DIet

The main difference between the diet of an athlete and one non-athlete diet is that by increasing energy requirements as a result of physical activity should initially be directed towards consumption of the maximum number of Shares determined by the food guide of carbohydrates (bread, cereal , fruits, vegetables), dairy products and protein foods. Conversely, athletes with lower energy requirements will have to make food choices high density of nutrients to meet their needs in energy, macronutrients and micronutrients.

Another question arises about the diet of athletes is the distribution of meals. In this case it what is true for the general population, ie eating 3 main meals and 3 intermediate. Often athletes do hard workout or several sessions during the day you may need to eat more than 3 meals and 3 snacks a day.

Another issue that arises on the issue of optimal nutrition for athletes the perfect time for a meal before exercise and what should be the amount of food and the proportion of the nutrients of the meal. Common sense shows that the intake of fluids and food before, after and during exercise should be tailored to individual requirements and preferences of the athlete.Depending on the athlete's gastrointestinal characteristics and requirements of the sport, diet and the meals the form must be corrected.

The diet is also associated with a number of other factors that should be considered when planning the diet of athletes.

Exercise often contributes to tissue injury and triggered mainly muscle, tendons and ligaments.Depending on the severity of the injury, recovery can be done either in a few hours or minutes but can last for weeks. Proper nutrition provides the necessary amounts of energy, protein, minerals and vitamins from the food gives the means for the treatment of injured tissues.Therefore, the right food choices can accelerate tissue repair.

Another area on which research in recent years great interest is the relationship maintenance - immune system. It is known that exercise causes increased stress in various tissues, which need adequate defense mechanisms to prevent the establishment of infection by bacteria and viruses.Only recently has begun to expand the role of specific components to support the immune system of athletes. Although research in this level continues, the researchers argue that proper nutrition helps more than any other factor in strengthening the defense mechanisms.

Another aspect of proper nutrition for athletes is the relationship of nutrition and proper growth. The younger athletes who have not completed their development should hire the necessary amount of energy, protein and micronutrients to ensure the normal development of the skeleton and the other developing tissues. Growth retardation often occurs in young athletes because of periods of malnutrition.

Of particular importance in athletic performance but have the following:

Meal before exercise

Eating meal before exercise has been shown to improve athletic performance. It has also proved the importance of diets that are rich in carbohydrates to replenish glycogen. Lunch or snack to be consumed before the match or intense training should not leave the athlete with a full stomach nor hungry. Meals before the event will be:

1.      provide adequate fluids to maintain hydration

2.      large amounts of caffeinated beverages result in diuresis and insufficient hydration before and during exercise

3.      be low in fat and fiber to facilitate gastric emptying and reduced gastric distress

4.      be rich in carbohydrates to maintain glucose levels and maximum glycogen storage

5.      contain moderate amounts of protein

6.      be composed of foods familiar to the athlete

The size of meals and time consumption are related to each other. Because most athletes do not want to struggle with a full stomach, recommended eating small meals shortly before the race or workout to allow gastric emptying. Large meals can be eaten when enough time elapses between lunch and race. Consuming 200-300g carbohydrate meals, 3 to 4 hours before exercise has been shown to improve performance and delay the onset fatigue. The issue of consumption of carbohydrates an hour before exercise is controversial.

Some research has previously argued that this practice leads to hypoglycemia and premature fatigue, but more recent studies show that they do not affect positively or negatively. Also, foods that are rich in complex carbohydrates are preferable foods that are rich in simple because it is richer in nutrients (vitamins, minerals), fiber and usually poorer in fat.

These recommendations and guidelines provide the principles on which to base the meal before exercise. Beyond that must take into account the preferences of the athlete who in seasons should not be experimenting with new foods and fluids to understand himself and which combination gives the best result.

