Sports Nutrition: What Every Athlete Should Know
One of the most vital components of basic sports nutrition has to do with the volume of water or other hydrating fluids you take during your active periods. No matter your current fitness level or the number of sporting activities you’re involved in, you’ll always need to hydrate and nourish your body properly. Most athletes become dehydrated at some point, regardless of how active or inactive they are for the simple reason that they mostly rely on sodas, sports drinks, and beverages rather than drinking the right fluids. The problem with sports drinks is that while they quench thirst and provide glucose to replenish energy, they are quite ineffective in keeping your body hydrated.
High performance in sports is dependent on a well-balanced diet. The types of food you eat are also important to your sports performance, no matter what sports you’re engaged in. For athletes that stay physically active during both sporting activities and at other times of the day, it’s even more crucial to pay attention to nutrition because prolonged levels of activity mean that you burn calories more rapidly, and your reserves are depleting at a faster rate as well.
Good news is, you don’t have to be a dietician to understand how sports nutrition works; all you need to know is the basic aspects of a good nutritional program needed to maintain a fit and healthy body for active and enhanced sporting capabilities.
Hydration for Athletes
One of the most critical aspects of sports nutrition for sportsmen has to do with the volume of water and other hydrating fluids they consume daily while actively participating in sports. A drink of water or electrolyte replacement fluid is ideal for running athletes, for example. Both sodas and caffeine products have a mild diuretic effect on the body that causes loss of body fluids, so bear in mind that anytime you have a soda or any glucose-based sports drink, you’re actually getting yourself more dehydrated in the process.
Fluid Intake
Athletes don’t normally give much thought to water when they think of sports hydration, but studies have shown that without sufficient hydration, our muscles and ligaments could wear down and become stiff – a serious implication that could have severe effects on sports performance.
Many athletes prefer the sweet and refreshing taste of sodas and other sugary drinks over the taste of water, but fail to realize that the rehydrating properties of most sports drinks are quite meager. Although water has a rather bland taste, its nutritional benefits are countless!
A regular human being’s body needs quite a lot of water to sustain the functions of the eyes, brain, skin, and every other organ in the body system, but athletes need even more water because our bodies undergo increased levels of activity throughout the day. This means that when we don’t consume enough water, we’re really just leeching into the little hydration left in our system. There’s apparently nothing as important to an athlete’s sports nutrition program as the amount of water consumed on a daily basis.
Water Loss
Did you know that you could lose up to 2 percent of your total body weight from sweating? When your body loses fluids, your blood becomes thicker causing your heart to work much harder. This leads to lack of oxygen in your system. This shortage of oxygen circulating within the body can lead to dizziness, cramps, and acute fatigue. In severe cases, the limited supply of oxygen could even cause heat stroke and heat exhaustion. I think it’s pretty easy to see why you need to start drinking more water as an athlete.
Are Carbs good for Athletes?
Carbohydrates and proteins are also important parts of sports nutrition basics. I think the ‘zero-carbs’ diet fad has encouraged many people to drastically reduce their carbs intake in order to lose weight, but it’s also left them tired and powerless in the process. Carbs can be useful as ‘energy reserves’ which athletes could easily burn through during workout routines. Carbs are the main source of energy athletes need to perform light to high-intensity activity. The fats in carbohydrates can be burnt off during low-intensity training sessions that last for longer periods.
My take is – an athlete’s body needs more carbs for energy, especially because they’re far more physically active than normal people. However, the choice for an athlete to go ‘Keto’ or not is entirely up to them.
Beefing up on Proteins
Athletes need all the proteins they can get to maintain body weight and stamina during the intense training and sporting activities. However, many sports doctors advise that moderation must guide the consumption of proteins with high-fat content. Other proteins like eggs, salmon and plant-based proteins help to build worn down muscle tissues and provide a sufficient store of energy for when it is needed the most. You’ll also need to have sufficient amounts of protein in your body to fuel your muscles. It would do you no good to lift massive weights to beef up your muscles, yet you can’t nourish them to maintain the size.
In the same vein, it will do you no good to obtain your proteins from only fatty ‘red’ meats if your exercise routine is aimed at losing weight. Many sports nutrition diet plans combine lean proteins like chicken, fish, and turkey as your main protein sources with red meats like beef consumed only occasionally. As an athlete, your carbs intake should consist of complex Carbs – whole grains, not simple Carbohydrates such as pasta products that simply break down into sugars in your digestive system, providing you a limited amount of energy.
Last Words
As you can see, sports nutrition is a very critical component of success in sports. The basic nutritional rules are pretty simple to grasp notwithstanding the particular type of sport you’re involved in. You basically need to eat more of lean proteins, complex carbohydrates and drink lots of water. Last but not least, you should have a well-balanced diet by supplementing with lots of fruits and veggies as well. If you discipline yourself by adhering to these sports nutrition rules, you’ll be able to perform better for longer and be in best shape of your life.
