Ingested Micronutrients

Once the basics of a diet have been confirmed to be in order, a varied and healthy diet should generally cover most of an athlete's nutritional needs. However, it is crucial to consider individual needs and potential differences between sports. Some athletes may find that certain nutrients are insufficient in their diet. This means that they are unable to maintain their best performance under heavy workloads.

The minerals, vitamins, and amino acids found in food are also known as micronutrients. These are essential nutrients required in small amounts to maintain optimal body function.
Special attention to nutrient balance is necessary in the following cases:

• The athlete is small.
• Daily caloric intake is relatively low (less than 2000 kcal per day).
• There are food restrictions due to allergies or other reasons.
• There are gastrointestinal diseases, such as celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease, which can impair nutrient absorption.
• The balance of the gut microbiota is poor, for example, due to antibiotic treatment or gastrointestinal disease.
• The beneficial parts of the gut microbiota produce vitamins for the body.
• If a course of antibiotics destroys some of the beneficial bacterial strains, the benefits produced by the gut are reduced.
• There are atypical weaknesses in the athlete's performance (e.g., endurance, motor skills).

Nutrient intake recommendations vary somewhat by country. For more detailed information on micronutrients, you can refer to the book: Athlete's Physique: Genes Behind Performance.

Even today, there are not many reliable services or applications for determining the micronutrient content of food. While such tools exist, their content is often user-updated, leading to frequent inaccuracies or missing nutrient information. Consequently, determining the true nutrient content is often not possible with many services or apps.

However, the Finnish website kilokalori.net is quite good, offering a comprehensive database that includes many international brands. The site can be translated into your desired language using the Google Chrome browser.

Another useful site is fineli.fi, which also includes an English translation. However, fineli.fi's database is not as robust as kilokalorinet.fi, as it does not provide information on specific nutrients such as copper intake. Adequate copper intake is particularly important for athletes, as it should be consumed in proper amounts — not too much, but also not too little.

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