ADEQUATE nutrition, properly spaced meals and hydration are critical for athletes’ performance and healthy growth, reaffirmed a health expert.
American University in Cairo Hospital administration profession and nutrition consultant Dr Shereen Metwaly underlined the importance of sports nutrition in determining athletic performances.
She was speaking at a lecture during the Manama Health 2022 (Exhibition and Conference) hosted by Bahrain, which attracted 70 participants including hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, universities, training institutes and government entities as well as 130 leading Gulf, Arab and international speakers.
Sports nutrition is the study and implementation of a diet or plan designed to increase athletic performance.
“Successful performance is a combination of proper training and dietary plan as athletes differ from non-athletes in their nutritional requirements,” said Dr Metwaly.
“Athletes have special needs and require more nutrients in terms of protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, and the goal of sports nutrition is to enhance recovery, ensure optimal performance, prevent injuries, and improve energy levels and health.
“Proper determination of nutritional needs in athletes requires knowledge of the person’s body-fat composition and daily caloric expenditure.”
Dr Metwaly said every athlete should have a different dietary plan depending on their training, age, gender, body size, sport played as well as the environment for competitions.
She urged athletes to increase the intake of complex carbohydrates and dietary fibre, decrease fats, ensure adequate proteins, reduce salt, decrease or eliminate alcohol and boost water consumption.
“Carbohydrates provide energy for muscle contraction and an adequate intake prevents proteins from being used as energy,” added Dr Metwaly.
“The sugar gets absorbed and provides energy while the rest of the glucose is stored as glycogen in muscles and the liver.”
According to the medic, the most concentrated source of energy is fat. She added that essential fatty acids are necessary for cell membrane and transport of fat-soluble vitamins.
“A recommended balanced diet for an average sports person is 55-60 per cent carbohydrates, 25-30pc fats and 10-15pc protein,” added Dr Metwaly.
“Meanwhile, the recommended balanced diet for a more strenuous athlete is 70pc carbohydrates, 15-20pc fats and 10-15pc protein.
“To ensure adequate energy for the body during workouts and to avoid an upset stomach, a small meal or snack must be eaten two hours prior to exercise – and carbohydrates are the best choice.
“Very high fat foods, sugars and sweets must be avoided while it is critical to drink plenty of fluids.”
Dr Metwaly also stressed the need to understand the difference between a sports drink and an energy drink – the latter being dangerous for individuals as a single can contains the equivalent of six cups of coffee.
“When sports drinks are the primary focus of adverts, they often feature nutrition-related claims – especially vitamins and electrolytes – and information on hydration,” she said.
“Sports drinks are, however, appropriate only for athletes or individuals engaging in prolonged vigorous physical activity or activities performed in high temperatures and humidity.”
According to the Institute of Medicine Committee on Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools, sports drinks shouldn’t be made available in schools, except for student athletes involved in rigorous physical activity lasting more than an hour in duration.
According to Dr Metwaly, the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends consuming water and other fluids with few or no calories for adequate hydration.
“The concept of a well-balanced diet is the basic nutritional requirement for athletes and it is critical to choose a proper pre-and post-game food,” added Dr Metwaly.
“There is no single magic food that has all the nutrients that the body needs as individuals have to eat a variety of foods.”
She confirmed the importance of hydration to prevent injuries, while also improving recovery time.
“Water and electrolyte loss causes dehydration which harms performance and cognition leading to a risk of injury, fatigue, increased body temperature and heart rate as well as poor attention and a delayed reaction time,” she added.
“Rehydration increases physiological and psychological well-being as well as sustains cognitive and physical performance while delaying fatigue and thermal stress.”
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