If you're a sports person looking to take your game to the next level, it may be time to take note of what you're eating. Sports nutritionist Asker Jeukendrup, Director of the Human Performance Lab at the University of Birmingham notes, "The role of nutrition in exercise and sport will become increasingly important because it plays a crucial role in the adaptations to physical activity and exercise, in weight maintenance, and in the importance of exercise, whether by professional athletes or by those who are physically active for health reasons."
Whether your sport is soccer or salsa dancing, a well-designed diet plan can maximize performance.
Importance
In his 2006 book "Advanced Sports Nutrition", by University of Georgia professor Dan Benardot, PhD: "Doing the right thing nutritionally will have a positive effect on an athlete's capacity to train well and compete successfully."
Because athletes tend to be more active than the general population, they have special nutritional needs. A diet plan for a sports person, when followed closely, can not only improve overall health, but peak performance as well.
Protein
Protein is critically important for a sports person. The muscle work and damage that occurs during training and competition stresses muscles and increases the need for protein intake.
That's why a joint report by The American Dietetic Association and The American College of Sports Medicine in a paper published in the December 2000 issue of "Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise" concluded that, while the general public needs only .8g of protein per kg of body weight, endurance and strength training athletes require between 1.2-1.8g/kg.
Extra protein not only limits muscle breakdown, but aids in the repair and recovery of muscle tissue.
Fruits and Vegetables
Fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables should form a significant part of a diet plan for a sports person. Not only are they a healthy and natural source of energy-providing carbohydrates, but are extremely high in antioxidants.
When athletes train intensely, they increase cellular damage inside of their body -caused primarily from renegade molecules known as free radicals. Fresh fruits and vegetables provide a sports person with the only known weapon against free radical damage: natural antioxidants.
Calories
Most athletes, because of they extra calories they burn off, actually need more calories than most people. According to Heather Hedrick Fink's book "Practical Applications in Sports Nutrition," athletes should actively count calories and monitor their weight -as calorie needs for athletes are difficult to accurately predict.
Fink, the Assistant Director of the Center for Educational Services at the National Institute for Fitness and Sport recommends that athletes eat four to six small meals at three to four hour intervals throughout the day. This will give you a consistent source of energy and makes eating extra nutrients easier than trying to fit everything into three large meals.
Supplements
Jill Anne McDowall, PhD, professor at University of Prince Edward Island, reported in a March 2007 paper published in "Journal of Sports Science and Medicine" that 89 percent of University-level athletes currently take supplements.
While popular, Dr. McDowall notes that there's active debate among researchers whether supplements significantly aid sports performance. Some, like whey protein, have evidence behind them, while others, like a multivitamin, don't seem to have an impact on athletic performance.
References
- Rice University: Antioxidants and Free radicals: June 2008
- "Advanced Sports Nutrition";Dan Benardot; 2006
- "Practical Applications in Sports Nutrition";Heather Hedrick Fink; 2008
- Journal of Sports Science and Medicine;"Supplement use by young athletes"; Jill Anne McDowall; March 2007
- "Sport Nutrition - 2nd Edition";Asker Jeukendrup;2009
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