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Sports nutrition in a nutshell

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Sports nutrition has now become a dynamic field of clinical study because it is continuously changing. You will find improve nutritional guidelines and support for active adults and competitive athletes. Sports nutrition is considered as the cornerstone of the athlete's diet.

What is sports nutrition?

Sports nutrition is the foundation of athletic success. You can simply in the Senate as a well-designed nutrition plan which will allow the athletes and also the active adults to perform at the peak level. It includes the right foot type, nutrients, energy and fluids to keep the body functioning at peak levels and well hydrated.

One very important element of sports nutrition is that it is unique to each person and so planning is necessary for individual goals. You also need to understand that a sports nutrition diet may vary day to day and such variants will depend on specific energy demands for that particular day.

Sports nutrition basics

Macronutrients

Macronutrients include carbohydrates, proteins and fats and they are very essential for optimal body function.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates can be simple or complex and it is considered as the most important energy source for the human body. Some of the examples of simple carbs are sugars found in fruits, vegetables and milk. Complex carbs include whole-grain bread, potatoes, most vegetables and oats. When carbohydrate goes into your body, other digestive system breaks it down into glucose or blood sugar which is used as energy by the cells, tissues and organs.

Proteins

Proteins are very essential for each cell of the human body. It is also important for muscle recovery and growth. They are made up of a chain of amino acids. A protein can be complete or incomplete. Complete proteins are those proteins which contain all the amino acids which are important for the body. Some examples of complete protein are meat, fish, poultry and milk. Incomplete protein sources are generally plant-based proteins and they do not contain one or more essential amino acids. Your body needs essential amino acids because it cannot produce that.

Fats

Fats are very important for your body even though there are different myths going on about fats. People believe that fats are harmful for the body and so should be reduced or eliminated completely from the diet. This is not true. Fats can be saturated or unsaturated. Unsaturated fats are healthy for you and they generally come from plant sources like olive oil and nuts. On the other hand, saturated fats are available in animal products like high-fat dairy, red meats and others. Saturated fats may increase the risk of different diseases. Healthy fats are important for you and your body because they provide energy, help with body development, maintain cell membranes and protect our organs.

The goal of sports nutrition

So, what is the goal of sports nutrition? Competitive athletes and even active adults turn to sports nutrition to get the help to achieve their goals. Sports nutrition can help you in different ways. For example, if you want to gain lean mass, improve your body composition, and enhance athletic performance, sports nutrition can help you with all of them. They will need different nutritional programmes and different sports nutrition plans can be devised to achieve such different goals. The right food type, calorie intake, nutrient timing, supplementation, fluids management are essential and they all fall under sports nutrition which can be planned according to the specific need of individual to meet the specific goals.

References

1. Chris Borgard’s Practical Sports Nutrition Guide
2. Eating for Exercise and Sports
3. Sport nutrition for young athletes