Nutrition – Bronwen Lundy
Nutrition for Badminton By Bronwen Lundy (EIS Nutritionist for the England Badminton Squad) Bronwen Lundy is a performance nutritionist with the EIS working primarily with the national badminton squad based at Milton Keynes. Bronwen moved to England from Australia where she worked with a number of sports in private practice as well as with professional sports including rugby union, rugby league and jockeys. She has also worked with the NSW and Australian Institute of Sport with slalom canoe, rowing, football and winter sports. Highlights of Bronwen's career include working with the Wallabies and with the national rowing and slalom canoe squads in the lead up to the Athens Olympics. One of Bronwen's passions is working to optimize body composition having had personal and professional experience with 'making weight' for rowing. Is good nutrition for badminton players just about eating your greens? We all know we should follow a nutritious diet in order to live a long and healthy life but for young athletes long term health can seem about as relevant as planning for their retirement. Increasingly we are discovering that nutrition plays a critical role for the ‘here and now’ for athletes in order to maximize sports performance. In this article you will find Bronwen’s top tips to motivate you or your athletes to follow a performance boosting diet and make the most out of the effort put in to become a successful badminton competitor. 1. Fuel Up Not surprisingly training burns energy, which needs to be replaced by the diet. The nutrients that provide this energy are carbohydrate, protein and fat. Carbohydrates are found in pasta, bread, rice, noodles, breakfast cereal, sugar, muffins, muesli bars, starchy vegetables such as potato and fruit. Following digestion they end up as glucose in the blood where they can be transported to the muscle and liver for storage as glycogen. Glycogen is the main fuel for exercising muscle especially at medium to high pace activity. When stores are low athletes will feel tired during exercise and struggle to perform. Protein is found in meat, chicken, seafood, dairy products and legumes (lentils, kidney beans, chick peas etc). The main function of protein is to build muscle and to repair and replace damaged cells. Protein can be used for energy if inadequate carbohydrate is provided but this is not a very efficient process. Fat is found in full cream dairy products, processed meats and some cuts of meat, chocolate, cakes, biscuits and fast foods. Fat is a very dense energy source but cannot contribute to glycogen (muscle energy) stores. Fat works best as a fuel during low intensity exercise such as walking and activities of daily living. For higher intensity exercise such as badminton, fat is not the best fuel source. In a nutshell, the ideal diet to fuel a badminton player is one which includes nutritious carbohydrate foods as part of each meal and snack, includes some low fat protein foods with each main meal and is low in fat. How much fuel (carbohydrate) is required depends on the intensity, duration and frequency of training. 2. Plan Ahead The number one factor that lets athletes down when it comes to follow a good diet for their sport is poor planning. Most athletes have a busy schedule and food is selected for convenience rather than nutrition or snacks can be missed altogether. Athletes need to think through their day before leaving the house and decide which meals and snacks they need to bring from home and what they can buy along the way.
1
Nutrition – Bronwen Lundy
Most services carry fruit and low fat sandwiches or you can carry snacks such as cereal bars or fruit cups with you in case of emergencies! 3. Hydration Players can lose several litres of fluid during a match or training especially during the summer months. Dehydration can lead to poor concentration and coordination as well as poor exercise tolerance. Most athletes will need around 2 litres of fluid per day plus whatever they lose during exercise although this is highly individual. To monitor hydration athletes should check their weight before and after training a session and aim to drink 1.5 times what was lost during the session. For example, if a 60kg athlete is 59kg after a training session they have lost 1kg and should drink 1.5 Litres. Care should be taken with athlete groups where weight is a sensitive issue such as with adolescent girls. The athlete can take their weight privately and the coach can focus on how much fluid was lost rather than the weight itself. Players can also learn to monitor themselves for hydration by looking at their urine colour; producing a small amount of darkly coloured urine is a sign of poor hydration where are producing a larger amount of lighter coloured urine suggests better hydration. It is possible to over drink with excessive fluid intake and both athletes and coaches should be aware of this risk. Players should be aiming to match fluid intake with losses i.e. drink more in hot conditions, during long or intense training sessions. During exercise the best choices for hydration are water or sports drink. Sports drink has the added benefit of containing sodium (salt), which helps your body to retain the fluid. Over the course of the day milk and squash are also good choices. Players should be aware that drinks containing sugar can contribute a lot of energy to the diet without being particularly filling. This suits athletes trying to increase their weight but is not ideal for athletes that tend to put on body fat easily. 4. Recovery: Getting ready to do it all again Right after a heavy exercise session there is a “window of opportunity” to speed up recovery which is important if there is another exercise session planned within 8 hours. Eating carbohydrate containing foods and fluids in the first hour or so after finishing the game will speed up restocking of muscle glycogen stores. Adding a small amount of protein at this time may also help glycogen storage as well as repair and building of lean mass. Good examples of recovery snacks include sandwiches with lean meat, chicken, tuna, egg or cheese, SiS ReGo or a flavoured milk drink, a piece of fruit and pot of yoghurt or a bowl of cereal with milk. 5. Eat to Compete Carbohydrate loading is not required to perform well for badminton but players should make sure that they eat well the day before compete and include a carbohydrate based meal that is also low in fat for dinner the night before. Extra attention should also be paid to hydration. Examples of suitable meals include pasta with chicken and tomato based sauce, beef stir-fry with rice or noodles, Spaghetti Bolognese or steak with rice salad and vegetables. On the day of competition players should have their pre-match meal roughly 3-4 hours before they compete. The aim of this meal is to top up carbohydrate levels without leaving you feeling bloated or sleepy. Fatty foods or large serves of protein at this meal is not recommended as it will take longer to digest and could cause problems with stomach cramps or discomfort during play. Ideas include a bowl of
2
Nutrition – Bronwen Lundy
pasta/rice with low fat sauce e.g. tomato and small amount of meat, a bowl of breakfast cereal, lean meat and salad sandwiches or yoghurt and fruit salad. One to two hours before the match players could have a light snack. Foods or drinks consumed at this time should be carbohydrate based and easy to digest. Ideas include fruit juice or squash, sports drink, fruit, honey or jam toast etc. During the match water or sports drinks can be consumed. The sports drink has the added benefit of containing carbohydrate, which may improve co-ordination, concentration, decision-making and energy levels towards the end of the match. Straight after the game it is time to think about recovery again, especially if there is another match coming up shortly. 6. Concentrate & Learn If you could click your fingers and be able to improve an athlete’s ability to learn new skills and concentrate when it counts there is no doubt you would do it. The good news is that there is something almost as simple. If athletes have eaten appropriately and are well hydrated, research has shown they are more likely to make good decisions, have a more positive outlook and retain their skills when tired and that has to mean a more successful badminton player. 7. Stay Healthy The fitness that comes with training hard increases protection from most major illnesses but surprisingly not so for minor illnesses such as cold and flu. The stress of training actually makes athletes more susceptible to these. Following a well balanced diet with adequate energy and carbohydrate, taking in some carbohydrate while exercising and in the recovery period and a good intake of fruit and vegetables and help avoid this susceptibility. 8. All in balance Last but not least don’t forget to enjoy food! Favourite foods definitely have a place in any diet; it is all about balance. Previously featured in Power and Precision – July 2007
3