How To Nutrition, Diet, And Weight Control of athletes - hsmedlife

 




Coaches, athletic trainers, and teachers are essential information sources for athletes seeking nutritional advice. In providing such information, two goals should be kept in mind.

(1) To assist the athlete in obtaining maximum performance through proper diet and weight control and

(2) To aid the individual in the development of good eating habits for later life.


The Proper Diet

There is no perfect athletic diet. In fact, the diet eaten by athletes should be just the same as for any average individual except for an increased caloric intake to provide sufficient energy for physical activity. The recommended "Balanced Diet" developed by the National Academy of Sciences Food and Nutrition Board consists of dairy products: 2-4 servings daily, fruits and vegetables: 4 or more servings daily: bread and cereals: 4 or more servings daily; meat, fish or poultry: 2 or more servings daily. 

In addition to these primary four food groups, nutritionists have further identified six essential nutrients: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and water.

Protein sources include meat, fish, dairy products, eggs, soybeans, and more. These foods are used mainly to grow and repair tissue and are only a secondary source of energy. Therefore, exercise does not significantly increase an athlete's daily protein requirement. 

A protein intake of one gram per two pounds of body weight per day is sufficient even when gaining weight or strength during weight training programs. To assure maximum protein utilization, intake may be distributed throughout the day rather than ingesting the day's supply at a single meal. 

Diets consisting of only protein foods may pose a hazard to the athlete. Excessive levels of protein intake may be toxic since the fixed acids of urea and ammonium are by-products of protein metabolism. As waste products, these acids circulate in the body until filtered by the kidneys and excreted via the urine. 
Thus, an elevated level of waste products in circulation may contribute to early fatigue in the athlete. The high protein diet also requires that the individual's fluid intake be increased to assist the kidneys in filtering the fixed acids from the blood. 

Protein foods are slow to digest, taking four to six hours to work their way through the stomach and upper bowel. For these reasons, proteins are not the ideal element for pregame meals in athletics. It is far more advantageous to replace the traditional steak and eggs with a high carbohydrate content meal.

Carbohydrates, sugars, and starches compose the cereals and grains, waffles. spaghetti, bread, potatoes, etc. These foods provide the quickest and most efficient source of energy for athletic events.

Carbohydrates are easily broken down to glucose and used for energy or converted to glycogen and stored in the liver and muscles. Glycogen storage is essential to the athlete since it determines how long they can function before exhaustion. 

The intermediate storage equals 1500-2000 calories. The depletion of stored glycogen is best illustrated by the phenomenon of "hitting the wall' experienced by trained marathon runners. This is said to occur at the 20th mile of a marathon race-or after approximately two hours. 

After glycogen stores are depleted, the body must rely on energy stored in the form of fat. By loading up on carbohydrates prior to competition, performance is not improved. But individuals may be able to maintain maximum exertion longer. This is particularly important to athletes involved in endurance sports such as distance running, swimming, cross country skiing, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse. 

The technique of "carbohydrate loading" has been developed to assure maximum pre-competition glycogen storage. The athlete begins seven days prior to competition and completes a workout similar to the length of the competitive event to deplete glycogen storage level. 

A high protein and low carbohydrate diet should be eaten for the next three days, and routine workouts are completed. During the last three days prior to the competition, the athlete switches to a high carbohydrate, low protein diet, and tapered exercises. In this fashion, the athlete attempts to "load" glycogen prior to competition.

Obviously, the "carbohydrate loading" has disadvantages:

1. Many athletes are unable to handle the toxic effects of the high protein intake portion of the program.

2. The cycle takes a whole week and can not be done effectively more than several times per year.

3.With an increase in glycogen storage, the athlete, will also experience an accompanying increase in water storage (2.7 grams of water per gram of glycogen). This resulting increase in body weight may be detrimental to many athletes.

4. The actual effects of the "carbohydrate-loading technique are questionable. Research on its effects is not conclusive, and proving that the positive results are not merely psychological may be difficult. 

For these reasons, "carbohydrate loading" is not suggested for all athletes, particularly not for team sport athletes playing several games each week. But as a practical application, it is recommended that athletes in sports are requiring.

Popular posts from this blog

What You Should Know About Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) - hsmedlife

Image
Inadequate iron for the synthesis of hemoglobin inside the red blood cells can lead to impaired red blood cells production. Iron is the most common nutritional deficiency globally that can lead to abnormal clinical signs and symptoms along with or without microcytic hypochromic anemia.    Causes for iron deficiency anemia   1.Hemorrhage/blood loss.   This can lead to loss of red blood cells by which substantial iron loss can occur, from the circulation. For instances of these hemorrhages, gastrointestinal bleeding, heavy menstrual bleeding and some parasitic conditions etc can be mentioned.   2.Increased the iron demand with specific physiological conditions   Iron demand is increased at rapid growing of the body and during pregnancy.   3.Decreased absorption   Decrease acidity of the stomach(gastrectomy antacid), coffee, and calcium ions can be lead to decrease ion absorption. Ferric irons should be converted into ferrous to absorptio...
Read more

How To Manage Depression Without Medication

Image
  It is easy to understand: the management of depression is often medication. However, there are other ways to beat depression without drugs and avoid falling into the downward spiral of psychotropic drugs. Depression affects more than 350 million people, or nearly 5% of the world's population. In France, the drug route is often the only one offered to people suffering from depression. However, there are many ways to combat this condition without psychotropic drugs.   Eat well There is no doubt that there is a link between diet and depression. Indeed, many studies have proven the correlation between food and mood. Thus, the consumption of omega 3 (fish such as salmon and tuna, but also nuts such as almonds and rapeseed oil) and vitamin B (green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, orange, rice, or beef liver) promotes brain function and prevents certain mental disorders. Along with other care, a good diet can help you feel better.   Exposing yourself to light...
Read more

Acute Wound Management - hsmedlife

Image
  From the Latin word plaga, the wound is a skin lesion that manifests itself by an opening in the skin. It can be the consequence of a trauma, minor or severe, or of a pathological process.    There are two categories of wounds   Acute wounds. They can be defined as sores of sudden onset and of short duration. They include burns, post-operative wounds   linked to a surgical intervention. Or traumatic wounds following an accident, such as cuts, lacerations, but also bites / scratches, frostbite and insect bites. For acute wounds, the physiological healing process lasts between 2 and 4 weeks.    Chronic wounds They include leg ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers or bedsores. Their chronic nature is explained by the presence of an associated pathology which is at the origin and which slows down the healing process. This then requires medical treatment of the cause and the wound. Venous and / or arterial insufficiency, diabetes, prolonged immobility asso...
Read more