Sodium 500 mg/d* An electrolyte that helps regulate fluid balance, nerve transmission, and acid-base balance. Excessive decreases in sodium may predispose BLZ945 clinical trial athletes to cramping and hyponatremia. During the first several days of intense training in the heat, a greater amount of sodium is lost in sweat. Additionally, prolonged ultraendurance exercise may decrease sodium levels

leading to hyponatremia. Increasing salt availability during heavy training selleck chemicals in the heat has been shown to help maintain fluid balance and prevent hyponatremia [64, 509]. Vanadyl sulfate (vanadium) None Vanadium may be involved in reactions in the body that produce insulin-like effects on protein and glucose metabolism. Due to the anabolic nature of insulin, this has brought attention to vanadium as a supplement to increase muscle mass, enhance strength and power. Limited research has shown that type 2 diabetics may improve their glucose control; however, there is no proof that vanadyl sulfate has any effect on muscle mass, strength, or power [248, 249]. Zinc Males 11 mg/d Females 8 mg/d Constituent of enzymes involved in digestion. Associated with immunity. Theorized to reduce incidence of upper respiratory tract infections in athletes involved in heavy training. Studies indicate that zinc supplementation (25 mg/d) during training minimized exercise-induced changes in immune

function [55, 473, 510, 511]. Recommended Dietary Allowances

(RDA) based on the 2002 find more Food & Nutrition Board, National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council recommendations. * Estimated minimum requirement Water The most important nutritional ergogenic aid for athletes is water. Exercise performance can be significantly impaired when 2% or more of body weight is lost through sweat. For example, when a 70-kg athlete loses more than 1.4 kg of body weight during exercise (2%), performance capacity is often significantly decreased. Further, weight loss of more than 4% of body weight during exercise may lead to heat illness, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and possibly death [58]. For this reason, it is critical that athletes consume a sufficient amount of water and/or GES sports drinks during exercise in order to maintain hydration status. The normal sweat rate of athletes ranges from 0.5 to 2.0 Selleckchem Docetaxel L/h depending on temperature, humidity, exercise intensity, and their sweat response to exercise [58]. This means that in order to maintain fluid balance and prevent dehydration, athletes need to ingest 0.5 to 2 L/h of fluid in order to offset weight loss. This requires frequent ingestion of 6-8 oz of cold water or a GES sports drink every 5 to 15-min during exercise [58, 66–69]. Athletes and should not depend on thirst to prompt them to drink because people do not typically get thirsty until they have lost a significant amount of fluid through sweat.