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Nutrition in Sports

Chance Walker

Newberry College

March 20, 2019

All athletes want to do is to be in the best shape possible for the sport that they participate in. Most athletes think that the physical aspect is the only thing that helps to prepare for sports, but that is not the case. Nutrition in games comes from more than just the practice portion of it. As an athlete, paying attention to the food and drinks took daily is essential. Some athletes wonder why they have no energy or why muscles do not recover well, and it is usually because of their nutrition. When athletes think of nutrition and what it means commonly, they will reply with “you have to eat right and drink lots of water”. While this is true athletes also need to know that stretching is a part of nutrition in sports as well. This is such a big deal for all athletes because they think it is only during their sport is when they need to. One of the last key things athletes should know about nutrition is getting rest. Some athletes do not get the proper rest their bodies need, and there are numerous ways an athlete can do so. A lot of athletes do not realize how those things are important when talking about nutrition in sports. They do not know how much it can help them, and thousands of other athletes improve their game in ways they never have before. With sports being some competitive in society today, athletes look for ways to get an advantage on the competition. Nutrition is a huge factor in sports that separates the great athletes from the good athletes.

Reaching out a peak performance does not require a special diet; it is all about having a good work out of the right foods. The key foodstuffs are the carbohydrates because they are a source of energy. The carbohydrates commonly referred to as carbs need to be obtained from the right sources. This means that there are different types of carbohydrates that is starch or complex carbohydrates, sugars, and fibers. Starches or complex carbohydrates can be further broken down into the bran germ and endosperm (“Types of Carbohydrates,” n.d). The bran is the outer shell of the grain providing lots of fiber and some vitamins and minerals. The germ is the next layer which is packed with essential fatty acids that the body needs and vitamin E. The middle layer, the endosperm, contains the starch (“Types of Carbohydrates,” n.d). Foods high in starch include peas, lima bean, potatoes, oats, barley, and rice. The place where athletes can go wrong eating starches is that many of the starches sold in stores are refined which means it only has the endosperm center of the grain and you miss out on the nutrient in the bran and germ layers. If an athlete is too eat starchy food they should try to stay clear of refined starches and try to get as many whole grain that contain all three layers of nutrition. The second main type of carbohydrate is one Americans are very familiar with and that is sugar. Contrary to the belief of many people athletes do need sugar in their body as glucose is what powers many of the body's cellular functions. But like with the starch it is important to eat the right sugars that are simple and easier for you body to break down. Fruits and milk have natural sugars in them and are much easier to break down then the complex sugars that are often added to things like the sugar you add to the dough when making cookies. Sugar is necessary but the right kind of sugar and in the right amounts is important when getting proper nutrition to athletes. The last group of carbohydrates is fiber. Fiber comes in plant products and it is recommended that you get between 25-30 grams of fiber a day in your diet (“Types of Carbohydrates,” n.d). While fiber is not actually digested it plays an important role in digestive health by keeping bowel movements regular and making you feel full after eating a meal. Athletes can get fiber from many different plant products including bean, fruits, vegetables, whole grain breads, and even nuts. You also can take fiber supplements, but it is best to get fiber through food, rather than in a supplement. Overall when it comes to carbohydrates in general, they are arguably the most important food group for athletes to intake because they give so much energy to the body and aid in cellular process that lead to muscle gain. As exercise increases glycogen(carbohydrates) that is stored in your muscle is used up and needs to be replaced, this is why it is so important for athletes to eat enough carbohydrates, if there is not glycogen the muscles cannot efficiently do work and will not lead to good competition for the athlete (“Types of Carbohydrates,” n.d). Another important thing to add about eating the right things for good nutrition in sports is that eating the right types and right amounts of fats is important. If you eat too much fat it can lead to growth problems and serious health risks. Despite all this, an athlete should not only focus on one type of food. A person should eat a variety of foods from the carbs, proteins and also food rich in vitamins and minerals. Athletes should get enough proteins but not too much of it. It is necessary for muscle growth, but too much of it can lead to dehydration, calcium loss and also kidney problems. The best foodstuffs for athletes are the plant-based. Plant-based diets have minimal or no health risk effects. Comment by Rebekah: Is this correct? Comment by Rebekah: This is one LONG paragraph, consider breaking down into TWO and cite all information. Comment by Rebekah: How do you know this? What is your source?

