiring them are not yet unanimous, especially in the case of amateur activities.

It is true that in particular conditions, even following a correct lifestyle and diet, it is possible that an athlete needs to take certain supplements, but this does not concern, in general, those who practice non-competitive sports.

To every athlete his supplement

In endurance sports it may be recommended to take maltodextrins, but only in case of a physical effort that lasts for more than an hour, and several times a week.

While a supplementation of branched chain amino acids can promote recovery, if you follow particularly intense and prolonged workouts or you are faced with a reduced dietary intake.

As well as in power sports, those who follow vegetarian regimens could benefit from creatine supplements, while its usefulness is to be verified if the diet is rich in animal proteins.

Vitamins and minerals: for everyone

Vitamins and mineral salts, on the other hand, are useful to everyone and some deficiencies are not rare, both in high and medium level sportsmen and in those who do amateur physical activity.

B vitamins, for example, are useful for fighting muscle fatigue: B1, B6, B12 and folic acid intervene in the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins and help transform food into energy.

Antioxidant vitamins, such as C, are essential to counteract oxidative stress that results from muscle activity. Muscles, in fact, draw energy from reactions that consume oxygen. But they release free radicals which can damage tissues.

In addition, muscular effort produces heat that must be dispersed so that the body temperature remains constant around the ideal value of 37 ° C. Sweat has this task: evaporating refreshes.

Along with liquids, however, sweating also loses substantial amounts of mineral salts, such as magnesium and potassium, essential for the proper functioning of muscles and nerve conduction, and which must be reintegrated in the right proportions and at adequate dosages.