Sports Nutrition is the field of study of meals or diet which is required to
increase the performance of athletes and bodybuilders. A great strength and
endurance is achieved by taking balanced and right food type
(protein ,carbs ,fibre ,fat etc)in order to achieve three primary principles of
sports nutrition i.e Fuelling, Hydration and Recovery
Fuelling- fuel up the body with right food in order to increase strength,
endurance and stamina .
Hydration-keep the body hydrated during physical tasks.
Recovery- it is essential to recover the body after physical performance.
Consuming the well – balanced diet is important for those who are actively
involved in physical tasks like athletes, those needs to consume more calories
as compared to normal person and bodybuilders requires more protein for the
proper muscle building and recovery.
The first and most important principle of sports nutrition i.e Fuelling- fuel up
the body with right food is essential in order to get energy for performing
better. Mainly Carbs ,Protein and Fats are crucial for maintain body ‘s energy.
• Carbs are the key nutrition which is required for proper functioning of
muscle or to prevent muscle fatigueness and u ll get perform fully
energetic.
• Fats – It is essential to consume good fat because fatty acids which is
obtained from good fat is equally required as a source of energy,
specially if you are actively involved in physical activities and it also acts
as building blocks for the formation of hormones and cell walls.
• Protein is also act as repairing element and energy source in our body
especially for the bodybuilders in order to repair the damaged muscle
tissue and formation of new one ,except it there is many other essential
functions of protein in our body.
Nutrients– We all should need to consume well balanced diet in order to
remain physically and mentally healthy.
• Let’s brief about most essential nutrients:
Carbohydrates- Simple and complex sugars are two main type of carbs.
Simple sugars are mainly obtained from refined products and having sweet
taste eg- white bread and cereals. they are also obtained from natural sources
like dairy products , fruits and vegtables, all of the sugars which we obtained
naturally are utilized by the body in the same way but it is more better if we
get our simple sugar from natural diet
On the other hand if we talk about complex sugars like bread, pasta and rice
etc so it is better to consume unrefined grains because from refined complex
sugars there is removal of fibres and other essential nutrients .
Fats– It is another important source of energy and also helps the body to
absorb nutrients
Saturated fats is not healthy for the heart health and it leads top increase LDL
(bad) cholesterol level of the body.it is mainly found in animal products and
processed foods such as meat and dairy products
Unsaturated fats are considered as good fat and it is not that much bad for the
heart and helps to lower body LDL (bad) cholesterol and elevates the HDL level
in the body . the common sources of unsaturated fats are avocados, olives ,nuts
and oily fish.
Protein– it is one of the most crucial element and have vary functions like it
helps to repair the damaged tissues, formation of new tissues ,involved in
transportation process, acts as building blocks of bones, muscles ,cartilage ,skin
and blood and helps to form hormones, enzymes and other important chemicals
etc .It is found in meat ,fish, eggs ,pulses, nuts ,seeds and soya products.
Sports Supplement– it is simply an addition to an healthy diet which is used
by athletes ,bodybuilders and sportsman in order to enhance their performance,
strength and recovery .These products are available in different forms such as
multivitamins , protein supplements ,creatine and various other performance
enhancing drugs knowns as “ergogenic”.
• Let’s discuss few of them:
Whey Protein – it is obtained from milk, so it is known as 6natural protein which
contain lactose and very less amount of fat and also there are essential amino
acids which is require to recover the body after the intense physical workout
and helps to rebuild the lean muscle and it might help people those facing
problems in weight gaining .
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Creatine– it is one of the sports supplement which is used by the athletes and
bodybuilders in order to increase strength and explosive power during highly
intense exercises.it is high energy product which helps to store and provide
energy instantly and in enhanced amount .it is naturally formed in our body and
we can also take it from meat and fish also in supplement form.
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Vegan proteins – the plant based proteins are known as vegan protein e.g soy
protein ,it is known as complete protein because all the essential amino acids
are found in it and carries 90% of protein and rich in vitamins and minerals. other
examples of plant based protein powders are pea, rice ,hemp etc and every
vegan protein have its own taste , texture and amino acids.
https://foodvez.com/product/nutrabay-pure-soy-protein-isolate-26-2gprotein-4-8g-bcaa-vegan-plant-protein-for-muscle-growth-recovery-1-kgunflavoured/
Omega 3- it is the powerful sports nutrition and it is of three type :
(EPA)eicosapentaenoic acid ,(DHA)docosahexaenoic acid and (ALA)alpha
linolenic acid. The source of EPA and DHA is fish ,fish oil and algae extract.and
source of ALA is nuts, flax seeds,chia seeds and olive oil. the benefits of omega
3 include speed up the recovery after intense workout ,lower down the
excessive elevated heart rate .
Author –
Jasmeet Kaur