Plant-based diets can be helpful to athletes because they have numerous advantages like a performance advantage and physiological effects. The plant-based diets help to regulate the body mass of the learner (Barnard et al., 2019). They reduce the body fat which is beneficial to the performance of the athlete. They have a low-fat content and a high fiber content which reduces the density of the meals and as a result, a reduced energy intake regulating the body fat (Barnard et al., 2019). An athlete with low body fat always has a maximal aerobic capacity which boosts endurance. High fat in the body increases the metabolic risks of the body of converting carbohydrate into body fat. Comment by Rebekah: In these paragraphs, you only have to cite the source after a Direct quote or once at the end of the paragraph; if you have not changed sources for the paragraph.

A plant-based diet also helps to facilitate glycogen storage as mentioned briefly before. During moderate and high-intensity aerobic exercise, carbohydrates are the primary sources of energy (Barnard et al., 2019). Athletes who take up foods that are carbohydrate deficient are at high risk of depleting glycogen during the performance and early fatigue. Athletes who are used to the plant-based diets have a higher endurance because plants have good carbohydrates and the body can facilitate the glycogen level (Barnard et al., 2019). Plant-based diet offers a healthy intake of carbohydrates. Comment by Rebekah: Source?

A primary factor to the delivery of oxygen to the body muscles is the thickness of the blood. Blood that is not resistant to flow, not very thick, will facilitate higher oxygen delivery to the muscles which improves athletic performance. A rise in the blood viscosity reduces the oxygenation of the tissues which progressively reduces the performance. The blood viscosity can

be improved through aerobic training exercises but also the food choices affect. Plants are low in fat and cholesterol which reduces the plasma lipid concentrations which results in a low viscosity of blood.

During exercise mitochondria and organelle functions in the body produce reactive oxygen radicals. The radicals are neutralized by the body, and at times it can exceed the body’s ability to neutralize them which results in oxidative stress. Intake of vegetable diets increases the antioxidant activity of the body due to the high level of vitamins and antioxidants in the vegetables. Vegetable diets are good antioxidants compared to other vitamin supplements which can cause delayed muscle recovery and can reduce the expected positive health effects of exercise. Comment by Rebekah: Paragraph’s source?

The food choices of athletes can help reduce inflammation. Though regular exercise reduces chronic inflammation, the food choice can also help. Plant-based foods such as blueberries and watermelon help reduce inflammation. Plant-based diets reduce inflammation in three ways; they have the antioxidants in their composition; they do not have the products that may cause inflammation and also the absence of the pro-inflammatory fats. Plant-based foodstuffs reduce the post-exercise inflammation and also facilitate recovery due to the presence of antioxidants. Plant-based diets play a vital role in cardiovascular health which is critical for the endurance of athletes.

Sports drinks and energy drinks also play a vital part in the nutrition of an athlete. Athletes who exercise in hot weather can quickly get dehydrated which can affect the body’s performance (Gavin, 2014). Athletes should not wait until they are thirsty; they are supposed to drink fluids early enough and often in a sports activity. A mechanism that can be used to monitor the hydration level in the body is by keeping an eye on the color of the urine. A pale yellow color indicates that a person is getting enough fluid while a dark yellow color means that fluid intake is insufficient (Gavin, 2014). Through intense exercise, the body loses a lot of fluids through sweating. Therefore, it is necessary to hydrate the body by taking adequate fluids before, during and after an event. Comment by Rebekah: Same as before, just cite once, unless you have a change of sources.

The sports drinks have added ingredients to do something extra for sports people such as increases in the level of alertness and boosting the body energy and as a result, enhance the overall performance of the athlete. The drinks contain carbohydrates which is a basic source of energy. They supplement the energy required for an activity when the body’s stores are used up. Through sweating the body loses some electrolytes like potassium and sodium(Gavin, 2014). Sports drinks have the electrolyte and therefore supplements those that are lost through sweating from an activity. It helps maintain or balance the body’s fluid levels which enhances the proper performance of the body muscles. Comment by Rebekah: Space after sodium, before (. Comment by Rebekah: What do you mean by “it”? be specific.

