Best vitamins & supplements for cardio

The Christmas and New Year period is often one for over-indulgence. It can throw us out of our training routine, seriously disrupt our nutrition, and leave us feeling a little overwhelmed when it comes to getting back into the swing of things. As January comes around, both athletes and fitness enthusiasts will be looking to incorporate more cardio into their routine, with an aim to lean up and get back to their best. That’s where we can help. 

If getting lean and reaching peak performance is a key goal for you in 2022, you’ll want to pay close attention to your micronutrient intake, just as much as your macros. Winter can leave our bodies depleted of key vitamins as it is, but throw in a diet lacking in high-nutrient foods? You won’t be able to perform at your best. That’s where supplementation of key vitamins and minerals such as B vitamins, iron, magnesium and Omega 3 could be key to smashing your goals in the new year. 

B vitamins

Did you know that B vitamins play a key role in converting food to energy during exercise? Not only that, but the production of red blood cells and the repairing of cells rely heavily on folate and vitamin B12. If your intake of B vitamins is sub-optimum, your body may not be able to repair itself adequately, leading to an increased chance of injury; something you want to avoid when doing any form of intense exercise. Additionally, studies indicate that a lack of B vitamins in the body may decrease the ability to perform exercise at high intensities (Woolf & Manore, 2006). We all know that a good HIIT routine is a fantastic way to get lean and fit, fast, so you’ll want to make sure your ability to perform isn’t compromised. 

B vitamins are water soluble, meaning they do not stay in your body. This emphasises the need to ensure you reach optimum daily intake, so if your diet is lacking, you’re restricting energy intakes or eliminating specific food groups from your diet, supplementing with B vitamins can be an excellent option. Both PhD Prime Man Multivitamin and Prime Woman Multivitamin contain Vitamin B6, so you won’t have to worry that you’re not getting enough. Perfect if you want to maintain your focus on your cardio.

Practitioner Insight: Animal based foods, such as eggs, fish and yoghurt are the most diverse

and concentrated food sources of B vitamins. Legumes are a good source of folate and

brewer’s yeast is a secret B-vitamin weapon for plant-based athletes. 

Iron

If you’re hitting the cardio training hard, you’ll need to consider your body’s requirements in terms of endurance. This can be incredibly specific, as different athletes and sports require varying amounts of nutrients and different focuses in terms of nutrition. One key consideration should be iron. Iron plays a fundamental role in storing, transporting and releasing oxygen, which is critical for energy production. With suboptimal iron stores, your body will not be able to get the oxygen it needs to produce energy, which can significantly affect your performance. 

As you increase the amount of cardio training you’re doing, you’ll need to consider that the optimal amount of iron in the body differs for endurance athletes Vs the general population (McCormick et al. 2020). Even if an endurance athlete looks to have a sufficient diet, other factors need to be considered, such as type of iron (heme or hon-heme), iron inhibiting food components, hepcidin, a hormone that inhibits iron absorption and even genetic differences in iron metabolism that effect status (Varillas Delgado et al. 2020).

However, this doesn’t mean it is always recommended to take iron supplements without getting tested or without taking into account the quantity of iron you’re supplementing with. With the PhD Advanced Multivitamin, however, the relatively low amount of iron ~14mg makes supplementation a valuable strategy to help boost iron intake when your body needs more due to heavy cardiovascular training. 

Magnesium

Magnesium is required for 325 chemical reactions in your body, especially the heart and nerve function, and the addition of regular exercise may increase the need for magnesium due to its loss through sweat and urine. 

In the US, around 65% of the population fail to meet the recommended daily intake of magnesium. In the UK, it’s 15% of males and 12% of females have intakes lower than the LRNI (Derbyshire 2018).

If weight loss is a goal in 2022 and your cardio routine is helping you get there, you’ll want to consider the risk factors in terms of magnesium. One study indicates that trying to lose weight can lead to an increased risk of insufficient magnesium intake, and it’s an even greater risk for women (Tarleton et al. 2020).

The good news? Magnesium supplementation can help boost performance in aerobic exercise if the athlete’s dietary intake is insufficient (Kass et a. 2013). 

PhD Advanced Multivitamin is an ideal way to ensure supplemental magnesium and

other micronutrients are topped up adequately so that you can focus on your cardio without worrying about your nutrition. 

Omega 3

As you may know, cardiovascular exercise is a great way to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. If you want to keep fit and healthy, get lean or lose weight, cardio exercise is more than likely a fundamental part of your training. But there are ways you can support your health goals outside of exercise. 

Omega 3 is one of the most popular supplements around, and that’s because it may decrease the risk of an abnormal heart rhythm (which can be dangerous if partaking in intense cardio) and also slow down the buildup of plaque which hardens or even blocks your arteries. 

However, getting enough omega-3 fatty acids from food is not easy, especially if

you are not a fan of fish or you follow a plant-based diet.

Fish is one of the best foods for omega-3 fatty acids, but even 1-2 servings per week may not be enough to gain the protective benefits that omega 3 can provide. In order to get the protective benefits, you’ll need to aim for around 800-1200 mg of EPA and DHA per

day.

That might seem like a lot, but with the PhD Omega 3 capsules, you can really notch up your intake and give your cardiovascular help that extra bit of support it needs for optimum health.

Written by Jessica Redman

Personal trainer and entrepreneur My name is Jess and I’m a personal trainer and run my own online training business at workthat.co.uk. I’m currently studying for a Masters in Strength and Conditioning, and I love all kinds of sports and training, as it is my go-to stress reliever and hugely helps my mental health. I love open water swimming, watching Arsenal play football (sometimes) and pumping playlists whilst running.