The Feminine Side of Sports Nutrition

By EdySutio

Women have an entirely different body system compared to males. That is why your, assuming you are a woman with interest in sports, nutritional needs are different too. And like men, women are also capable of involving themselves in sports.

Sports nutrition for women is also different. Women involved in sports and regular exercise have some special nutritional needs. Although the basic principles of sports nutrition for you and men are similar, you, and the other women, involved in regular sports activities do have some increased needs for certain nutrients.

This is because you are prone and at risk of dietary deficiencies. This does not mean to say that men are completely immune, only that since women have ongoing cycles inside their body, it is highly imperative for them to keep nutrients up to be able to prevent disorders.

The key nutritional issues in sports nutrition for women include calcium and iron. Weight control and eating disorders are also concerns of sports nutrition for women. You need these nutrients for their body to perform properly.

There still has been no scientific explanation for this, but it is in truth that women are very conscious of weight. So having a normal weight will give you a healthy psychological system.

Calcium is a mineral that plays an essential role in growth. In sports, muscle and mind coordination is important. It also helps in muscle contraction and transmission of nerve impulses.

Another area where it is very helpful is in the development and maintenance of strong bones. It will really play a big part in the sports nutrition for women.

Having adequate amounts of calcium during your childhood and adolescence is important for deveoping an optimal peak in bone mass by your mid twenty’s to your early thirty’s. This will then help you reduce your risk of acquiring osteoporosis or the thinning of your bones.

Some women who are into sports are at risk of inadequate calcium intake, while some are at risk of early osteoporosis due to the absence of appropriate amount of calcium, or an irregularity of their menstrual cycle. So conclusively, sports nutrition for women should have higher intakes of calcium.

There is a list of recommended dietary intakes of calcium for sports women according to their ages. For girls with ages twelve to fifteen, they must have at least one thousand milligrams of calcium per day. For teenagers with ages sixteen to eighteen, on the other hand, should have a normal calcium intake per day, which is eight hundred milligrams. For women who are having their menstrual periods, they should also take eight hundred milligrams of calcium a day.

Post menopausal women should have at least one thousand milligrams per day of calcium, while women who are pregnant and who are also breastfeeding should have one thousand two hundred milligrams per day.

And, not to be the least, sportswomen who have an absent or an irregular menstrual cycle, they should have at least one thousand to one thousand five hundred milligrams in a day. It is detrimental for women to meet their required calcium intake for normal functioning.

The mineral iron is used in forming hemoglobin, which is essential in holding the oxygen in the blood as they are being transported to various parts of the body. It is also an essential nutrient for energy production and immunity.

Athletes are more prone to iron deficiencies than anyone else in the world. Women are at a bigger risk because they continually lose blood as they undergo the cyclical process of menstruation. Plus, strenuous exercises contribute to the loss of iron through the destruction of red blood cells. Inadequate iron intake are associated with reduced athletic performance. Sports nutrition for women require iron in big amounts.

Keeping your body’s fat levels low is the aim of many female athletes. Excess fats may be detrimental to performance. However, less fat or no fat at all compromises the energy level of a female athlete. Low energy also affects your performance, so it is really important that you keep the nutrients in your body and follow sports nutrition for women for a performance of a superstar that you have long been searching to experience.

The Best Sports Nutrition

A Day Or Hours Before An Endurance Sports Competition

By Eddy Sutio

What is the best sports nutrition for an athlete? There is no definitive answer to this. No athlete has the same need. It all depends on the physique of an athlete and the kind of sports that he or she is into.

So, if you are contemplating on joining an endurance sports competition, the best sports nutrition for you is the nutritional table fit for an athlete that expects long hours of vigorous physical activity and mental alertness even when tired. 

Endurance sports test the physical and mental fortitude of an athlete; if you are not well fed for this kind of competition, it would be better for you if you would back off from the competition.

Best Sports Nutrition for Endurance Sports Athletes

- Best sports nutrition a day before the event

Do not overwork yourself on the day before the event. It would be wise if you would only do stretching and a few kilometers of jogging, eat protein rich food, hydrate yourself (a lot!) and rest for the rest of the evening because you need to get up early, as early as four hours before the game.  