Despite the sports drinks acting as supplements to the body fluids, they are not the best for kids who carry out vigorous physical activities and play high-intensity sports like basketball, hockey and soccer. For kids, it is best to get the necessary nutrients and vitamins required to enhance physical activity’s performance from healthy meals (Gavin, 2014). The supplements can be too much for kids, and excessive of the minerals and vitamins can be a risk to the health of the kids. Energy drinks contain sugars and caffeine. These drinks can be helpful to athletes who carry out exercises in scorching weather and for long periods. The sports drinks help to keep

them hydrated. They also help to increase the energy levels and supplements the electrolytes lost through sweating. For young athletes, the energy drinks may affect their health due to the high sugar content, and therefore it is recommended that they take plain water to hydrate them during a sport activity (Gavin, 2014).

Stretching is also an important part of nutrition in sports. Stretching helps to reduce muscle injuries by preparing the muscles for the work that they are about to do. Training exercises help to improve the body’s aerobic activity. Training exercises and warm-ups help the body in many ways before the actual physical activity. Warming up helps to increase the respiratory rate as a result of increased heart rate (Gavin, 2018). It also improves the temperature of the muscles, boosts the blood amount in the body and reduces the viscosity of blood (Gavin,2018). A high blood volume and low resistance to flow lead to an increase in the amount of oxygen supplied to the muscles. Generally, warming up prepares the body for a workout. There are thousands of types of stretches that can be done to help an athlete warm up and are largely dependent on the activity the athlete is warming up for. For example, a long-distance track athlete would do many different lower body stretches and a few upper body stretches to prepare for their event versus a softball player that would spend much more time stretching their upper body and arms with a little bit of lower body stretches because they use their upper body more in their activity. There are also two main types of stretches that can be done that is dynamic stretches and static stretches. Static stretches are stretches that are done while standing still and are often focused on stretching a specific muscle or muscle group at a time. Static stretches are the most familiar to most athletes and are typically held anywhere from 15 -60 secs at a time (“University of Wisconsin”, nd.). Dynamic stretches involve the moving of the body to stretch and often involve several different muscle groups being stretched at a time. In dynamic stretching you repeat the movement for a set number of reps and with each rep the range of motion in the movement gradually increases (“University of Wisconsin”, nd.). There is some debate as to which type of stretch is better to perform before sport activity but overall, they both are effective, and it really depends on the individual and the activity that is being performed. It is important to stretch well before exercise to warm up your muscle before activity, but it is also recommended for athletes to stretch after activity to avoid soreness in the muscles. Stretching statically after exercise will “cool down” the muscle that are already warm from activity but dynamic stretching after exercise can greatly increase your range of (“University of Wisconsin”, nd.). There are many different way to stretch and stretching helps the body in many different ways. Comment by Rebekah: Cite your source once

Stretching use the body muscles in a sport-specific way. It helps to reduce muscle injuries and boost athletic performance because it prepares the body physically for an exercise. It should be done properly because in some cases it can hurt. The right way to stretch, a person should not get hurt. A proper stretch should last for about 10 to 30 seconds to sufficiently lengthen the muscle being stretched. It should be carried out slowly without forcing and for a good time to avoid overstretching and causing injuries which can result in poor performance. Comment by Rebekah: Where is your source?

Cooling down is also important after an exercise. The cooldown should include stretching and gentle movements of the body muscles. A cool down will help slow the breathing and heart

rate. It also helps to minimize the chances of feeling dizzy or lightheaded after a long day workout. To feel the benefits of the workout an athlete should relax the body by cooling down through stretches which maintain the body’s flexibility. Comment by Rebekah: Source?

Enough rest after an exercise is essential to the high level of performance in athletes. During rest, the body can repair the injured tissues and helps to regain the energy to carry out another workout. Continuous training without rest can weaken the strong athlete because they have no time to recover from the previous injuries from other exercises. During rest, the body can replenish the energy stores and repair the damaged tissues. Without the recovery time, the body will deplete the glycogen levels in the muscles leading to continuous breakdown due to overtraining. Overtraining results to a lower performance, depression and in some cases injuries that weakens the strength of an athlete. Comment by Rebekah: Cite your used sources.

The performance of an athlete depends on the foods that have been taken over the past several days or weeks, and the exercise did before the game day. A good diet is necessary that is food that has carbohydrate have moderate protein and are low in fat. The best source for these dietary requirements is plant-based proteins. The nutrients are natural and, in most cases, do not result in health problems of athletes; instead, they help to improve performance. The frequency of sports drinks intake is necessary to balance the fluid levels of the body and also to supplement the electrolytes lost in vigorous activity. An athlete should also stretch, warm up and cool down to relax the body muscles and also to maintain flexibility. Rest is also part of the nutrition for an

athlete. It nourishes the athlete, provides an excellent time to regain energy and repair the body tissues that had been exhausted from an activity. During rest, a player can prepare for the next event or activity, through the strength gained through replenishment of the body energy stores.

