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The optimal diet for sportsmen and sportswomen must cover all their needs for calories, proteins, vitamins and minerals.
Consuming water and minerals is very important due to the losses through sweating during exercise. Sportsmen and women, whether they are competitive athletes, amateurs or simply do sports for fun, have to follow a series of nutrition rules which are very similar to those of a healthy person who does no sports.
However, sportsmen and women should take special care with their diet. If they do not eat properly, their performance will suffer.
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Calorie use
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While we’re sleeping
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65 kcal/h
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Walking (4km/h)
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200 kcal/h
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Walking fast (6km/h)
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300 kcal/h
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Playing tennis
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300-450 kcal/h
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Swimming
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500 kcal/h
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Playing football
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450-600 kcal/h
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Running
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600-800 kcal/h
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Walking up stairs
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1.100 kcal/h
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Sportsmen and women shouldn’t consume more calories than they burn. If they do, they’ll put on weight.
Sportsmen and women who have a high to moderate level of activity…
•• Consume more carbohydrates.
•• Suffer more muscle protein loss.
•• Should avoid putting on weight to remain agile.
The energy they receive from their diet should come from:
•• 60% from carbohydrates or glycides.
•• 25% from lipids (fats)
•• 15% from proteins
It’s vital to follow the rule of consuming one gram of protein per kilo of body weight per day.
If a sportsman or woman sticks to a varied, balanced diet (for example, a Mediterranean diet), he or she won’t need to take vitamin supplements.
Free radicals
Doing exercise gets your metabolism going and generates free radicals. To offset this, we have to consume things which have a high antioxidant vitamin content. This means consuming lots of fruit, vegetables, olive oil, nuts and dried fruit, etc…. Vitamins A, E and C and carotenes are the best antioxidants.
•• Vitamin A: fruit, vegetables, fish and cheese.
•• Vitamin E: vegetable oils, nuts and dried fruit, salmon and wholewheat.
•• Vitamin C: oranges, kiwis, mandarins, fruit and fresh vegetables.
•• Selenium: fish, meat and garlic.
•• Zinc: wholemeal cereals, vegetables, oysters and meat.
For more information on healthy eating, check out our web pages:
www.dietasonline.com and www.saludmania.com
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