The sport Nutrition It is the discipline within the human nutrition that is in charge to establish the suitable diets so that the athletes surrender to a maximum level.
Sport has always been intimately linked with specialized nutrition, and even more so in the current times, where physical exercise is carried out by a large part of the world's population.
Of course, this effort to carry a diet according to our physical activity is also intended to be carried out in infinite ways. This becomes a difficult task to maintain, and of course, not many people know how to execute it successfully.
In this article we will try to provide as much data as possible on the sport Nutrition And in a simple way for the person who seeks the balance between a healthy meal and exercise to benefit in the most optimal way possible.
Nutrients in sports
In general terms, the nutrients vary substantially depending on the sport we are going to perform, and of course the intensity with which we implement it.
In this way we find different types:
Water and Electrolytes
The human being, when playing sports consumes a total of between 70 and 90% of the energy used. This is expelled in the form of sweating as we know it as a way to regulate the body heat of our body. In addition, we must add different external factors that make this increase, such as the temperature of the environment or the garments we use.
Sweating results in the loss of different Electrolytes Such as chlorine, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium among many others coupled with abundant salt deficiencies.
If you want to replace these types of electrolytes, you should not only help the body to complete the ones we already need, but also have to consume other types among which we find:
- Potassium : Works as a warehouse for glucose .
- Sodium : It improves the water balance again and activates the enzymatic.
- Calcium : Improves muscle contraction and activates them, like the nerves .
- Magnesium : Activates the enzymatic, activates protein metabolism and muscle function.
- Match : Contributes to the formation of ATP .
Carbohydrates
Without a doubt, the main source of energy for our daily exercise, that is why it is very important to be based on adequately controlling the amount of Carbohydrates Which we must consume.
They control the levels of cholesterol and of Lipids . Special care must be taken with fatigue, as this usually appears in many cases due to the misuse of these. The Ketosis , A situation that occurs when we have a deficit of carbohydrates in our body.
Lipids
Have you ever heard the phrase? If something is good, is it fattening??? Because the same thing happens with the lipids. They are less physically profitable than carbohydrates, although they are nevertheless treated as the best way to nourish ourselves when it comes to doing long-term exercises. They also provide a multitude of vitamins such as TO , D Y AND .
In spite of this, we are shown a problem, and that is that they are about fats. What to do? Primordially ingest only lipids of quality to be able to diminish the harmful effect of these coming from olive oil, fatty fish or dry fruits.
And very importantly, we only have to use 30% of our needs, or 35% depending on the duration of our physical activity.
Proteins
If a normal person needs 0.8% of protein per day, an athlete needs 20% more. They are a non-energy structural component. Such is its importance that we can find different deficiencies if we do not ingest them with sufficient assiduity.
- Our motor and mental capacity decreases considerably.
- Remarkable loss of muscle wasting.
- Loss of protection against different infections.
- Likewise, there is a loss of the micronutrients of our organism.
Recommended foods in the sport
After observing the different nutrients necessary for our body to function correctly at the time of performing physical exercise , We have to stop to describe the different foods that make up.
We can divide them into a total of seven groups among which we find a great variety of food.
Foods where proteins predominate
- Group I : Basically dairy products (Obviating the eggs that will go in group II), among which we find among other milks and their different derivatives like cheese.
- Group II : In this group we find different meats, fish and eggs.
Mixed foods: energy, plastics and regulators
- Group III : Different types of legumes, nuts and potatoes. These provide extra energy because of the large amount of calories they contain.
Regulatory Foods
- Group IV : Vegetables.
- Group V : Fruits like apples, oranges or bananas among others.
Energetic food
- Group VI : Cereals (bread, pasta, corn, flour, etc.), honey, sugar and sweets with special production in vitamins and carbohydrates.
- Group VII : Butter and oils. Energy foods, with butter and different fats for our body.
Types of diets
As we have said, there are many types of diets depending always on the sport discipline or the own metabolism, but what never changes is its classification according to the sporting moment in which we are:
- Base diet : The most general and the one that contains the greatest variety of foods possible. Mainly we must add lipids, carbohydrates and proteins. This is the daily diet that should be performed by any current athlete.
- Corrected diet : As specified in the specialized websites, it is a high protein diet to prepare the training phase especially in strength sports.
- Preparation Diet : Dedicated exclusively to prepare the competition and be fit. It increases the amounts of energy and reserves to be able to endure during the exercise.
- Diet during the test : When we are during an exercise and as long as possible, it is preferable to rest for energy. During this process liquid must be replenished, either with energy drinks or with the necessary amounts of water. Food must also be eaten to give us a plus in the nutrients we have lost along the way.
