Sports Nutrition Tips: Maximise your performance

When carrying out any form of physical activity, it is important to provide both your mind and your body with the right fuel to do the job you want it to do. Without the right fuel, the body will not work as efficiently. Below are key factors to think about when training and before competitions:

The right fuel:
One of the most common imbalances in the body is poor blood sugar control. It has an impact on virtually all health concerns and plays a huge part in making people feel sluggish and lacking in energy.

The body needs a constant and steady supply of fuel to work effectively. When you eat, the carbohydrates in food are broken down into glucose and absorbed into the blood stream. This provides the fuel for your body to run on.

If you eat something very refined (ie white bread, pasta, sugar, confectionery), this does not need a lot of breaking down by the body and the glucose is quickly released into the blood stream. This sends the blood sugar levels up very quickly. To counter-balance this, the body takes sugar out of the blood stream which leads to low blood sugar levels and not enough fuel for the body to work properly. To avoid this happening and to help the body have a steady supply of fuel, aim to do the following:
* Make sure you have regular meals so that your body has a constant, steady supply of fuel.

* Avoid sugary snacks and caffeine. Also, reduce alcohol intake. These all send your blood sugar levels out of balance. Choose carbohydrates that are more slowly released such as oats, brown basmati rice, rye.

* Eat a balance of protein and carbohydrate in meals. Protein takes longer to be digested than carbohydrate so slows down the release of sugars into the blood stream. Sources such as eggs, meat, fish, tofu, nuts and seeds, beans and pulses are great.

* Do snack between meals if needed to keep blood sugar levels from dropping. Ideal snacks are oatcakes with hummus, eggs, avocado, nuts, seeds or dips and crudités.

* Have herbal drinks instead of caffeinated options. You do want to avoid decaffeinated tea and coffee also as they have other stimulating properties which will affect blood sugar levels in the same way as caffeine. Alternatives to tea and coffee are red bush tea, chicory coffee, barley cup and dandelion root coffee as well as herbal and fruit teas.

Protein:
Protein helps to build muscles and to help them repair after you have used them. You do not need huge portions of protein as this can be detrimental to health. Aim to include some protein into at least 2 of your meals every day, for example, eggs, meat, fish, lentils and pulses, soya or tofu, cheese, nuts and seeds.

Antioxidants:
When you exercise, you increase the production of free-radicals in your body. To conter-balance these potentially damaging compounds, you need to ensure you are having more foods rich in antioxidants such as vitamin C, selenium and vitamin E. Eat a range of brightly coloured fruits and vegetables per day; the wider variety of colours the better. You should aid to eat at least 5 portions every day.

Fluids:
Even a 2% drop in the body’s fluid levels can lead to significantly reduced performance. Make sure you sip at drinks such as water, herbal teas or diluted pure fruit juice slowly through the day. Limit coffee, tea and fizzy drinks as such as possible as these dehydrate the body, upset blood sugar balance and use up valuable nutrients that are needed for energy production.

Pre and post-training snacks:
Make sure you snack before training. This should be light and based on carbohydrates such as oats. You don’t want to train on a full stomach so eating a snack ½ hour beforehand is ideal. After training, try to have a protein-based snack within half an hour to replenish your muscles. Nuts and seeds alongside some dried fruit or a piece of fruit would be ideal.
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