Nutrition for Athletes

 

     Nutrition for Athletes

                                                                                 

Many people think that athletes are examples of health and that it is strictly related to their nutrition plans and a lot of exercise. Well, in some cases it is true, but there are still people who consider themselves as athletes and practice some totally inappropriate diet, what may finally end in serious health problems. The next time you will meet one of them, try to speak about following issues to make sure, that they know what and why they are eating.

 

1. Extra proteins will help you to gain more muscles.

 

Professional nutrition plans for athletes prohibit more than 2.5 times higher protein intake than it is shown in RDA. The higher intake can be responsible for dehydration or even severe problems with liver or kidney. Furthermore, there is no scientific proof that high-protein diet will effect in gaining extra muscles.

 

2. Athlete should intake fluid when he is thirsty.

 

One of the most common problems in athlete's life is the possibility of dehydration. Even when an athlete is not thirsty, he may need additional fluid to drink, for every lost pound of weight should be replaced with no less than two cups of water.

 

3. Nutrition plan for athletes before competition should not contain sugar.

 

We must remember that sugar gives us energy, so small intakes of this carbohydrate will not only bring no harm, but even can be beneficial for the performance of the athlete.

 

4. Sport drinks are good only for those athletes who exercise a lot.

 

Again, we speak about the danger of dehydration. While the total water loss due to exercises may warily depending on the type of exercises, conditions of the gym and the health status of the athlete, the possible problems caused by dehydration are so severe that there should be no restriction in drinking sport drinks, even by those who exercise for less than an hour a day.

 

5. You can lose weight when you exercise a lot.

 

This is another common myth. Of course, when we consider the water loss as loss of the weight, we may still believe in this superstition, thus endangering ourselves to dehydration. A true athlete, however, knows that every water loss must be replaced as soon as possible and the best and the safest way to lose some additional weight is by proper nutrition for athletes.

 

While we all want to have healthy and good looking bodies we must remember that not everyone can be an athlete. And when we finally become one of them, we should always keep in mind a single fact, only proper nutrition for athletes, free of popular, but false, beliefs and myths can let us not only stay for years in good shape but also win.