Mineral deficiency and mineral toxicity, Is it possible for sport to lead to anemia?
The subject of this article is the mineral balance, as well as the consequences for health and sports in case of imbalance caused by mineral deficiency or mineral surplus. We will try to understand how to avoid the lack of micro- and macroelements and how to prevent mineral toxicity.
Mineral balance and mineral optimum As you have already learned from the articles on macronutrients and micronutrients, minerals work in complex synchrony with each other. For many of them, this involves a quantitative balance, where larger amounts of one chemical element displace another and thus disrupt normal bodily functions.
Without delving into chemistry, we must remember that health and sports development have something in common that is related to mineral balance. It is about the state of biological balance between all the mineral ingredients needed to maintain and develop the life of our cells – this is the mineral optimum.
For a century, medicine has been developing and expanding its views on the needs, doses and perspectives for various micro- and macroelements. This leads to optimal mineral intake. Globally, there are still some differences between the recommended doses.
An example of this is the differences in the optimums recommended by the EU and those recommended by the USA. Even more disturbing are the differences in recommended doses between EU member states, where the United Kingdom is lobbying for its scientific approach to evaluation.
When sport and science meet, the big question arises: “Does an athlete need to take in more minerals than a non-athlete?” The answer is, “Yes.”
The conflict reappears when determining these optimal doses. In many countries, government control bodies (similar to our HEIs) allow a maximum dose policy where the amount of minerals should not exceed a certain percentage of a given toxic daily dose.
This is the reason why the labels of many mineral formulas say, for example: calcium content X mg provides – 200% of the daily dose. The policy of imposing a framework standard is based on an individual approach, where the individual can choose a dose that meets his or her own needs.
Individual mineral needs also vary among non-athletes. With increasing physical activity, the doses change according to the person and the type of sports activity he practices. Example: the minerals that weightlifters should take contrast in doses with those taken by marathoners.
What the dosage has in common is that it certainly covers the mineral optimum of the non-athlete. What happens when, for some reason, a person’s intake falls below the optimal dose for a long time? Mineral deficiency occurs.
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Mineral deficiency (anemia) and mineral deficiency
Anemia is a condition of quantitative deficiency of one or more chemical elements. It causes various health-threatening and sports-suppressing symptoms: brittle hair, easy fatigue, muscle cramps, muscle aches and more.
The list is long and depends on which minerals are lacking, often similar and can easily mislead you. The reason why a detailed list of symptoms is not included in the article is discussed below.
Mineral deficiency is still a scourge of modern health. Most often a person finds out about it when his doctor suspects it.
Mineral deficiency is a life-threatening condition in which the body experiences a huge deficiency or complete lack of a micro- or macronutrient. Mineral deficiency is usually due to a congenital disease or is caused by a long-term illness associated with dehydration.
Risk factors for mineral deficiency:
- Rare meals – the standard Balkan diet “all day coffee + huge dinner and alcohol”;
- Food menu, which lacks fresh fruits and vegetables;
- Food menu that lacks salt in combination with sports;
- Smoking; Regular alcohol consumption;
- Prolonged intake of large doses of certain minerals without medical supervision (the ingested mineral causes a deficiency of another);
- Daily over-intensive and / or over-prolonged sports activity (professional sports level) – anemia is a common diagnosis in athletes, mainly due to frequent and prolonged sweating;
- Taking diuretics (dehydration) – often fitness enthusiasts try to imitate professional bodybuilders by taking one or another dehydration drug. Lack of experience, proper judgment and especially the lack of medical control ends in the intensive with a kidney crisis caused by the parallel appearance of mineral deficiency and intoxication.
Mineral toxicity
This is a harmful condition that occurs most often with overconsumption of some of the following minerals: copper, fluorine, iodine, iron, manganese, selenium, zinc. Mineral toxicity can occur in parallel with mineral deficiency. If you take high doses of iron daily for a long time, for example, you may experience zinc deficiency along with iron overdose poisoning.
Risk factors:
- Diet based on daily consumption of food extremely rich in iron salts (fish from fish farms, seaweed, over-fertilized vegetables, etc.). HEI takes care of eliminating this risk factor in Bulgaria;
- Effect of poisoning in diets with excessive consumption of fortified secondary foods – parallel intake of vitamin-mineral complex, intake of isotonic drinks, consumption of mineral-enriched cheeses, dairy products and pasta;
- Prolonged intake of large doses of certain minerals without medical supervision (the ingested mineral causes a deficiency of another);
- Taking medications that cause mineral retention.
How to avoid problems with mineral balance?
If you are worried about your health, you do not need to look at all food supplements containing minerals with suspected overdose, it is possible that your favorite broccoli contains more than individual chemical elements. Instead of wandering between mineral deficiency and mineral surplus, do some research.
Research
- Mineral hair analysis – minerals are deposited in the bones, hair and nails, so you can find out more without blood about which mineral you need more and which intake you should limit. In addition to the usual suspects, hair analysis will show you if you are at risk of accumulating toxic metals such as: cobalt, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, aluminum and lead;
- Mineral analysis of blood – more perfect and more expensive, the method of analysis of blood cells is applied in proving diagnoses of metal intoxication, confirmation of suspected anemia;
- Mineral analysis of urine – this is a method for the current picture of the chemical elements leaving the body. It is used for a longer study of the condition of people undergoing drug therapy.
Urine analysis will not give you a complete picture of the mineral balance, in addition, it is dependent on diet and supplementation. Orient yourself to a hair or blood test better.
The choice of mineral supplements
When choosing multimineral supplements, consider their orientation. Today there are nutritional supplements whose composition is specially calculated for children, menopausal women, athletes and standard multivitamins. Take minerals periodically.
Example: 30 days “with”, 20 days “without”. If you have had an analysis of the mineral balance, ask your personal doctor for an interpretation.
It will guide you on what to look for when buying or direct you directly to a product.
The choice of mineral water and drinks
Avoid highly mineralized water. They are used for specialized treatments. Low-mineralized ones are best taken alternately at the source. Take isotonic drinks only during sports and on hot summer days, ie. in cases where sweating and loss of mineral salts is guaranteed
The choice of food
To achieve and maintain the mineral optimum, you need to look at your diet. You have done an analysis of the mineral balance – take it to a nutritionist (not a coach) and ask him what foods to include or exclude from your diet. Physicians specializing in nutrition have professional qualifications and significantly more experience than sports nutritionists in micronutrient analysis and the creation of dietary frameworks focused on vitamins and minerals.
Mineral deficiency and mineral toxicity
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Mineral deficiency and mineral toxicity
