In addition to vitamins, most of the multi-vitamins contain minerals. The mineral, just like the vitamins, are needed for our body to work at its best. Mineral are needed in bone and tooth building, regulate fluids inside and outside each cell and help in transforming food to energy.
Here are the essential minerals ;

• Calcium – Is the most prevalent mineral in the body and exists in all bones and teeth. Calcium is also needed for proper blood clotting. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for an adult is 1,000 mg.
• Iron – Needed for transporting oxygen in red blood cells, for making hemoglobin (part of the red blood cells). RDA is 18 mg a day.
• Potassium – Helps in muscle recuperation, helps in building the nerve system.
• Magnesium – Cell repair, converts food to energy, helps regulate body temperature RDA is 300 mg. a day.
• Omega 3 fatty acids – help in regulating cholesterol and overall heart health. Anti inflammatory, and help in brain function and memory.

Electrolytes are water based solutions of different minerals that exist in acids, bases and salts and are used as electrically transmittal agents. Yes, you read right, electrical !

Aside from all the elements our bodies need in order to function normally, there is another element we should think about which is the electrical tension inside our bodies that enables transmission of nutrients into specific cells.

Called an electric tension (and muscles, blood and nerve cells are considered electric tissues), Electrolytes facilitate the transmission of ingredients from and to our cells and control the pressure inside and outside the cells. This affects the amount of water in the body and its absorption, the elasticity of the blood and the behavior of nerve cells.

An all new branch of nutritional supplements has developed around sports and boosting athletic levels. Stores, like GNC, specialize in those strange named minerals that promise to make the muscles leaner, stronger, work harder and show results of exercise very quickly. They help muscles recuperate after workouts and increase metabolism.

The best sports nutrition, experts say, is good and balanced nutrition that takes into account how many calories you burn in a workout and supplements it later. A few products help make this process quicker :-

The popularity of alternative medicine gave rise, in the early 90’s, to a new industry of herbal supplements. Every few years a fad develops around a nutritional supplement that promises to do wonders, and is a rare find from a remote corner of the world.

There is the Chinese and Siberian Ginseng – A root used by the locals to regulate blood pressure, clean the blood, and improves stamina and overall well being. It became very popular in the United States and for a time ginseng was added to everything.