How Toxins Are Affecting Your Athletic Performance

In the industrial age, which spans our entire lives—unless we predate King George II of England!—companies have dumped their harmful by-products and waste into the most convenient places available to them: into the air,  rivers, lakes, and other areas where the unwanted materials would seem to “wash away.”

It wasn’t until the late 1970s that the EPA began to regulate hazardous waste disposal. Many could very convincingly argue that even modern sanitation and waste-disposal regulations are nowhere near strict enough, and not adequately enforced, a global crisis affecting the air we breath and the soil in which we grow our food.

Many of these harmful toxins found in our environment have profoundly bad effects on your body and your health. Not surprisingly, some of these chemical nasties have a direct effect on your athletic performance, inhibiting your body’s ability to function and perform at a higher level. For all of you training and competing in triathlons and marathons, it is critical to think about your increased potential exposure to toxins and how you can combat some of these performance-sapping problems.

Toxins’ Effects on Your Body’s Athletic Performance

The toxic effects of lead, arsenic, cadmium, BPA, PFOA (also called C8) and other toxins can and do affect athletic performance. Lead can impair normal cell function and lead to digestive problems, muscle and joint pain, nerve disorders, and high blood pressure. These toxic influences in the environment must be constantly removed so that heavy metals and chemicals do not build up and concentrate in our body’s tissues.

Specifically, heavy metal toxins block enzymes needed for the body to make energy and protein. If your body cannot produce the protein and energy it needs, you will not perform at the optimal levels called for when training for a race or athletic event. Fatigue, lack of energy, inability to recover, and injury can result.

Eliminating Toxins from the Body

While most athletes and nutritionists pay close attention to what they voluntarily put into their bodies in the way of food and water, you must be aware of what the body is involuntarily taking in through exposure to air, water, produce and meat.

In training for a triathlon or other long events, you have to make sure you’re drinking a sufficient amount of pure water (about 8 glass per day, more if you are exercising and excessively sweating), which also helps ensure healthy bowel movements.

There are also ways you can aid your body nutritionally to help the body remove environmental toxins. This includes foods and vitamins that promote liver function, including vegetables (try to consume at least 30% raw), healthy sources of protein at every meal (including eggs, lean meat, etc.), and a multi-vitamin including key supports like Vitamin A, C, E, selenium, zinc and more.