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Sports Nutrition

how diet affects a player

By Fugo Tomii

Proper nutrition is essential to achieve great accomplishments. Understanding what to consume is vital to perform at your best during a practice or game.

Basic nutrition is important for health and growth, enhancing performance by decreasing fatigue and the risk of disease or injury. What should someone that is working out or playing sports focus on eating? According to Danielle Kuhn, a local nutritionist, the three main food groups that athletes should focus on including in their diet are carbohydrates, dietary fats, and proteins. Each of these have their own benefits that increase performance when exercising.

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Starting with Carbohydrates, powering the brain and body once ingested, are a good source of energy for activities that are very intense. Carbohydrates provide the body with glucose used for energy, As one gram of carbohydrate contains about four kilocalories of energy. Endurance is a key factor in sports performance helping maintain a steady pace of physical activity reducing the risk of injury, allowing the athlete to efficiently move and use their muscles for a longer time. Some examples of healthy carbohydrates include fruits, vegetables, whole-grain cereals, breads, and pastas. Dietary fats are important because they help the athlete meet their daily energy needs as well as supporting healthy hormone levels. Fat can be used as an exercise fuel giving energy and helping the body absorb vitamins. However if consumed too much, it can result in reducing the muscles capacity to use glycogen for fuel. Examples of dietary fats are vegetable oils such as avocados, olive oils, and coconut oils. Some vegetable oils to limit on are corn or soybean oils.

Third is proteins, playing a role in muscle repair and growth to help improve at a faster rate. Whether you’re running track, swimming long distance, or lifting weights, athletes use more energy than the average “Proper nutrition person and require additional nutrients to recover from intense activities. is the key to Protein plays an important role in an athlete’s diet as it helps repair and unlocking strengthen muscle tissue. Examples of protein sources include lean meats, fish, your potential.” whey protein, and dairy products. Having good nutrition can be hard but there are certain things you can do to make it easier for yourself.- Danielle Kuhn, Having a plan is a very effective way

Nutritionist to keep track of what you consume and what you should consume. Since fruits and vegetables are filled with the energy and nutrients required for training and recovery, having a plan to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables everyday, five times a day with each serving being about the size of an apple is an effective way to take in the nutrients required for training and exercise. Though it would be more expensive, having a more organic and whole grain diet will be better because of the fewer pesticides there are and the better sources of fiber and other important nutrients, such as B vitamins, iron, folate, selenium, potassium and magnesium. A

The Healthiest food options tend to be the most expensive, but it’s worth it, for our body.

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Fresh Produce Markets are great places to pick up healthy fruits and vegetables.

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nutritious meal should consist of grains, fruits, vegetables, proteins, and dairy. Options for whole grain carbohydrates such as whole-wheat bread or pasta, fiber-rich cereals, quinoa, brown rice, or oatmeal as energy sources. Limiting the refined grains and sugars such as white breads and sugary cereals can benefit a lot. Healthy sources of protein are chicken, turkey, fish, egg, hummus, and nuts, as they are the base material for muscle-building. Stick to whole food options rather than more processed foods.

Hydration is a huge part of eating and working out, as even a low drop can negatively impact performance. Good hydration means getting enough water before, during, and after exercise. Water regulates your body temperature and helps transport nutrients to give you energy and keep you healthy. Options for hydration are water, sports drinks, and 100% fruit juice. However, many sports drinks contain a high level of sugar and in the case of fruit juice, it may lack many of the health benefits that are in the whole food option. Make sure not to confuse sports drinks such as gatorade with energy drinks such as red bull.

Proper nutrition doesn’t just happen in a day, it happens in the weeks leading up to the competition. Some useful tips to follow before game day are as you get closer to the time of the competition, make your meals smaller. Limiting on dairy, fat, and fibrous carbohydrate sources for the few hours before the game as eating can result in digestion problems. Not experimenting with new dietary supplements on game day and saving for practice days to experiment if your body can tolerate it well.