The best sports nutrition in endurance sports is hydration. You should be hydrating yourself even a week before the game. This is to keep your body cleansed, fueled and watered for the coming event.

If you only hydrate yourself on the day of the event, you won't hold too much water. Most of the liquid that you intake will only seep out through sweat. So, if you want to go to the game in full tank, drink lots of water beforehand.

Another best sports nutrition tip that you must learn by heart is to eat food rich in protein, to keep your muscles in shape, and carbohydrates so that your glycogen stores would be at their best. You can hydrate yourself well with sports drink that contains minerals to balance your electrolytes level.

- Best sports nutrition hours before the event

Eat a meal before you run. This is the best sports nutrition advice that you should keep in mind. You need glucose to keep your blood sugar in normal levels. Glucose fuels the brain and the muscles during an activity.

If you lack glucose in your body, you cannot think properly because your brain does not have enough fuel that it needs. Worse, you might faint even before the race begins of hypoglycemia. 

Having enough stores of glucose in your body will keep you alert and going even for long hours of physical activity. So, don't forget to eat a light to moderate meal before you race.

Long hours of running, swimming and bicycling will definitely deplete your glycogen stores in your liver. So, a carbohydrate rich meal will be your best choice of pre-race meal. It can quickly restore your reserves of glycogen in your liver and put the fulcrum back to normal. You can bring with you carbohydrates bar which you can munch while running, and drain it down with water or sports drink.

According to health experts, best sports nutrition tip to get the carbohydrate you need is to eat food that you know won't make your stomach upset. Stress can induce diarrhea. Add up food that your digestive system hates and you will see yourself sitting on the throne while your competitors have started running after hearing the gun fire.

When to eat your pre-race meal? The sports nutrition experts recommend one to four hours before the assembly time and then nibble 50 grams of carbohydrate every hour before the game starts. 

Instant oatmeal, bananas, low fat milk and energy bars are good sources of carbohydrates. Always follow a meal with water or sports drink. Never drink soda or caffeinated beverages because they will work of you as diuretics. According to the best sports nutrition magazines in the country, caffeine drains the body of fluid.

Add up salty foods to your meal. Salt will help you retain more water in your body.

Sports Nutrition Programs

By Eddy Sutio

A carefully designed sports nutrition program must be in place to be able to achieve desired results.  

These programs will work best if they are based on scientific research and feedback from various competitive and recreational athletes through the years.  This fact should be confirmed first before fully engaging oneself in any type of program.

Adherence to what sports nutrition programs advise will significantly bring in positive results.  

However, just the same, one should be attuned to his body and to the information that it conveys to further bring in positive outcomes.  The suggestions in the programs must be in synchrony to what is actually and currently happening in the body.    

Moreover, one must take careful note that any sports nutrition program does not intend to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any illnesses.  There has to be a consultation with a physician first.  This should be the case most especially if the program includes very strenuous physical activities or exercise routines. 

Sports nutrition programs vary depending on the needs and targets of an individual.  For a very active person intending to maintain general fitness, for example, there is a specific program for him.  

Intake of a recovery drink after workouts containing carbohydrates and protein may be essential for those working out at least seven hours in a single week.  Drinks such as Ultragen and Endurox R4 are recommended.  The protein will help the muscles recover faster from workouts, enhance the immune system, and elicit a positive response in spite of stress during training.  

Intake of multivitamins and antioxidants is likewise essential as such will fight the cellular damage that may take place as an effect of free radical activities induced by exercise. 

Moreover, supplements such as Endurox Capsules not only help the body cope with stress during training, they also decrease body fat levels.  This is just an example of a sports nutrition program for those who are geared at maintaining general fitness.  

On the other hand, for a competitive athlete, there might be some differences in his own sports nutrition program which appears to be stricter.  

Energy drinks or energy gels must contain carbohydrates which are known to sustain energy in spite of regular stressful and tiring trainings.  Carbohydrates also replenish reduced muscle and liver glycogen and prevent dehydration.  

Supplemental protein must be taken in as well as it promotes muscle recovery, enhances the immune system, and makes one stronger in spite of stress.  Both carbohydrates and protein must be taken in during or in-between heavy workouts.  Multivitamins and antioxidants are equally essential as well as high performance products.  

