Food vs Athletes

 

Food Impact on Athletes

 

Athletes plan their every day diet that can affect both health and performance. It includes the careful timing and selection of good foods and juices helps to maximize training adaptations.  Factors that help in selection of food include taste, convenience, nutrition knowledge and beliefs, performance would be an important factor influencing food choice.

·         Performance can be enhanced by good nutrition diet.

·         A nutritious diet should meet necessary vitamin and mineral needed, and provide enough protein for muscle growth and repair.

·         Foods rich in unrefined carbohydrates, like wholegrain breads and cereals, should form the basis of the diet.

The training diet should:

·        Increase adaptation and recovery process between training sessions

·     Allow athlete to maintain optimal body weight and body fat levels for best performance

·        Give enough amount of fluids to ensure maximum hydration before, during and after exercise

·        Promote the short and long-term health of athletes.

 

Diets for athletes include:

1.     45 to 65% from carbohydrates

2.     15 to 25% from protein.

3.     20 to 35% from fat

For fat intake most athletes should follow similar recommendations to those given for the general people, with the preference for fats coming from olive oils, avocado, nuts and seeds. Athletes should avoid high fat foods such as biscuits, cakes, pastries, chips and fried foods. 

 Carbohydrates are broken down into sugars (primarily glucose), glucose can be converted into glycogen and stored in the liver and muscle tissue

If dietary protein intake is low, this can result in a loss of protein (muscle) tissue, because the body will start to break down muscle tissue to meet its energy needs.

A high-carbohydrate meal 3 to 4 hours before exercise is causes a positive effect on performance. Consuming approximately 500 ml of fluid in the 2 to 4 hours prior to an event may be a good general strategy to take to ensure good hydration.

Pre-exercise meals include cereal and low-fat milk, toast, fruit salad and yogurt, pasta with tomato-based sauce, a low-fat breakfast, or low-fat creamed rice.

Carbohydrate foods and fluids should be consumed after exercise, particularly in the first one to 2 hours after exercise to recover the loss energy, athletes consume 1.25 to 1.5 L of (non-alcoholic) fluid for every kilogram of body weight lost during exercise.