An Athlete's Diet

When people think of athletics, whether it is football, wrestling, running, or some other sport; they think of strength, speed, agility, and of people who have worked out hard to get in great physical condition. We all realize that in order for someone to be at the top of their game, they must prepare their bodies. So athletes, to prepare for competition, participate in a number of different physical exercises, from weight lifting, to running, stretching, calisthenics, yoga, and more. What is often, and unfortunately overlooked however, is the indispensable role that nutrition plays in making the body ready for peak performance and recovery. Many people do not realize or think about this, despite the apparent axiomatic nature of the concept; said one expert, "make no mistake, for top (athletic) performance food is first" (Colgan, 1993). In this discussion I will explain what the athlete's body needs in terms of nutrition, and where he or she can hope to obtain it.

Let us begin with how the body is fueled. The human body uses carbohydrate as the primary source of energy for sustained, strenuous physical activity. In fact, some fifty-percent of the energy your body uses comes from carbohydrates, specifically glucose, and its storage form, glycogen (Rady Rolfes, Pinna, and Whitney, 2006). That is the energy you are using while you exercise, while your body will burn more fat for energy when you are at rest.

It is of utmost importance to make sure enough carbohydrate is included in your diet if you want to be a competitive athlete. Proper "carbohydrate loading" before exercise will decrease the perception of fatigue during extended exertion (Colgan 1993). That doesn't mean, however, that you only need carbohydrates before training, but rather, if you want to train at maximum efficiency, you need high quality carbohydrates throughout the day, every day. It is recommended that the athlete make sure to consume around 650 grams of carbohydrate per day(Colgan 1993). The reason for this is that during intense training your body burns through its glycogen stores rather quickly, and if you are carbohydrate depleted to start with, you aren't going to get as much done in the gym, or on the court, or field, as you would have with proper carbohydrate stores going in to your workout. That is also the reason it is important to replenish carbohydrate as you proceed with your workout. When it comes to the question of sports drinks like Gatorade or Twin lab's Ultra Fuel, water will only do for about thirty minutes of high intensity training, and then it's time to switch to a carbohydrate replenishing sports drink of some type.

Of course, not all carbohydrates are created equal. There was some controversy a few years back involving the so called "Atkins Diet" which advocated a very low amount of carbohydrate in a persons daily consumption of food. While it is true that the weight loss method advocated by the late Dr. Atkins is highly debatable, he did bring to the foreground some important things that had been previously overlooked by most people. In my opinion the most important thing he contributed to the publics pursuit of health with his work was the realization that an abundance of simple starches and sugars in the diet is harmful to your health, and, by way of logical extrapolation, if you are an athlete, harmful to your performance. He pointed out, among other things that by 1999 Americans were eating about 198 pounds of refined sugar(Atkins 2002), and he reminded us of the health risks involved in consuming that much sugar. Needless to say, a serious athlete should avoid making refined sugar a significant part of their diet.

With all that being said, the question remains as to what a "good carbohydrate" is and were we can obtain them. The best place to find your carbohydrates are fruits and vegetables, rather than candy, soda, ice cream, and refined white bread. Typically the natural sources of carbohydrate are also natural sources of fiber. Some good examples of this are green leafy vegetables, apples, berries, and whole grain bread and pasta.

While carbohydrate is the main energy source for physical training, protein is the main cog in the body's recovery process. Protein supplies the building blocks for the human body, and is absolutely necessary to the recovery of muscles after a workout. Protein, which itself is made up of amino-acids, works synergistically with resistance training to grow muscle (Campbell 2007), and is also used by the body to build hair, skin, and a number of other materials out of which your body is constructed. This fact is of great import to the serious athlete because "lifting weights actually breaks down muscle fibers, which take about two days to heal--getting bigger and stronger in the process." (Smith 1999) This healing process requires protein and quite a bit of it at that.

As with carbohydrate, it is important to make sure you are consuming enough high quality protein. The strength training athlete will need 1.2-2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body mass per day in order to build and maintain muscle at peak efficiency (Manninen 2004). Any more than that, however, will not help muscle growth and recovery. Without adequate protein intake, the body will actually break muscle down, and in the long run, your strength, speed, and your ability to move explosively will be impaired. I need not go on longer as to why that is important. Protein should be gotten through the consumption of healthy meats, and unsaturated fat sources. Things like poultry, low fat dairy, olive oil, and nuts and seeds are among the better sources of high quality protein.

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