HMB supplements are mostly recommended as they have been proven to significantly improve aerobic endurance, hasten recovery from stress, and reduce levels of fat in the body.  Furthermore, fats in the body are further reduced if the supplements are coupled with Carnitine.  

A lot of factors are common in both sports nutrition programs.  However, the difference lies in the amount, timing, and regularity of intake of the above-mentioned factors.  Thus, it is indeed very important to identify how strenuous the exercise or physical activity will be before starting with any program.  Also, one must be completely aware of the current condition of the body.

These sports nutrition programs aim to bring out the best in all workouts and gear up the body for future activities, whether for competition purposes or for overall maintenance of fitness. 

Whatever the case may be, it remains very important to choose the most appropriate program.  Otherwise, positive results may not be expected and may even bring in the extreme opposite.  Careful examination should be done early on. 

Sports nutrition products

A need or just a marketing invention?

By EdySutio

Even if you are into sports, you’ll only need your regular diet plus plenty of water. Thus, you do not need a sport nutrition product. Right? Wrong.

The need for sports and sport nutrition product

Records of antiquities show that athletics has been an integral part of earliest man’s life.  Athletic life was originally meant for survival through gathering food or for self protection. Later, it developed into a contest for strength, speed, skill, and mental sharpness. With the passage of time, these activities evolved into what we now know as different forms of exercises, or sports. 

Our ancestors even then, fully understand the need of our body for exercise and other forms of physical activities. They instinctively know that in order to maintain their health and further developed their physical whole being, they need to have some activities. And from this early, they understand the need for a special food, the modern version of which is our sport nutrition product.

Basic dietary patterns of our ancestors

Evidences about prehistoric people’s diets can be glimpsed from the artifacts used in food preparation such as milling, baking, and ultimately cooking. From these bits of information, we are informed that the basic diet of early Greeks and Romans for instance was a perfect combination of plant and animal products. They ate several variety of cereals, vegetables, fruits (fresh and dried), and lots of wine (usually diluted with water in varying degree).

Early Greeks’ main meat source is that of goats. In Italy it was pork meat products specially bacon. Beef was occasionally eaten, particularly after sacrifices in numerous temples. Milk, and perhaps milk product, was a very popular food.  Fish and poultry were also part of the regular diet. The slight difference of these early people with our modern diet is that olive oil was consumed in greater volume than butter. The oil was also a main source for household lighting.

Combined with good sport nutrition product, this diet, a formula made thousands of years ago, is a perfect dietary program for a modern sports man. Our ancestors knew then, that although foods abound in nature, there are several nutritional sources that fit better a healthy lifestyle. 

Sports nutrition product

Fast forward into our modern setting. It is important for athletes to have good nutrition for maximum strength, optimum agility, endurance, and improved overall performance. The foundation for any successful athletic program is a good combination of a well-thought based on whole foods (veggies, fruits, whole grains, and proteins, remember the Greeks?) supplemented with a special sport nutrition product, and course a good regimen of exercise.

While it is true that dedication, good training techniques, and genetics are still the main element in an athlete’s effectiveness, the lack of a proper nutrition coupled with the absence of nutritional supplement like sport nutrition product can inhibit an athlete’s performance in any other forms of exercise.

Without a good eating habits combined with sport nutrition product, pre-games and competitions proper may end disastrously. Optimal nutrition is only attainable with perfect dietary practice, combined with sport nutrition product as important element. It is only thru a sustained adherence to this good combination of regimen and sport nutrition product that a stellar performance is assured.

Sports nutrition product sales increasing

In 2003, it was reported that overall retail market for sports nutrition products, reached the value of $3.1 billion. Beverages accounted for 63 percent of sales, according to a new report Packaged Facts. However, these drinks have been marketed more for general nutrition, rather than sports benefits. Packaged Facts confirmed that physically active adults were only 10-percent more likely to use sports beverages than the general adult population.

But at least this is a start. It would still take a while before people realized that a good and sound body is never possible only by eating traditional foods, but by following a particular sports, combined with healthy food, and of course, with sport nutrition product. 

We should learn from the early Greeks and Romans.  By experience, they have learned that involving in a regular physical activities and consuming a well-balanced nutrition can result in a long and fruitful life.