Amount female athletes there is a common disorder known as the female athlete triad that results from not having proper nutrition and being involved in sports activities. This triad is a combination of disorder eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis (Gavin, 2014). Disorder eating is just when the athlete tries to lose weight in order to improve their athletic performance and can include simple things such as not eating any fat in their diet or more severe condition like anorexia (Gavin, 2014). The second part of the triad is due to the inefficient diet that can lead to hormone change and actually can disrupt the menstrual cycle of the female athlete. Some female athletes work themself so hard that they delay their period from happening due to the lack of nutrition and this can cause a whole spill of problems later in life for the female athlete (Gavin, 2014). The last part of the triad has to do with the bones of the female athlete getting weaker. Osteoporosis can be caused by low calcium intake which causes a loss in bone density. By not taking in enough nutrients the body doesn't get the minerals and vitamins it needs to build bones in adolescence (Gavin, 2014). As a result, the female athlete with osteoporosis will often get many stress fractures due to her weak bones and can have a detrimental effect on the athlete’s career. In order for a female athlete to be diagnosed with the triad the athlete can have one, two, or all three of the conditions nut often if one condition is present it will lead to the development of the other two conditions over time. The signs and symptoms of the triad include weight loss, loss of period, fatigue, decreased ability to concentrate, stress fractures, low heart rate and blood pressure, frequent trips to the bathroom during and after meals, brittle hair, and the use of laxatives (Gavin,2014). It’s important for coaches to be aware of the triad so they can look out for the signs and symptoms to prevent further damage to female athletes. While not having proper nutrition in males can also lead to osteoporosis which is part of the triad, it is more a focused in teen females because of how self-conscious many females in adolescence to teen age are about their body. The female athlete triad is just one of the many issues that can come about from not having the proper nutrition in sports. Comment by Rebekah: Check grammar. Comment by Rebekah: Only cite once, through the entire paragraph. Comment by Rebekah: No contractions Comment by Rebekah: Check spacing between paragraphs.

Having proper nutrition in sports is so essential to the performance of athletes in all sports and activities. Nutrition includes so many aspects and it’s important for athletes to be aware of all the things that go into nutrition. First, eating the right food and drinking enough water helps fuel your body to do the activities in sports. Second, getting enough rest allows for your body to recover and rebuild any damage parts. Lastly, stretching before and after exercise helps increase your range of motions and prevent injuries. By keeping these aspects of nutrition in check for athletes you can avoid many health issues in athletes like the female athlete triad. Nutrition is the most important aspect to be considered when an athlete is training for competition, without proper nutrition athletes will never reach their full potential in their sport. Comment by Rebekah: No contractions.

References

Barnard, N., Goldman, D., Loomis, J., Kahleova, H., Levin, S., Neabore, S., & Batts, T. (2019). Plant-Based Diets for Cardiovascular Safety and Performance in Endurance Sports. Nutrients, 11(1), 130. doi: 10.3390/nu11010130

Jaret, P. (2014). Top Nutrition Tips for Athletes. Retrieved 20 March 2019, from https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/nutrition-tips-athletes#1.

L. Gavin, M. (2018). Stretching (for Teens) – Kids Health. Retrieved 20 March 2019, from https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/stretching.html. Comment by Rebekah: Same as below

Quinn, E. (2019). Why Athletes Need Rest and Recovery After Exercise. Retrieved 20 March 2019, from https://www.verywellfit.com/the-benefits-of-rest-and-recovery-after-exercise-3120575

R. Gibson, S. (2014). A Guide to Eating for Sports (for Teens) – Kids Health. Retrieved 20 March 2019, from https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/eatnrun.html. Comment by Rebekah: Remove this, put a period after the ). Comment by Rebekah: Italicize

W. Anzilotti, A. (2019). Sports Drinks and Energy Drinks (for Parents) – Kids Health. Retrieved 20 March 2019, from https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/power-drinks.html. Comment by Rebekah: Same as above

Types of Carbohydrates. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/understanding-carbohydrates/types-of-carbohydrates.html

University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority. (n.d.). Dynamic Stretching Versus Static Stretching. Retrieved from https://www.uwhealth.org/news/dynamic-stretching-versus-static-stretching/47947