Participating in endurance sports requires optimal nutrition, with specific focus on nutritional modifications. Targeted fitness development at an early age, especially in adolescence is deemed the foundation for leading an active lifestyle, avoiding potential overweight, reducing motor deficiencies and thus improving the general quality of life.
At the time of final performance an athlete is supposed to be well nourished, uninjured, fit, focused and ready to compete. Sports nutrition is not just about calories to achieve weight or body composition goals; nor is it all about protein for muscles or carbohydrates for fuel. Nutritional and eating habits have been of specific interest in sports, especially given their impression on athletic performance. General recommendations need to be suggested by sports nutrition experts to accommodate the specific requirements of individual athlete regarding health, sports, nutrient, food choices and body weight and body composition.
Athlete challenges their bodies on a regular basis through tough physical training and competitions. In order to keep up with demand for stamina of their activity or sport, athlete needs adequate fuel for their body on day to day basis.
Nutrition is important for an athlete because it provides energy required to perform the activity. The food they take leaves an impact on strength, training, performance and recovery. Not only the type of food is important for sport nutrition but also the time is equally important for what they eat throughout the day. It also has an impact on their performance level and their body ability to recover after workout. An athlete needs to pay close attention about when, what and how much does he eat or drink prior to a game or match.
The role of nutrition in sports performance is very important. Proper nutrition must be available prior, during and post competition. Greany and Jeukendrup stated that from fuelling to recovery, muscle building weight and making optimal nutrition ensure the best platform for success in any sport. Meals eaten after and before the exercise are the most important in nutrition but we should really be very careful with all that the athlete intake in his body. As a general rule of thumb an athlete should eat about two hours before any exercise and the meal should be high in carbohydrates, low in fat and low to moderate in protein. Carbohydrates are the main source of energy that provides power to an athlete in exercise regime. Protein is required to develop muscle growth.
What are the basic nutrients?
Food and beverages are composed of six nutrients that are vital to the human body for producing energy, contributing to the growth and development of tissues, regulating body processes and preventing deficiency and degenerative diseases. The six nutrients are classified as essential nutrients. They are carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and water. The body requires these nutrients to function properly however the body is unable to endogenously manufacture them in the quantities needed on a daily basis.
Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are stored in the body in a form of glycogen, which can be used during physical activity. Carbohydrate is necessary to meet the demands of energy needed during exercise, to maintain blood glucose level and replenish muscle glycogen store. During sub-maximal exercise, carbohydrates in the body are the major source of fuel.
Protein: Protein is needed for nutrient transfer in the blood, connective tissue support and the repair of tissue in response to periods of exercise.
Fats: Fat is primarily used as a fuel during low to moderate intensity exercise. Fat is also engaged in providing structure to cell membranes, helping in the production of hormones, lining of nerves for proper activity and make it easier for process of absorption of fat soluble vitamins.
Vitamin and Minerals: Vitamins are required in wide variety of bodily functions and operations which helps to sustain the body healthy and disease free. The function of minerals is for structural development of tissues as well as the regulation of bodily process.
Water: The human body can survive for a long duration without any of the micro and macro nutrient but not without water. The body is made of 55-60% water, representing a nearly ubiquitous presence in bodily tissues and fluids. In athletics, water is important for temperature regulation, lubrication of joints and the transport of the nutrients to active tissues. It regulates the body’s temperature, cushion and protects vital organs, aids the digestive system, acts within each cell to transport nutrients and dispel waste.
Nutritional needs for peak athletic performance includes sufficient calorie intake, adequate hydration and attention on timing of meals taken. Adolescent athletes and their advisor often are misinformed or have misconception about sports nutrition. Studies show that proper nutrition for young athletes is critical not only to their athletic success, but more importantly to their growth, development and overall health.
The science of nutrition in relation to sports performance has progressed from empirical studies investigating the effect of nutritional manipulations such as restriction and supplementation to the direct investigation of physiological basis of the specific nutritional demands for hard physical exercise.
The main role of sports nutrition is to support the training program. Nutritional intake for performance will change as the training regime changes. Poor nutrition can lead to injury, fatigue and poor recovery, all three of which can hinder as to how efficiently an athlete performs.
American Dietetic Association, Dietician of Canada and American College of Sports and Medicine stated that physical activity, athletic performance and recovery from exercise are enhanced by optimal nutrition. Appropriate selection of foods and fluids, timing of intake and supplement choices are required for optimal health and exercise performance.
