Your Growth Zone: how to get the proper amounts of vitamins and minerals for the best bodybuilding results

Flex, Feb, 2003 by Brian Rowley

The best way to take vitamin A is in the form of five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Collectively, fruit and vegetable antioxidants may help reduce free-radical damage to muscle fibers after workouts (which is when most exercise-related muscle damage occurs), and thereby have an anticatabolic effect. It's worth a try.

VITAMIN C AND OTHER ANTIOXIDANTS With antioxidants, it's less a matter of toxicity and more a matter of balance and staying within optimal limits in order to get the best results. Although too little intake of antioxidants can result in muscle destruction, too much isn't optimal, either, where muscle mass is concerned. According to a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, supplemental doses of vitamin C and another antioxidant (the amino acid cysteine) actually increase free-radical damage to muscles after high-intensity resistance exercise. Of course, experienced bodybuilders seldom take megadoses of only one or two antioxidants, but the gist of the study is that antioxidant variety and staying within reasonable limits are the best ways to get the most out of antioxidants. Because too much of any one antioxidant can actually increase free radicals, the key is to take a variety daily (the better-known antioxidants include vitamins A, C and E, plus selenium, zinc, beta-carotene, bioflavonoids, a nd the aminos glutathione and cysteine) and stay below known upper-dose limits.

VITAMIN D Many bodybuilders are low in vitamin D, as well as calcium, because they avoid dairy products. That sets the stage for supplementation--the suggested daily supplement dose is 400 IU for most bodybuilders. It is very rare that an adult would take in toxic levels of vitamin D, simply because of its lack of popularity as a dietary supplement.

Remember that supplementing with vitamins and minerals can help promote growth and recovery, but there's a limit to what they can do for you. Keep dosages within their optimal ranges and you'll see optimal gains. Avoid deficiencies and excesses that can undercut the advantages of supplementation and empty your wallet.

INSIDE THE GROWTH ZONE

The accompanying chart lists safe doses, as well as those considered
unsafe. It was compiled by John Hathcock, PhD, in 1997 after a review of
medical literature.

                                                      DOSE AT WHICH
                                                   SIGNIFICANT HARM
NUTRIENT                DAILY SAFE DOSE *         IS KNOWN TO OCCUR

Vitamin A                   10,000 IU      21,600 IU (liver damage)
                                                   10,000 IU (birth
                                                           defects)
Beta-carotene                 25 mg                      None known
Vitamin D                    800 IU                        2,000 IU
Vitamin E                   1,200 IU                     None known
Vitamin C                 Over 1,000 mg                  None known
Thiamine ([B.sub.1])          50 mg                      None known
Riboflavin ([B.sub.2])       200 mg                      None known
Niacin
Nicotinic acid              500 mg                       1,500 mg  
Nicotinamide                1,500 mg                       3,000 mg
Pyridoxine ([B.sub.6])       200 mg                          500 mg
Folic acid                  1,000 mcg                    None known
Vitamin [B.sub.12]          3,000 mcg                    None known
Calcium                     1,500 mg                  Over 2,500 mg
Magnesium                    700 mg                      None known
Chromium                    1,000 mcg                    None known
Iron                          65 mg                          100 mg
Selenium                     200 mcg                        910 mcg
Zinc                          30 mg                           60 mg

* No adverse effects have been noted at this level.

  Half this amount if slow release.

Source: Council for Responsible Nutrition.