Nutrition in Sport

There are a lot of common misconceptions with correct nutrition whether it is for general health and well being or race and high performance situations, most people these days don't actually take in the correct amount of nutrients and minerals required for a general healthy diet as most the most common product missing from a healthy balanced diet is plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables which taken in the correct quantities can improve your own quality of life due to the human body being able to operate a lot more efficiently which also boosts your immune system so you are a lot less susceptible to basic illnesses like the common cold. Even if you do catch an illness like the common cold a healthy diet can actually speed up your recovery so it can be out of your system a lot faster meaning you can spend a lot less time suffering and feeling sorry for yourself.

Most people like I have said before do not cover the basic requirements for a healthy diet and within that group of people those that exercise regularly and train hard to improve their own performances are no exception as most of them believe exercise is enough for them to have a healthy lifestyle and by training hard and regularly they can eat and drink poor quality food and drink and still live forever. This is generally not the case as correct nutrition is a massive part of a normal lifestyle let alone one that involves an individual constantly striving to achieve their personal goals in sport whether that is winning races or beating a personal best time on a regular training circuit. Correct and proper nutrition can help you make bigger leaps and gains in your own sport or quality of life mainly because the body will be more 'primed' and ready, this also goes against the most common excuses made by individuals rejecting change to their poor diet to a healthier balanced diet like;

"It won't make that much difference to me as I'm not that fit anyway"

Or

"I would gain more if I train harder and lose weight instead"

Or

"It's not like I am racing the Tour de France so I don't need to take it that seriously"

All these excuses are very poor reasons not to as the reason top athletes are at the top is because they train hard but also take in a healthy diet in order to reap the full benefits from training which include; the body being refuelled properly so you don't feel the need to eat everything in sight after exercise, having a lot more energy to start with so you can exercise for longer and more efficiently meaning you will increase your fitness and performances a lot quicker, the body will also become used to burning better quality food so you will again find an increase in fitness, well being in general and you will find the body will be storing less fat as the fat will be used as fuel but there will also be less trans fats and saturated fats in the body.

To follow correct sports nutrition in this modern era the human body now requires a larger percentage of carbohydrates in a general diet in order to fuel the body enough for exercise but also to refuel the body after exercise for better recovery, a common misconception is that for optimal recover you need to take in a large dose of protein after exercise to rebuild the muscles, what is generally more important for recovery is taking in more carbohydrates to refuel but also to take in more amino acids which are required to break the protein down so the body can use it to rebuild the muscles. There are generally a lot more supplements and nutrients that need to be taken in for optimal recovery but you will find certain supplements won't be in basic recovery drinks so in a way recovery products are very much a 'you get what you pay for' product as you can buy recovery products at half the cost of another brand but that doesn't necessarily mean you are getting more for less as generally you will be paying for less ingredients and sometimes a lower quality of ingredients which can actually be counter productive in some cases.

The easiest way to take in carbohydrates and electrolytes to fuel and hydrate the body during exercise is now in very convenient methods compared to carrying sandwiches and fruit around during exercise, most brands now have produced a 'energy bar' which is a very quick and easy way to deliver key nutrients, carbohydrates and more calories to the body, calories aren't a bad thing to take in during exercise as you can't exercise without burning calories as they are a key fuel source for the human body. Another quick and easy method of refuelling and hydrating the human body is again a lot of nutrition brands have produced products in powder or tablet form which you can then mix with water to have a drink that contains enough carbohydrates to fuel the body for longer but also deliver it faster through the body as it is already in liquid form, another key ingredient which is sometimes overlooked in 'sports drinks' is electrolytes as they are very important salts needed in the body which you lose through sweating, without enough electrolytes in the body can then cramp up which is something which will not go away quickly whilst exercising.

As outlined above the key points are as follows:

1) good nutrition can benefit everyone whether they exercise or not

2) good nutrition for those who train and exercise isn't just for professional athletes as good nutrition can also give you that extra advantage your looking for without spending every waking minute of your life exercising and training.

3) modern energy and recovery products are a good way to help put in the correct amount of nutrients and carbohydrates during exercise and training without carrying a fruit bowl around with you.

4) without correct nutrition and a balanced diet with enough carbohydrates in your diet for exercise and training your body can get run down and lower your immune system so you are more susceptible to illness, a good quality recovery product can help prevent this.

Why not have a look at what sort of nutrition is available.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Craig_Shuff