Recommended foods:

▪ 1 hour or less before exercise

Fresh fruits and vegetables such as apples, melon, peach, orange, banana

Up to 1 ½ cups. sports drink

2 to 3 hours before exercise

Fresh fruit

Fruit Vegetable

Bread / toast

Low-fat yogurt

Sports drinks

3 to 4 hours before exercise

Fresh fruit

Fruit Vegetable

Bread

Roasted Potatoes

Cereal bars

Cereal with low fat milk

Low-fat yogurt

Bread / toast with limited peanut butter, lean meat and low fat cheese

Foods to avoid before exercise

Any food rich in fiber and fat like fried foods, crisps, sweets, meat with high fat content, donuts, high fat cheeses as well as spices, salt.

Lunch during exercise

In this meal the primary goals should be to restore the loss of fluids and replenishing carbohydrates (at the rate of 0.7 g carbohydrates 30-60gr/ora or per body weight / hour - ideal intake every 15 - 20min) to maintain glucose levels in the blood, to enable the athlete copes with the intensity and duration of exercise. This directive is extremely important for endurance athletes not consume adequate amounts of food or fluids before exercise whose duration exceeds one hour, for athletes who play morning after overnight fasting and liver glycogen levels are low. Proposed sports drink 4 to 8% carbohydrate.

When stocks are depleted muscle glycogen during exercise, blood glucose utilization is extremely important to maintain the intensity and duration of exercise. The administration of exogenous glucose thus helps to maintain blood glucose levels. These results do not look at short-term events, especially when the athlete has consumed adequate meal before exercise, that has replenish the glycogen stores. The administration but carbohydrates during exercise low intensity (30% VO2 max) and long, leading to increased glucose concentration and insulin levels and reduced cleavage of hepatic glycogen, which results in almost double glucose uptake by muscle . That is, the oxidation of glucose is increased while the plasma FFA decreases.Events in moderate (50-75% of VO2 max) phenomenon of increased glucose utilization is even more intense.

The form of carbohydrates is also important. The particular type must be glucose. The fructose itself is not very effective and side effects such as diarrhea. But mixtures of glucose - fructose seem particularly effective. Depending on the preferences of some athletes can instead of sports drinks to consume solid food and water during exercise.

Meal after exercise

The timing and composition of the meal or snack after exercise depends on the duration and intensity of exercise as well as when the athlete will participate in the next sport. The main purpose of the meal after the exercise is to replenish the glycogen stores in muscles and liver.Therefore the composition of the meal depends largely on whether the athletes glycogen is exhausted or not.

There seems to be an upper limit for intake of carbohydrates, about 500-600gr/imera, beyond which contribute to the replenishment of glycogen is low. The time of intake affects glycogen synthesis in the body. The carbohydrates immediately after exercise (1.5gr/somatikou weight every 2 hours), leading to higher levels of glycogen after six hours from the start that if the intake delayed two hours after the end of the sporting activity. The higher rate of glycogen synthesis after exercise were glycogen-depleted refers to recruit athletes 0.4gr carbohydrate / kg body mass every 15 minutes for four hours. It should be noted, however, that this way of eating provides almost 2000kcal which in some cases exceed the energy expenditure of the same exercise.

Another factor that influences the rate of glycogen synthesis are the type of carbohydrate to be consumed. When comparing the glucose and sucrose, appear to have the same efficiency, while fructose by itself is less effective. Eating foods with a high glycemic index causes higher glycogen levels 24 hours after exercise, compared with the consumption of foods with a low glycemic index. But because the diet of athletes should be based on complex carbohydrates, administration of simple sugars after exercise should be preferred only when the replenishment of glycogen in athletes must be at a rate to meet the needs half that struggle will be in a short time after the first.

Adding protein meal after exercise does not seem to negatively affect the regeneration of glycogen. Proteins help to repair muscle and promote the secretion of anabolic hormones in the body. In a study comparing the effect of meal providing the necessary calories and carbohydrates and proteins included in the replenishment of muscle glycogen athletes had done exhaustive exercise on ergometer, compared with lunch provided only carbohydrates, no evidence was found to suggest that the replenishment of glycogen after an increase in the supply of complex meal with carbohydrates and proteins.