Slater and Phillips in 2011 found that athletes related to strength and power are mainly interested in enhancing power, related to body weight and thus almost all about some form of resistance training. While athletes may attempt to boost skeletal muscle hypertrophy, fundamental nutritional issues are broader than those apposite to hypertrophy and include an admiration of the sports supplement industry, the strategic timing of nutrient intake to maximize fuelling and recovery objectives, plus accomplishment of pre-competition body mass requirements. Also that total energy and macronutrient intakes of strength-power athletes are mostly high but intakes tend to be routine when expressed relative to body mass.
Greater perceptiveness into optimization of nutrient intake to accomplish nutrition-related goals would be achieved from the judgment of nutrient distribution throughout the day, especially ingest before, during and after exercise.
Nutrition and exercise
The link between good health and good nutrition is well established. Interest in nutrition and its impact on sporting performance is now a science in itself.
Whether you are a competing athlete, a weekend sports player or a dedicated daily exerciser, the foundation to improved performance is a nutritionally adequate diet.
The basic training diet should be sufficient to:
- Provide enough energy and nutrients to meet the demands of training and exercise.
- Enhance adaptation and recovery between training sessions.
- Include a wide variety of foods like wholegrain breads and cereals, vegetables (particularly leafy green varieties), fruit, lean meat and low-fat dairy products to enhance long term nutrition habits and behaviours.
- Enable the athlete to achieve optimal body weight and body fat levels for performance.
- Provide adequate fluids to ensure maximum hydration before, during and after exercise.
- Promote the short and long-term health of athletes.
Athletic performance pushes your body to the edge. Progress is accomplished by progressively stressing your body and allowing it to recover. If you do not receive adequate nutrition from your diet, this recovery is not possible. As you continue to train, stress, fatigue and metabolic waste will accumulate in your body.
Poor Performance
Training and competition require large amounts of energy, which comes from carbohydrates, fats and protein in your body. If you do not consume enough of these macronutrients from your diet, your body will not be able to perform at a peak level of performance. Strength training relies primarily on carbohydrates for energy. Your muscles break down their own protein to fuel themselves during intense training. Endurance training consumes both fats and carbohydrates.
Longer Recovery Times
Training induces controlled levels of damage in your muscles. Your body rebuilding stronger muscles is what leads to growth in muscle mass and increased strength and endurance. The first two hours after training are the most critical for exercise recovery, according to nutritionist Dr. John Berardi. The demand remains high for at least 24 hours after training. If nutritional demands are not met during this period, recovery will be prolonged over days or weeks.
Immune Suppression
Training produces stress hormones in your body. In the short term, these trigger your body to release energy stores such as body fat and increase the triggers for growth. However, if the levels of stress hormones remain high, the functionality of your immune system is impaired. Low blood sugar due to depleted liver glycogen -- carbohydrate energy stores -- is particularly influential on stress hormone levels and immune function. However, according to a study published in the "Nutrition Journal" in 2014, overconsumption of certain carbohydrates (like those in processed foods). Eat a well-balanced diet attuned to the demands of your body mass and the carbohydrate demands of your activity level.
Weight Changes
Though weight changes may be the intention of your training, unintended and potentially dangerous weight changes can occur with poor nutrition. With continued training, you will lose muscle mass without proper nutrition. You may gain or lose body fat at an unhealthy pace as well, depending on the particulars of your diet, training and genetics.
Other Changes
Female athletes that fail to maintain adequate nutrition may cease menstruating until the nutritional deficits are corrected. Hair, skin and nail health may also be compromised. The levels of growth and sex hormones, such as testosterone, are drastically decreased with prolonged nutritional deficits. Malnutrition also places you at greater risk of many other diseases and health problems.
Conclusion
Diet is of great importance to athletes, the key to achieving an optimal sports diet in relationship to peak performance and good health is balance. Athletes must fuel their bodies with the appropriate nutritional foods to meet their energy requirements in competition, training and recovery. If these nutritional needs are not met, there is an increased risk of poor performance and health issues. The use of a nutritional supplement within established guidelines is safe, effective and ethical. Hundreds of studies have shown the effectiveness of creative monohydrate supplementation in improving anaerobic capacity strength and lean body mass in conjunction with training, but still there is sports specific variation in the food fads and practices indicating the strong influence on coaches and peers. It is vital to educate the sportsmen about the dietary pattern. Failure to consume right diet during competition due to false belief in markets and constant fear of eating prohibited foods may hamper performance.
Finally the future of nutritional supplement looks bright in regard to the areas of transport mechanism, improved muscle retention as well as treatment of numerous clinical maladies through supplementation.
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