athletes' medical information - Coca-Cola

athletes’ medical information
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is classified as a fat-soluble vitamin
which acts as a hormone. It has important
functions in the body including maintenance of
good bone health, muscle function and
immunity. Vitamin D is found in some foods, but
our major source comes from sunshine
exposure. There is evidence that many people
have deficient or sub-optimal vitamin D status.
Many Paralympic athletes are ‘at risk’ due
either directly to their disability, or factors
associated with it.
Vitamin D deficiency can lead to several
health issues including increased risk of bone
injuries, chronic musculoskeletal pain and viral
respiratory tract infections. Reversal of
sub-optimal vitamin D status in athletes may
have beneficial effects on athletic performance
and health.
Athletes at risk of vitamin D deficiency
include those who:
Train indoors
Have dark skin
Live farther away from the equator
Wear clothing that covers most or all of
their body
Regularly use sunscreen or consciously
avoid the sun
Such athletes should be screened ,and
if vitamin D levels are sub-optimal, a course
of vitamin D supplementation and perhaps
judicious sunshine exposure should be
undertaken under medical supervision.
Iron
Iron plays an important role in the transport
of oxygen in the blood (as haemoglobin) and
muscle (as myoglobin), and inadequate iron
status can obviously impair performance and
recovery. There is some evidence that an
athlete’s iron requirements may be elevated due
to increased losses due to their training load.
However, most athletes who become iron
deficient or anaemic do so because of poor iron
intake. Athletes who are at high risk of such
problems are those who restrict energy intake
and dietary variety. Since meats are a major
source of well-absorbed iron, vegetarian eaters
will need to plan their meals carefully to find
alternative iron sources. Females are also at
risk because of increased iron requirements
due to menstrual blood losses matched against
a smaller food intake. Iron-rich eating will help
to reduce this risk.
Athletes who are at risk of poor iron status
should have this monitored periodically. Athletes
who are undertaking altitude training often like
to do this too, to ensure that they have sufficient
iron stores to allow the adaptations to their
specialised training demands. Routine use of
iron supplements is not wise: too much is just
as harmful as too little. Self-medication with
iron supplements may not address the real
causes of an athlete’s fatigue or other issues of
poor eating and may do more harm than good.
31
12-113-COC_Paralymics_Booklet_20120718.indd 31
7/18/12 4:29 PM