Abstract
A healthy diet focuses on preventing diseases and challenges that are brought by these diseases. Nutrition identifies the method in which particular diseases and conditions may be cause by the dietary factors. This paper discusses the various ingestions that are helpful in the body that help in keeping the body fit. The paper also discusses the challenges that sports men face with their health and how they should manage them to remain healthy.
Introduction
Nutrition is defined as the science that explains how nutrients relate to other food materials concerning the maintenance, reproduction, and growth of an organism. It involves the intake of food, its absorption, biosynthesis, and assimilation into the body to provide a healthy and disease-free body. Sports nutrition, however, is gaining in-depth knowledge in the sector of diet that is closely related to exercise science and study of the body of human beings. Nutrition in sports involves applying the knowledge of nutrition to a routine eating plan. It fuels an individual’s physical activity, enables repair and building of the body in a case where the individual is doing challenging physical work. Nutrition boosts the overall wellbeing and health of a person.
An athlete constantly challenges his or her body by doing training and competing. The body, therefore, requires sufficient fuel to enable him to keep up with the physical activities. The type of food athletes takes to impact their strength, performance, training, and recovery (McArdle, 2018). Not all types of foods can provide the required nutrients to boost an individual’s performance and ability to recover after strenuous workouts quickly. Therefore, an athlete should be cautious about what he consumes, how much, and when he takes it as per the game, he or she will play.
Proper nutrition should be readily available to the athlete before, during, and after the competition. Success is determined by the recovery rate of the muscles, how strong the muscles are, and how physically the athlete is (Spano , Kruskall, & Thomas, 2017). Therefore, the food an athlete consumes before and after an exercise is very vital in nutrition. A player is supposed to eat two hours before doing any exercise. The meal to be consumed should have high carbohydrate content, low-fat content, and low or moderate protein content. Carbohydrates provide the player with energy and power to do exercise, and proteins are responsible for muscle growth.
Basic Nutrients Required by Athletes
There are six types of nutrients essential to the bodies that are contained in foods and drinks. They contribute to the growth of body tissues and their development. They also provide the human body with the required energy and are responsible for the regulation of body processes (Stohs & Kitchens, 2019). Additionally, these nutrients prevent the body from suffering from different kinds of deficiencies and prevent the person from diseases. The six types of nutrients include carbohydrates, vitamins, proteins, fats, water, and minerals. For the body of an athlete to function well, it should have all these nutrients. However, the body cannot generate all these nutrients in the required amounts daily. Hence, a person should consume certain types of foods following the kind of nutrients needed.
Carbohydrates are necessary nutrients in the body of an athlete. They are stored in the form of glycogen in our bodies so that they can be readily available to be used at the time of physical exercise (Jeukendrup & Gleeson, 2018). Glycogen is burned down during workouts to glucose, which then replenish the muscles and provide energy. Proteins are responsible for the transfer of nutrients all over the body. They are supposed to be taken since they support the connective tissues and repair body tissues damaged during exercises. When the muscles are repaired, the player can exercise and compete for long hours without much straining.
Fats and vitamins are highly important and recommendable for athletes. They provide structure to the membranes of the cells. They also provide fuel to the body during low or moderate exercises. Additionally, they ensure that nerves are in the proper lining to make absorption of fats and vitamins easier (Stohs & Kitchens, 2019). Vitamins, too, are essential nutrients in the body. They help to keep the body healthy by preventing it from diseases. They are responsible for the development of tissue structure and regulate all the body processes. It is important for athletes to take the recommended amount of fats to keep their body fit.
Water is a vital component in the body of a person, especially an athlete. Bodily functions cannot go on well without the presence of enough water in the body (Spano , Kruskall, & Thomas, 2017). Water also provides lubrication to the joints and enhances the process of nutrients transportation to the active body tissues. Besides, it aids in the digestion process to prevent the player from constipation and other digestion complications that compromise their competitiveness. Athletes need water to regulate their temperatures during exercise
The peak athletes need constant nutritional checkups. The latter will assist in the identification of the type of foods that they require. They need adequate calorie intake and sufficient hydration to help fuel their energy (Spano , Kruskall, & Thomas, 2017). The meals they take should be timely according to when the exercise will start and the duration of time it will take. Appropriate food and drink selection are needed and intake of supplements to ensure optimal health and promote performance during exercises.
The critical role of nutrition in sports is to provide support to training programs. Dietary consumption to boost performance changes as the training system change. Poor performance in games can result in injury, reduced rates of recovery, and excess fatigue (Bagchi, Nair, & Sen, 2018). These three factors hinder the athlete from performing well in their competitions. Hence, according to the American Dietetic Association, proper selection of foods is vital for the general health of the athlete. Nutrition-related goals should, therefore, be accomplished to achieve the required nutrients distribution to the athlete during the day.
Conclusion
Sports need the application of nutrition to ensure the excellent performance of the players. Carbohydrates are essential nutrients because they provide the body with the energy it needs to perform exercises. Different people, however, require different amounts of carbs depending on the type of game someone is playing. Therefore, sports nutrient helps provide nutritional advice to the players on the different types of nutrients they require. It also defines how much of each nutrient is required and when to be taken.