Micronutrient deficiency
As an Active individual, training and staying healthy is of tantamount importance. Flu symptoms can cost you days, a tendon tear can cost you months, completely ruining a training cycle. The marathon is not going to change their date for YOU, neither is the powerlifting meet nor any of the events that an athlete would be training for. So it is imperative to be as healthy as possible at all times.
The most important aspect to being healthy is your food intake, closely followed by rest, your diet is the conduit from which fundamental health flows. Your Macronutrient content is as important as your micronutrient content, in fact the synergy involved in digestion of these nutrient categories combine and counteract ( in some cases) to create the Growth/Loss/Health/Composition that you experience every day. It is essential that you fulfill and depending on your goals, exceed certain nutrient requirements in order to achieve your targeted results.
Most popular meal plans available online, only focus on your Macronutrients (Protein, Fat and Carbohydrates), while they are fundamental building blocks to the body’s ability to create ATP, it is not the only pieces to the puzzle of optimal nutrition.
Micronutrients
Micronutrients are essential elements needed by life in small quantities.
They include microminerals and Vitamins.
Microminerals or trace elements include at least iron, cobalt, chromium, copper, iodine, manganese, selenium, zinc, and molybdenum.
They are dietary minerals needed by the human body in very small quantities (generally less than 100mg/day) as opposed to macrominerals which are required in larger quantities.
Note that the use of the term “mineral” here is distinct from the usage in the geological sciences.
Vitamins are organic chemicals that a given living organism requires in trace quantities for good health, but which the organism cannot synthesize, and therefore must obtain from its diet.
Dose for Dose, the most effective form of these nutrients is not through synthesized supplements, but from actual food.
If you don’t eat a nutritious variety of foods, some supplements might help you get adequate amounts of essential nutrients. However, supplements can’t take the place of the variety of foods that are important to a healthy diet.
Scientific evidence shows that some dietary supplements are beneficial for overall health and for managing some health conditions. For example, calcium and vitamin D are important for keeping bones strong and reducing bone loss; folic acid decreases the risk of certain birth defects; and omega-3 fatty acids from fish oils might help some people with heart disease. Other supplements need more study to determine their value. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not determine whether dietary supplements are effective before they are marketed.
Active individuals are more prone to being nutrient deficient, the more active the person, the greater the need to employ a variety of balanced micronutrient-enriched foods including micronutrient supplementation as a preventative protocol for preventing these observed deficiencies.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2129155/table/T3/
| List of Daily Values |
| Macronutrients |
| Total Fat 65 g |
| Saturated fat 20 g |
| Total carbohydrate 300 g |
| Fiber 25 grams |
| Protein 50 g |
| Micronutrients |
| Vitamin A 5000 IU |
| Vitamin C 60 mg |
| Vitamin D 400 IU |
| Vitamin E 30 IU |
| Vitamin K 80 mcg |
| Thiamin 1.5 mg |
| Riboflavin 1.7 mg |
| Niacin 20 mg |
| Vitamin B6 2.0 mg |
| Folate 400 mcg |
| Vitamin B12 6.0 mcg |
| Biotin 300 mcg |
| Pantothenic acid 10 mg |
| Sodium 2400 mg |
| Potassium 3500 mg |
| Calcium 1000 mg |
| Magnesium 400 mg |
| Phosphorus 1000 mg |
| Manganese 2.0 mg |
| Zinc 15 mg |
| Copper 2.0 mg |
| Selenium 70 mcg |
| Iron 18 mg |
| Iodine 150 mcg |
| Chromium 120 mcg |
| Molybdenum 75 mcg |
| Chloride 3400 mg |
| Cholesterol 300 mg |
g = grams, mg = milligrams, mcg = micrograms
IU = International Units
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While most claim to eat a “Balanced Diet” or eat “Moderately” ,99% of the American people are deficient in these minerals, and that a marked deficiency in any one of the more important minerals actually results in disease.
So the question to add, to “fitting your Macros”, is, “Are you fulfilling your Micros?”
