The military lives and breathes on maxims and mottos, and one of them often heard around posts and bases is being fit to fight with what we have. As you might have guessed, the biggest piece when it comes to being fit is physical fitness. Whether you are in the army, marines, air force, or navy, a big chunk of your time involves staying in tiptop shape to handle the rigors of your various tasks and missions. ‘Soldiers' Pertains to All Service People For the sake of simplicity here, we will refer to all servicepeople as soldiers. All must be sound of body and mind to handle everything that will come their way whether it means conducting drills, participating in field exercises, or, in some cases, putting their life on the line during wartime. Being properly trained and prepared for about anything, whether at war or in peacetime, requires energy, endurance, dealing with and recovering from sore muscles, and treating joint pain, especially those in specialties — such as infantry – that put extra stress on the lower body and joints.
Vitamins and Supplements Beneficial to Soldiers
No one said it was going to be easy protecting our country. And in order to do that properly, you need to be able to learn all the details required in your training, follow the chain of command, accomplish your missions with excellence, and protect yourself through consistent exercise, a proper diet (to include three squares a day), and plenty of rest, with relaxation and recreation as time permits. To help you over and through the rough spots, it also helps to supplement properly to help your body deal with its needs already mentioned previously. The following are some vitamins and nutritional supplements that might help you maintain that gung-ho readiness on a daily basis:Muscle Soreness/Recovery:
- Amino acids. Available in supplement form, amino acids have the potential to speed up the rebuilding of damaged muscles while reducing muscle soreness and stiffness, per sportsrec.com.
- Creatine. A 2004 study found that creatine supplements can reduce cell damage resulting from certain kinds of exercise while also preventing inflammation that can be at the root of inflammation. It is a naturally occurring substance that provides muscle cells with energy.
- Vitamin C. It does more than help ward off colds – as a potent antioxidant, Vitamin C can also promote the production of collagen, which is a connective tissue that can repair skin tissue, tendons and blood vessels, per active.com. The vitamin can also help rid muscles of painful lactic acid.
Energy/Endurance:
- Ashwagandha. This medicinal herb has been used for centuries, dating back to the Ayurvedic medicinal system in India, per healthline.com. It is believed to be able to bolster your body's ability to bounce back from physical and mental stress, both of which are commonly experienced by soldiers.
- CoQ10. This is coenzyme Q10, which is also naturally produced in your body. All cells in your body are supplied with CoQ10 and depend on the compound to produce energy and keep them safe from oxidative harm.
- Iron. Without iron, your body lacks the ability to manufacture hemoglobin, a protein found in red blood cells and tasked with the duty of carrying oxygen from your lungs to organs and tissues everywhere in your body, per healthline.com.
Overworked joints:
- Glucosamine. Researchers have found that sustained use of glucosamine sulfate for months at a time can provide your body with benefits such as analgesic and disease-modifying actions, per everydayhealth.com.
- Chondroitin. Studies have shown that chondroitin sulfate can reduce the effects of the body's inflammatory pathways, which might help explain why the supplement has shown indications of retarding the progression of joint disease.
- Ginger. Research, per everydayhealth.com, indicates that ginger extract can provide the same kind of therapeutic benefits found with pain relievers bought over the counter, and that this benefit is more than just the placebo effect.
- MSM. This stands for methylsulfonylmethane, which supplies material to help in the body's manufacture of cartilage, and it is believed to be helpful in treating arthritis and osteoarthritis.