Mineral, vitamin C and vitamin D deficiency can cause major health problems and significantly limit your performance and recovery as an athlete. Make sure that you are getting enough of the right foods and supplementation in your nutrition.
Phytonutrients are substances found in certain plants which are believed to be beneficial to human health and help prevent various diseases. A great nutrition plan needs to offer plenty of these essential nutrients, through food and supplementation.
Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium to promote bone growth. A level lesser than 20 ng/ml of v D indicates a deficiency.
There are a multitude of signs and symptoms exhibited by people that suffer from a vitamin D deficiency.
FALLING SICK OFTEN
Your immune system protects you from bacteria and viruses that can cause illness. Vitamin D interacts with the cells that build the immune system. When your body runs low on vitamin D, it affects your immunity, making you more prone to ailments like cold and flu, fever, allergies, asthma, and eczema.
These are just a few among more than 80 illnesses that can be caused by problems with the immune function.
SUPERFOODS MULTIVITAMIN
Alpha Wolf Nutrition have developed a powerful multivitamin with dynamic antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties to minimize recovery time, aches and pains. With vitamin C, D3, K, B6 and B12, it is an effective supplement to counter vitamin deficiencies.
What really sets them apart from any other brand on the shelf is that they contain micronutrient and phytonutrient dense superfoods to aid your body at the cellular level.
Their Next Level Superfoods multi contains Beetroot extract 4:1 – 750 mg . This will aid everything from the heart to blood pressure, diabetes, dementia, protecting your cells from damage, increasing blood flow and improving athletic performance.
Pomegranate extract is included because Pomegranates are one of the most antioxidant rich foods on the planet scoring an incredible 10,500 on the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) chart which measures total antioxidant capacity.
That is about 3X more antioxidant power than blueberries, which score 3,200.
IODINE from Kelp – Iodine may be one of the most underrated minerals you should be supplementing with. According to Dr. David Brownstein, whose work largely focuses on iodine, in over 6,000 patients tested to date, 96% have shown to be low on iodine!
MAGNESIUM from Citrate – Magnesium is directly involved in more than 300 processes within the human body. It affects our hormones, our sleep and our cardiovascular health amongst others. Alpha Wolf Nutrition pack 200 mgs of magnesium into their Next Level Superfoods Multi, over 2x the industry average.
ZINC – A zinc deficiency can decrease androgen receptors while simultaneously increasing estrogen receptors and it could even lead to the conversion of testosterone to estrogen. This is clearly bad news if you are a man but it can be equally devastating to the proper hormone balance for women as well.
The Superfoods Multi also contains unique compounds like Alpha GPC and Teacrine.
POOR BONE HEALTH
Another sign that indicates low blood levels of vitamin D is poor bone health. The right amount of vitamin D in your diet helps the body build and maintain bone health.
Calcium and vitamin deficiency can increase bone damage and cause back pain. Weak bone health increases the risk of fractures and other injuries. Therefore, you need adequate amounts of vitamin D to build healthy bones and muscles.
CONSTANT FATIGUE AND POOR FOCUS
Fatigue can pretty much affect every aspect of your life. Studies show a connection between vitamin D deficiency and fatigue in women. Vitamin D boosts energy levels and keeps you active for a long time. Therefore, if you find yourself experiencing exhaustion in the middle of the day, you might be suffering from vitamin D deficiency.
The next level Alpha Wolf Nutrition multivitamin contains a powerful blend of purine alkaloid, amino acid, choline and catechin formulation to support mental clarity, energy and focus.
Stop feeling tired and improve your focus
SLOWLY HEALING WOUNDS
Our body has self-healing mechanisms that help restore and optimise health.
Cuts and bruises are part of life, but if you find that your wounds are healing slowly, it could indicate a vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D plays a significant role in fighting infection, controlling inflammation, and ensuring proper healing.
Inadequate levels of vitamin D can lead to impaired healing or even jeopardize the healing process completely.
VITAMIN C DEFICIENCY
Vitamin C, also known as L-ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in some foods, added to others, and available as a dietary supplement. Humans, unlike most animals, are unable to synthesize vitamin C endogenously, so it is an essential dietary component.
Vitamin C is required for the biosynthesis of collagen, L-carnitine, and certain neurotransmitters; vitamin C is also involved in protein metabolism (1). Collagen is an essential component of connective tissue, which plays a vital role in wound healing. Vitamin C is also an important physiological antioxidant and has been shown to regenerate other antioxidants within the body, including alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) (2).
BENEFITS OF VITAMIN C
- Necessary for the growth, development and repair of all body tissues
- Strong antioxidant
- Vitamin C may help lower blood pressure
- Improves Iron absorption
- Boosts immunity by improving the functionality of white blood cells
- Protect memory as you age
Studies suggest that oxidative stress and inflammation near the brain, spine and nerves (altogether known as the central nervous system) can increase the risk of dementia (3). Vitamin C is a strong antioxidant. Low levels of this vitamin have been linked to an impaired ability to think and remember. Moreover, several studies have shown that people with dementia may have lower levels of vitamin C in the blood (4).
While deficiency is relatively rare in developed countries due to the availability of fresh produce and the addition of vitamin C to certain foods and supplements, it still affects roughly 7% of adults in the US (5).
Alpha Wolf Nutrition derive their vitamin C from Acerola Cherries so you know you are getting a high quality and natural form.
BRIGHT RED HAIR FOLLICLES
Hair follicles on the surface of the skin contain many tiny blood vessels that supply blood and nutrients to the area.
When the body is deficient in vitamin C, these small blood vessels become fragile and break easily, causing small, bright red spots to appear around the hair follicles.
This is known as perifollicular haemorrhage and a well-documented sign of severe vitamin C deficiency (6).
BRITTLE NAILS
They are more commonly associated with iron deficiency anemia but have also been linked to vitamin C deficiency. Red spots or vertical lines in the nail bed, known as splinter haemorrhage, may also appear during vitamin C deficiency due to weakened blood vessels that rupture easily.
While the visual appearance of fingernails and toenails may help determine the likelihood of vitamin C deficiency, note that it’s not considered diagnostic.
DRY AND DAMAGED SKIN
Vitamin C keeps skin healthy by protecting it from oxidative damage caused by the sun and exposure to pollutants like cigarette smoke or the ozone (7).
It also promotes collagen production, which keeps skin looking plump and youthful.
High intakes of vitamin C are associated with better skin quality, while lower intakes are associated with a 10% increased risk of developing dry, wrinkled skin (8).
While dry, damaged skin can be linked to vitamin C deficiency, it can also be caused by many other factors, so this symptom alone is not enough to diagnose a deficiency.
POOR IMMUNITY
Studies show that vitamin C accumulates inside various types of immune cells to help them combat infection and destroy disease-causing pathogens (9).
Vitamin C deficiency is associated with poor immunity and a higher risk of infection, including serious illnesses like pneumonia. In fact, many people with scurvy, a disease caused by v C deficiency, eventually die of infection due to their poorly functioning immune systems (10).
THE EFFECTS OF VITAMIN C AND VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY FOR ATHLETES
Inadequate intakes of both these vitamins will significantly impair any athlete’s ability to recovery, perform and optimise their health. Make sure that you give yourself every advantage that you can.
Footnotes
1 https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional/#en1
2 https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional/#en4
3 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19221412
4 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22710913
5 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19675106
6 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10570371
7 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9436614
8 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17921406