The Russians (former Soviets) did extensive research on nutritional needs for athletes. They determined that even the best training tables where the athletes received wholesome food and a full spectrum of nutrients, it was still not sufficient to replace the many vitamins and minerals that were used up in competition, especially very intense and prolonged competition. Thus, they found that it was necessary to supplement the athlete’s diet with nutrients specific to the demands of the sport so that they could not only recover faster, but be able to work out even more.
The use of trace elements in supplementation was quite great. These were used as supplements to the diet after it had been determined that the particular trace elements had been used up in the muscular work performed during competition or in intense practice. If the normal, well-balanced diet did not replace the vitamins and trace elements used up, then supplements were made specific to the sport’s needs and thus utilized.
It is interesting to note that in a normal well-balanced diet, it often may take several days for the body to regain the normal amount of the elements used up. Because such long waits could interfere with the ability of the athlete to continue his training, they supplemented even when the diet would replace everything in a matter of time.
According to the Russians, trace elements, especially iron, copper and manganese, which are highly active biologically, play an extremely important role in the body’s vital activity. They take part in redox processes, various types of metabolism, tissue respiration, circulation, reproduction and immuno-biological reactions. More importantly, a deficiency of trace elements (minerals) causes serious disturbances in various functions, which result in a sharp drop in physical work capacity.
For example, some of the Soviet studies showed that iron content in the athlete’s dietary rations was equal to or greater than the recommended norms for persons not involved in the sport (a norm of 15 to 20 milligrams in 24 hours). However, iron losses (even without considering sweating losses) during muscle work are usually greater than the iron intake from food.
In regard to copper and manganese balance, studies showed that their content in the athlete’s dietary ration was below the norm, even for persons not involved in a sport. Under the influence of a physical load for highly skilled athletes, the copper and manganese losses were significantly greater than the intake from the food rations. For low-level athletes, there were no major differences.
It is interesting to note the differences between low- and high-level athletes. As a general rule, low-level athletes did not show major differences from intake and output. However, with high-level athletes the differences are very great. For example, in the lowest ranked athletes, manganese excretion exceeded its intake from food by only 0.2 mg. However, for high-level athletes the difference amounted to 2.2 mg after doing the same workload but with greater power.
On rest days, after considerable muscle loads, there is a sharp drop in the excretion of trace elements in the feces. Trace element retention from the food ration rises substantially. This can indicate a reduction in the stores of iron, copper and to some extent manganese in the athlete’s body. Thus, the Russians believe that in order to prevent a deficit of trace elements in the athlete’s bodies (and the negative consequences) there must be strict monitoring of the diet. When there is a deficit, it is necessary to saturate the diet with trace elements that are vital to the body within the recommended norms. This applies to all sports in which the athlete executes heavy and prolonged muscular loads.