Bodybuilding and exercising requires good health, and most important of all, ENERGY! Most people don't realize that a great source of energy is vitamins. So, what vitamins facilitate energy production?

Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)

A water soluble vitamin that is needed in the making of fatty acids and glucose (the simplest form of carbohydrate that the body can burn), which forms the main sources of fuel for the body. (Do you know that the brain only burns glucose? B5 may help improve co-ordination!) When found in its CoA form, vitamin B5 plays a vital role in helping release energy from sugars, starches, and fats. Most of this energy release occurs in the energy production factories found in every cell called the mitochondria. Increased levels of vitamin B5 in the blood of marathon runners, for example, has led to interest in this vitamin as a potential aid in physical training, where sustained energy release from the mitochondria is critical.

It is also essential for the making of steroid hormones and neuro-transmitters in the brain (body co-ordination).

Vitamin B5 is widely found in foods and the RDA is only 6mg per day, but once again it will not satisfy the needs of an athlete. Pantothenic Acid supplementation of 2.0g per day has shown to reduce lactate build-up by 17% and oxygen consumption by 8%. In addition, B5 is easily destroyed in cooking and modern food processing. See our article on acne and vitamin B5 deficiency.

Zinc

Think zinc for growth. That's right, the mineral zinc is involved in virtually all phases of growth. Even more critical for bodybuilders, studies have shown that high intensity exercise stimulates excessive zinc loss. Further, diets of some athletes have been found to be low in zinc. This potential double edged sword, excess loss coupled with possible low intakes, moves zinc into our number three position. If you're not mindful of your zinc intake, your growth may be stymied.

Biotin

Firstly, as part of the B-complex vitamins, it forms part of two important enzymes, pyruvate carboxylase and acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase. These two are essential for gluconeogenesis (formation of new glucose) and fatty acid synthesis, which forms two of the major fuel sources for the body. Secondly another coenzyme called 3-methylcrotonyl coenzyme A carboxylase is essential for the breakdown of branched-chain amino acids, which means without it the body cannot break down these amino acids to use them again as building blocks for muscle. Deficiency of Biotin will speed up the balding process, and leave you skinny and weak. Active people should take 300 to 5000mcg daily, even though the RDA specifies only 30-100mcg. The best food sources for Biotin are liver, sardines, egg yolk, and soy flour. Raw egg whites as used by some bodybuilders contain Avidin, which binds biotin and make it useless for the body.

Vitamin A (Retinol)

Named after the retina of the eye, retinol is an oil soluble vitamin that is essential for vision (especially night vision), the skin and mucous membranes, cell growth, reproduction, and normal immunity. Sources of this vitamin are liver and fish liver oils. Beta-carotene, the precursor of Vitamin A, can be found in carrots and dark green leafy vegetables. One large carrot for example contains 18 000 IU of beta-carotene, which is more than three times the RDA of 1000mcg RE (retinol equivalents). It takes 6 mcg of beta-carotene to yield 1 mcg RE of vitamin A.