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Most athletes suffer from a lack of calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, iron and also zinc. The risk groups include people who eat an unbalanced diet or who deliberately have to maintain a low weight.

Calciumis one of the most important minerals, which is why a sufficient supply must be ensured as early as childhood. It is mainly involved in building our bones and also our teeth, as well as for blood coagulation. Calcium also supports the regulation of muscle contractions, as the contraction can only take place when the muscle cells are supplied with calcium ions. This mineral makes up two percent of our body mass, with almost everything in our teeth and bones. Only one percent of this is present in the body fluid. If there is a deficiency, our organism accesses the reserves present in the bones. In Germany alone, around seven million people are affected by calcium deficiency. The recommended dose of this important mineral is 1000 milligrams, in competitive athletes the need is twice as high. But children and the elderly also have a higher need. Good sources of calcium are dairy products, pulses and broccoli. Athletes can therefore prepare their vitamin water with mineral water containing calcium, as some varieties even contain 400 milligrams per litre.

Potassiumis present in many foods. However, this mineral is particularly necessary for athletes and especially for runners. Our organism depends on potassium to build muscle glycogen. A deficiency leads to general exhaustion as well as muscle weakness. According to the German Society for Nutrition, 2000 milligrams are sufficient to cover daily needs in normal cases. Due to the greater loss of sweat and higher muscle contractions, the dose is somewhat higher in athletes. Relatively large amounts of this mineral are contained in vegetable foods, i.e. in vegetables, seeds, nuts and fruit. The drinking water for athletes can therefore be enriched with apricots, honeydew melons, plums and bananas to provide sufficient potassium. However, it should also be mentioned that potassium can only be optimally absorbed in combination with magnesium. Potassium is also present in meat, fish and cereals. Those who take care of their health and also eat mainly raw foods, in the form of fruit and vegetables, will certainly not be exposed to a deficit of this mineral if magnesium is taken care of at the same time. If there is a lack of magnesium, the intake of potassium is limited. Poor endurance performance can be the case, as well as unnecessarily long phases of regeneration. Potassium also regulates our water balance in the body in cooperation with sodium.

Magnesiumis absolutely necessary for the performance of athletes, as this mineral is also involved in the supply of energy. Magnesium also plays a very important role in muscle relaxation, muscle contraction, the effect of hormones and blood circulation. A deficiency leads to painful muscle cramps, tremors, muscle hardening and also to exhaustion. Especially after marathons or hard competitions, magnesium deficiency is widespread. In particularly strenuous sports, the loss due to sweat and urine can even amount to up to three grams per week. No wonder that many athletes come back to magnesium as a dietary supplement. Magnesium citrate, for example in powder form, is particularly suitable for the preparation of special vitamin water for athletes, as it is very well absorbed by the organism and can also bind excess acids. Magnesium is also found in green vegetables, milk and wholemeal products, pulses and also in poultry and liver. Of course you can also prepare your detox drink for athletes with mineral water containing magnesium. The average daily requirement is 350 milligrams. Athletes usually take about 600 milligrams per day and in the case of competitions even more to make up for the deficit more quickly.

Sodiumor common salt is present in most foods, which is why recreational athletes should not have any major problems with it. However, high temperatures and extreme physical stress can certainly lead to a deficit. Sodium is vital for us because this mineral regulates our water balance together with potassium and is also involved in the regulation of our acid-base balance. Sodium supports the absorption of water and binds it in the tissues. However, if too little salt is absorbed with the liquid, our organism is no longer able to absorb sufficient liquid for the system of vessels. Sodium deficiency occurs not only when you lose a lot of this mineral through sweating, but also when you consume large amounts of water with glucose that does not contain sodium. In this case, the required sodium ions are removed from the blood and released into the intestine for the absorption of the liquid. The salt concentration is therefore no longer sufficient if athletes drink too much low-sodium water to distribute and control the liquid optimally. If there is a deficit of sodium in the blood, the water flows into the body cells and usually causes them to swell considerably. Understandably, this also reduces the blood supply. This usually results in severe headaches, dizziness and vomiting. In the worst case, drinking too much water after exercise can even lead to death. It is therefore advisable not to drink huge amounts of water after a competition or marathon, but first to pay attention to the quality of the drink. Even isotonic drinks containing small amounts of salt can cancel out the effect of minerals if the organism is really flooded with them. Athletes should therefore prepare their drink with sodium-rich mineral water at important events and also take in glucose in addition to sodium, so that water can really be absorbed from the intestines in sufficient form. It is also advisable to pay attention to the other electrolytes, i.e. calcium, potassium and magnesium.

If you yourself are only an occasional recreational athlete, then you don't need to worry a lot about this, because you will certainly not lose litres of sweat with important vitamins and minerals during your training. In the last chapter we also give you important hints for a correct drinking behaviour especially for athletes.

However, the typical energy drinks are not necessarily advisable, as it is not yet clear to what extent these drinks can really contribute to additional energy. As a rule, these are hypertonic beverages that only unnecessarily drain fluid from our organism and therefore support dehydration during longer periods of stress. It is worthwhile for your health if you prefer your vitamin water or other mineralised drinks when exercising and do not use the energy drinks that are ready to buy.

So far you have gained a good overview of how you can prepare all kinds of vitamin water to compensate for a possible dehydration and to bring your body back into optimal shape. Most people not only drink too little, however, but also have a completely wrong drinking behaviour, which is why we dedicate a separate chapter to this topic. Normally, many people drink only with meals, or when thirsty feelings are noticeable. But above all, the water should not necessarily be drunk at any time in order to really take full advantage of it. For example, if you do not drink much during the day, this will affect your performance during mental and physical activity. If you consume a lot of water in the evening, you should not be surprised if you have to go to the toilet several times during the night.

According to the experts, even with a slight feeling of thirst we already suffer from a fluid deficit of about two percent. Even in this case there is a restriction in terms of our ability to think, as well as in terms of endurance. A strong feeling of thirst is compared with a fluid deficiency of about six percent. Typical symptoms include weakness, fatigue and marked irritability. A water shortage of more than ten percent can have life-threatening effects. Even without exercise, we lose on average about two litres through sweat, urine, stools and breathing, which is why the intake of fluids is so important. Otherwise our body dries out properly, which can also be clearly seen in the accelerated formation of wrinkles. This is also the case if we have the wrong drinking habits and neglect water.