NUTRITION - What do players need?

Athletes need mostly:

Carbohydrates (bread groups)
Protein (meat & dairy products)
Calcium (dairy group)
Iron (meat group)

Athletes also need more fluids, especially in the heat, plus fruit & vegetables each day for essential vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre.

CARBOHYDRATE GROUP

Athletes need to replace ‘glycogen’ the stored fuel in the muscles, by having most of their foods from complex carbohydrates. Pick at least 60% of your food from the bread, cereal, rice and pasta group. Athletes need to eat carbohydrates within 30 minutes after exercise to fuel muscles.

Good choices:

Whole wheat bread
Steamed rice
Iron enriched cereals
Baked potato
Pasta
Pizza
Bagels
Muffins
Rice crackers

PROTEIN GROUP

Meat
At least 3 servings from the meat group
Boiled fish
Grilled meat
Egg whites
Grilled chicken
Beans added to salads
Dry roasted or natural nuts

MINERALS

Calcium from the milk group
Need at least 1000mg of calcium a day – the amount in 3 dairy servings
Skim, 1 or 2% milk
Low fat yoghurt
Low fat milkshakes

IRON

From the meat group
Meat
Iron fortified cereals
Raisins
Dried apricots
Spinach

HYDRATION

To maintain peak performance - A fluid deficit of as little as 1% of body weight can impair performance by accelerating fatigue.  By the time the body gets to 3% dehydration, the muscles can lose up to 10% or more of their strength and endurance.

To minimise risk of overheating - During a tough practice or game, muscles generate heat.  Blood carried this heat from the muscles to the skin’s surface where the heat is dissipated when sweat evaporates.  If a player does not replace enough of the fluid lost through seat, significant dehydration, early fatigue and increased risk of overheating may be unavoidable

To meet the cardiovascular demand - As the body becomes dehydrated, blood volume drops.  As the body tries to maintain its blood supple to active muscles and vital organs, heat rate increases as the heart strains to keep up with the body’s demand for blood.

PRE & POST POST TRAINING FOOD & FLUID

Goal - To maximise rate of recovery

When to eat? 

• Within 30-60 minutes post training
• Straight after training, blood is still rushing to your muscles and muscle cells are especially receptive to taking up glucose hence eating promotes faster glycogen resynthesis and thus recovery.

What and how much to eat & drink?

Carbohydrate: Choose moderate to high glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates as they are more easily digested and absorbed faster into the blood stream compared to low GI carbohydrates.

Protein: Repairs damaged muscle fibres and enhances glycogen resynthesis.

Fluids: To combat dehydration and stimulate rehydration. Water, supplemented with sports drinks and dilute fruit juice or cordial are suitable. Coffee and other caffeine containing drinks are best avoided as they have a diuretic effect

Note:  In some situations a main meal doubles as your recovery meal, for example when you training early morning or late afternoon, breakfast or dinner could be your recovery meals.  A main meal generally contains enough carbohydrate and so long as you consciously include a source of protein, the protein content should be adequate also.  If you eat a main meal more than one hour after finishing training or if it contains mostly low GI carbohydrates, then it is best to consume high GI carbohydrate food or fluid immediately after training, followed by a main meal when you are ready.