Fast Facts About Sports Nutrition
Contents
Water, Water Everywhere
You can survive for a month without food, but only a few days
without water.
- Water is the most important
nutrient for active people.
- When you sweat, you lose
water, which must be replaced. Drink fluids before, during, and
after workouts.
- Water is a fine choice for
most workouts. However; during continuous workouts of greater
than 90 minutes, your body may benefit from a sports drink.
- Sports drinks have two very
important ingredients - electrolytes and carbohydrates
- Sports drinks replace
electrolytes lost through sweat during workouts lasting several
hours.
- Carbohydrates in sports drinks
provide extra energy. The most effective sports drinks contain
15 to 18 grams of carbohydrate in every 8 ounces of fluid.
Rev up Your Engine
with Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are your body's main source of energy.
- Carbohydrates are sugars and
starches, and they are found in foods such as breads, cereals,
fruits, vegetables, pasta, milk, honey, syrups and table sugar.
- Sugars and starches are broken
down by your body into glucose, which is used by your muscles
for energy.
- For health and peak
performance, more than half your daily calories should come from
carbohydrates.
- Sugars and starches have 4
calories per gram, while fat has 9 calories per gram. In other
words, carbohydrates have less than half the calories of fat.
- If you regularly eat a
carbohydrate-rich diet you probably have enough carbohydrate
stored to fuel activity. Even so, be sure to eat a
precompetition meal for fluid and additional energy. What you
eat as well as when you eat your precompetition meal will be
entirely individual.
Flexing
Your Options to Build Bigger Muscles
It is a myth that eating lots of protein and/or taking protein
supplements and exercising vigorously will definitely turn you
into a big, muscular person.
- Building muscle depends on
your genes, how hard you train, and whether you get enough
calories.
- The average American diet has
more than enough protein for muscle building. Extra protein is
eliminated from the body or stored as fat.
Score with Vitamins and
Minerals
Eating a varied diet will give you all the vitamins and minerals
you need for health and peak performance.
- Exceptions include active
people who follow strict vegetarian diets, avoid an entire group
of foods, or eat less than 1800 calories a day. If you fall into
any of these categories, a multivitamin and mineral pill may
provide the vitamins and minerals missing in your diet.
- Taking large doses of vitamins
and minerals will not help your performance and may be bad for
your health. Vitamins and minerals do not supply the body with
energy and, therefore are not a substitute for carbohydrates.
Popeye and All That Spinach
Iron supplies working muscles with oxygen.
- If your iron level is low, you
may tire easily and not have enough stamina for activity.
- The best sources of iron are
animal products, but plant foods such as fortified breads,
cereals, beans and green leafy vegetables also contain iron.
- Iron supplements may have side
effects, so take them only if your doctor tells you to.
No Bones
About It, You Need Calcium Everyday
Many people do not get enough of the calcium needed for strong
bones and proper muscle function.
- Lack of calcium can contribute
to stress fractures and the bone disease, osteoporosis.
- The best sources of calcium
are dairy products, but many other foods such as salmon with
bones, sardines, collard greens, and okra also contain calcium.
Additionally, some brands of bread, tofu, and orange juice are
fortified with calcium.
A Weighty Matter
Your calorie needs depend on your age, body size, sport and
training program.
- The best way to make sure you
are not getting too many or too few calories is to check your
weight from time to time.
- If you're keeping within your
ideal weight range, you're probably getting the right amount of
calories.
This health
education material has been favorably reviewed by then American
Academy of Family Physicians Foundation
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