- Recovery Diet : In this process of post-feeding we dedicate ourselves exclusively to the recovery of the previously lost. If they have been specially hard tests, it will have to be compensated with the necessary quantity of nutrients equivalent to the duration and the effort made.
Example of a generic daily diet
According to Dr. Jose Felix Meco and Nutrition Nurse Deborah Blasco an exemplary and generic training day should be covered by the following diagram:
Breakfast
- Cereals : Bread (preferably whole) or whole grains. Bread can be accompanied by jam or oil with turkey or sweet ham.
- Dairy products : Milk or yogurt or fresh cheese or cottage cheese. Choose more skim options so you do not abuse saturated fats
- fruit : Two whole pieces to take advantage of the fiber. It is recommended in the form of natural juice, if the competition takes place in the morning, so as not to slow down the digestion.
Midmorning
In the case of physical activity during the afternoon is usually recommended with dairy as a pair of skim yogurts or a glass of semi-skimmed or skim milk and whole grains or a piece of fruit together with a small amount of nuts.
If, on the contrary, it is carried out in the morning, it is necessary to contribute more energy and to complement with the breakfast. Ideally, a delicious fresh cheese sandwich with tuna, turkey or a low-fat sausage.
Food
If the exercise is performed in the afternoon, it should always be done three hours before the digestive process is fully processed.
- 1st course: rice, pasta, legume (cooked with tomato sauce, vegetables or ham) Avoid fat sauces or cooking with animal fat (chorizo, bacon,...).
- 2nd course: fish (blue or white) or white meat (chicken, turkey or rabbit) or red meat maximum 2 days (beef, pork loin) grilled or baked with salad or vegetable garnish. Garnish with olive oil.
- Dessert: yogurt and / or fruit.
* Accompany the meal with a piece of bread
Mid afternoon
- Fruit or fruit juice or low-fat dairy with a handful of nuts or whole wheat bread with turkey, fresh cheese and jam.
Dinner
Preferably soft and non-copious meals.
- 1st plate : Rice, pasta, potato (In the form of vegetable creams, soups, rice with vegetables, pasta with natural tomato sauce,??).
- 2nd plate : Preferable white fish (oven, papillote, boiled) or white meat (iron or baked) or egg with salad or vegetable garnish. Garnish with olive oil.
- Dessert : A skim yogurt.
* Accompany the meal with a piece of bread.
What about energy drinks? How and what should we ingest?
We all know that energy drinks are a"food"?? Key to the physical exercise. They are supplemented with different nutrients to help us recover the lost. Mainly we can find three types of drinks:
- Hypotonic : Coming from the word hypo?? (Greek root meaning"less") makes its quantities (such as sugars or electrolytes) in fluids more diluted, leading to the drink being absorbed faster than water.
- Isotonic : This liquid has in its composition the same amount of concentration as we have in our body. This causes it to be absorbed as quickly as water which even occasionally gets to do so much faster than this. This is undoubtedly the ideal balance between nutritional replenishment and hydration.
- Hypertonic : Contrary to hypotonic, hyper? Means more. These have levels higher than those provided by the flow of body fluids and cause water to be absorbed in a much slower way. This is why they are ideal for the after-exercise, making the fluid replacement take place in a slower and slower way.
Additional Supplements
Additional supplements are being increasingly marketed within supermarkets and specialty stores without any warnings or certified use.
They are small, (and sometimes not so small) boxes filled with pills or powders that serve to be diluted in different liquids. But how often do you have to use these types of drinks?
If possible, experts recommend that they not be swallowed under any concept, as many are often subject to various harmful modifications, where in fact, there have been different legal judgments and problems because of these controversies.
According to the magazine Consumer Reports , Consuming different types of sports supplements continuously can create irreversible damage to our liver, being particularly judicial for young bodies, where some experts have claimed that these come to be treated as?? guinea pigs?? For the biological experiments of the different companies.
Even the professional athletes have this practically restricted intake and its use must be made by first going to a dietitian or a specialized nutritionist and secondly by following their advice and recommendations.
A few tips
In addition to the different nutrients and foods we mentioned earlier as a fundamental part of our diet when it comes to exercise, there are a number of tips that we can not ignore:
- Fractionate meals 5 or 6 times a day, with 3-4 hours of fasting between each of these, adapting them to the training schedule we have planned.
- Try to focus especially on natural foods, as these are the highest quality and those that will help you above all to lose weight against the rapid absorption of fat.
- Do not consume too much sugar. The scientific explanation tells us that the excess of these granules trigger the secretion of the insulin hormone, and this in turn causes the enzymes to activate, which causes a higher body fat index.
- Finally, alcohol must be abandoned if you want to keep your physical capacity intact. These are drinks with a high level of sugar concentration. Also when ingested, the liver focuses exclusively on burning fats causing the rest of your body to lose acceleration in this same process.