Can Vitamin Supplements Help Your Workouts?

Most people get all the vitamins and minerals they need by eating a well-balanced diet, yet 68% of Americans take vitamin supplements. However, some vitamins can be difficult to obtain through diet alone, such as vitamin D. Lacking certain vitamins can have a negative impact on your workouts, causing symptoms like fatigue and poor recovery time. If you choose to take supplements you should always speak to a professional about what dosages to take and where to buy them from to keep yourself healthy and ready for your next workout.

Buy from a reputable seller 

Websites like Amazon and eBay make it incredibly easy to browse and purchase supplements. These are generally trusted websites, which makes it easy to forget that almost anyone can sell on there, making it an easy trap for buying vitamins that don’t meet legal safety requirements and can be dangerous to health. Vitamins and supplements don’t need a prescription which is what makes them so easy to purchase, but it means that the industry goes unregulated. Products you buy online can claim to have certain ingredients but actually contain something different that can be anything from ineffective to harmful. For anyone who wants to take supplements they should speak to their doctor or a pharmacist.

Vitamin D deficiencies in winter

Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin as it’s in very few foods, but your skin can make it when it’s exposed to sun. Due to this, people who live in places where there’s little sunshine, such as Pennsylvania which averages 42 sunny days a year less than the US average, may need to take a vitamin D supplement. Winter months can also lead to seasonal deficiencies. One study that was published in Science Daily found that participants who took an oral dose of vitamin D for 10-12 weeks reported significant improvements in their fatigue levels, which can maximize how much energy you can put into workouts and how long you can exercise for.

Vitamin A aids recovery

Vitamin A, along with many other vitamins, is commonly found in fruits and vegetables. Research from the CDC shows that 90% of Americans don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables, which consequently means that they lack vitamin A. When it comes to working out, vitamin A can help to repair muscles and reduce post-workout inflammation. Incorporating a variety of carrots, sweet potatoes, apricots, spinach and kale into your diet can boost the amount of vitamin A you consume, but supplementing can be beneficial otherwise.

Sometimes vitamin supplements are necessary to maintain good health, particularly when it’s difficult to consume the vitamins through diet alone. Anyone who chooses to take supplements should consult with their doctor first and speak to them or a pharmacist about reputable brands and places to purchase from to ensure their safety.