ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the athletic conditioning and performance, copper may be one of the most important. It presents as an essential component of oxygen utilization and the antioxidant system, but at the same time, it can be toxic by initiating free-radical generation. Nutritionist are often concerned that persons undergoing strenuous exercise or prolonged training and sports competition are not consuming enough of the required nutrients to sustain nutritional status, thus jeopardizing performance. The metal iron (Fe) is a required nutrient in the diet of all mammals including humans, and Fe deficiency anemia is one of the world’s most prominent health problems. The increase in the ratio of immature cells to mature granulocytes in the bone marrow of copper-deficient patients suggests that copper deficiency arrests the differentiation of neutrophils. Although the neutropenia associated with copper deficiency is well characterized from a cellular viewpoint, the underlying causative mechanism is unknown.
