Heath and sports performance

 Vitamins and minerals play important roles throughout the body and are considered essential. Without vitamins and minerals the body could not function. Water is the most essential of all the nutrients for athletes despite the fact that it does not provide the body with energy. Vitamins are organic compounds that are essential to at least one vital chemical reaction or process in the human body. These micronutrients serve vital functions in the body and thus are essential for survival. The role of vitamins play in sports performance has been studied for years. Although it is clear that vitamins are critical for body functions, less is known about the potential role they play in improving or hindering sports performance. There are two classification of vitamin: water soluble and fat soluble. Similar to vitamins, minerals are an essential micronutient for survival and crucial for body functions. many minerals are involved in important catalytic reactions or serve as key structural components of tissues throughout the body. The role that minerals play in sports performance has been studied for years as well. It is clear that minerals are crucial for a variety of bodily functions, keeping athletes healthy and training strong. They are inorganic nutrients that are needed in very small quantities relative to other nutrients because they are structurally very stable and they can be used a multiple of times in the body without breaking down. Minerals are classified as either major or trace minerals. Two-thirds of the body’s water is found inside the cells and is referred to as intracellular water. Muscle tissue is about 70% water and the remained one-third of the body’s water is found outside of cells and is know as extracellular water. The extracellular water is found in the spaces between the cells, in lymph, and in blood plasma. Water provides structural integrity to cells, serves as the body’s delivery and waste removal medium, aids in thermoregulation, helps in maintenance of the acid-base balance, and is critical to the maintenance of blood volume. Approximately 80% of our daily water needs are supplied in the form of fluids and the remainder 20% comes from the water found in fruits, vegetables, other foods, and metabolic water.