ABSTRACT
Each year many new products catering to athletes appear in the health food section of grocery stores and nutrition centres. While most of the shelf space is allotted to amino acid, protein and vitamin supplements, minerals are gaining prominence. Mineral supplements purporting to increase energy production, decrease fatigue, and enhance muscle mass are widely advertised in popular sports magazines. These claims stem from the importance of minerals to a wide variety of body functions, such as imparting hardness to bones, serving as co-factors to many enzyme systems, and, in the case of iron, maintaining the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. Whether mineral supplements will also enhance exercise performance is the focus of this chapter.
