Basic key elements in athletic nutrition. How can we achieve peak performance?

During the last years the interest in the amount, the quality and the composition of athletic nutrition occur getting more and more increased as it is now scientifically proven that nutrition of high-intensity exercised people is affecting their health, weight and body chemistry. Moreover, it affects the energy packs availiability, their performance as well as their body recovery after high-intensity exercise. Thus, the nutritional interference in athletes aims to assure an effective training session on one hand, in order to reduce muscle damage or illness danger, and on the other hand to maximise the performance of the athlete.

The key elements concerning the consumption of energy, nutrients and liquids for athletes and exercisers are:

• Energy

To maintain body weight and good health, to achieve maximum performance as well as rapid body recovery after high-intensity exercise, adequate energy consumption is required. The low energy consumption can lead to muscle mass loss, hormonal and metabolic disorders, menstruation disorders in women, bone mineral density loss or increase inability, fatigue, high danger of muscle damage and immune system depression. Energy (calories) should come from a healthy food choice with high carb content (complex and simple such as whole grain cereals, pasta, rice, vegetables and fruits), be low-fat and protein adequate (low-fat dairy, fish, chicken and lean meat).

• Carbs

Generally, carbs are the primary fuel source used during high-intensity exercise. Energy packs supply to the muscles in order to achieve peak performance is an essential nutritional target to athletes. Researches have proven that carbs availiability increases stamina and performance of the athletes. Therefore, carbs should be at least 50% of daily energy consumption and can reach 70% depending the sport. More specifically, athletes that train intensely 2 or 3 hours a day for 5 or 6 days a week, need typically 5 to 8 grams of carbs per kg of their body weight in a day. This way the maximasation of glycogen storage (in muscles and liver) and maintainance of blood sugar levels during exercise is achieved.

• Proteins

On the contrary to carbs, proteins are of little use as a fuel and their main function is to build and reconstruct the body tissues. The daily need for protein in athletes is about 1,2 to 1,4 grams per kg of body weight. Resistance and power athletes need slightly more protein that can reach the amount of 1,6 to 1,7 grams. This intake can be achieved through diet without food supplements, since the energy consumption is adequate to weight maintainance.

• Eating before exercising

Meals before exercise should be low in fiber and low in fat, in order to ease gastric emptying. Moreover, they should include average amount of protein and consist of food familiar and tolerable to the athlete, so that to avoid gastric distress.

• Hydration

Hydration is essential to athletic nutrition that should be seriously taken into consideration and closely checked. Adequate fluid intake before, during and after exercise is important to health and peak performance. After exercising it is important to take enough fluid so that to replace sweat loss and prevent dehydration danger. Dehydration can occure even if losing just 2 to 3% of total body weight because of sweating. Moreover, increased fluid loss increases heatstroke danger and electrolyte balance disorder having as a result muscle weakness and fatigue. People needing urgent and total recovery after extended dehydration are advised to dring about 1.5 lt of fluid per kg of total body weight they have lost during exercising. To maintain hydration levels it is important to intak natrium before, during and after exercise. Consuming drinks and snacks that include natrium (salt) contributes to rapid and total hydration, arousing thirst and causing fluid retention.

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