Nutritional supplements can be found in pill, tablet, capsule, powder or liquid form, and cover a broad range of products including:. Before using supplements, you should consider what else you can do to improve your sporting performance — diet, training and lifestyle changes are all more proven and cost effective ways to improve your performance.

Relatively few supplements that claim performance benefits are supported by sound scientific evidence. Use of vitamin and mineral supplements is also potentially dangerous. Supplements should not be taken without the advice of a qualified health professional.

The ethical use of sports supplements is a personal choice by athletes, and it remains controversial. If taking supplements, you are also at risk of committing an anti-doping rule violation no matter what level of sport you play.

Dehydration can impair athletic performance and, in extreme cases, may lead to collapse and even death. Drinking plenty of fluids before, during and after exercise is very important.

Fluid intake is particularly important for events lasting more than 60 minutes, of high intensity or in warm conditions. Water is a suitable drink, but sports drinks may be required, especially in endurance events or warm climates.

Sports drinks contain some sodium, which helps absorption. While insufficient hydration is a problem for many athletes, excess hydration may also be potentially dangerous. In rare cases, athletes might consume excessive amounts of fluids that dilute the blood too much, causing a low blood concentration of sodium.

This condition is called hyponatraemia, which can potentially lead to seizures, collapse, coma or even death if not treated appropriately.

Consuming fluids at a level of to ml per hour of exercise might be a suitable starting point to avoid dehydration and hyponatraemia, although intake should ideally be customised to individual athletes, considering variable factors such as climate, sweat rates and tolerance.

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Sporting performance and food. Actions for this page Listen Print. Summary Read the full fact sheet. On this page. Nutrition and exercise The link between good health and good nutrition is well established.

Daily training diet requirements The basic training diet should be sufficient to: provide enough energy and nutrients to meet the demands of training and exercise enhance adaptation and recovery between training sessions include a wide variety of foods like wholegrain breads and cereals , vegetables particularly leafy green varieties , fruit , lean meat and low-fat dairy products to enhance long term nutrition habits and behaviours enable the athlete to achieve optimal body weight and body fat levels for performance provide adequate fluids to ensure maximum hydration before, during and after exercise promote the short and long-term health of athletes.

Carbohydrates are essential for fuel and recovery Current recommendations for carbohydrate requirements vary depending on the duration, frequency and intensity of exercise. Eating during exercise During exercise lasting more than 60 minutes, an intake of carbohydrate is required to top up blood glucose levels and delay fatigue.

Eating after exercise Rapid replacement of glycogen is important following exercise. Protein and sporting performance Protein is an important part of a training diet and plays a key role in post-exercise recovery and repair.

For example: General public and active people — the daily recommended amount of protein is 0. Essentially, the muscle cramps because it is being exerted above and beyond normal levels. Think about it: How often do muscle cramps occur when you are just out for a casual run versus a competitive race?

If you have been plagued by muscle cramps in the past, then the solution is to examine your training and ensure that your intensity when racing is reflective of your training. Most athletes have it drilled into them from an early age that dehydration is a common problem that can negatively impact performance.

The obvious solution: drink a lot and drink often, especially when exercising in the heat. While it is true that dehydration can have adverse performance and even health consequences, you can have too much of a good thing.

Hyponatremia is a condition in which the level of sodium in the blood is abnormally low. By consuming too much water, sodium in the blood becomes diluted.

This, in turn, causes cells in the body to swell, resulting in symptoms like nausea, vomiting, headache, confusion, fatigue, irritability and loss of consciousness. Experts speculate that overblown fears of dehydration have pushed many recreational athletes to drink far more than is recommended or needed.

In fact, a study of Boston Marathon finishers found that 13 percent were hyponatremic upon completing the race. Bottom line: To avoid the potential performance or health consequence of hyponatremia, the best thing athletes can do is to listen to their body by using thirst as their guide.

Surveys have shown that approximately 85 percent of elite athletes use at least one supplement, the most common of which is a multivitamin.

That seems to make sense. Athletes sweat out a lot of vitamins and minerals. Plus they need extra antioxidants to deal with the stress exercise puts on their bodies, right? Barring any significant food restrictions, most athletes get adequate vitamins and minerals naturally from food.

Scientists have found that the vitamin and mineral content of natural foods are in the ideal proportion to allow for optimal absorption. Athletes have to consume a variety of nutrient-dense foods in order to meet their needs. Bottom line: Processed foods are often stripped of their naturally-occurring vitamins and minerals, increasing the likelihood of a vitamin or mineral deficiency among those who rely heavily on these foods; athlete or not.

If you are concerned you may be missing out on key nutrients, meet with a registered dietitian to evaluate the quality of your diet and determine if a multivitamin or other supplement may help.

J amie Sheahan, M. is the Director of Nutrition at The Edge in Burlington where she works closely with athletes to develop custom fueling plans to optimize health and performanc e.

Sheahan is also an adjunct professor of sports nutrition at University of Vermont and an avid runner. Featured Nutrition. March 6, March 19, Jamie Sheahan Views nutrition myths. Coconut oil is a superfood for athletes. Myth 2. Eliminating gluten is good for health and performance.

Myth 3. Honey and maple syrup are better than sugar. Myth 4. Muscle cramps are caused by dehydration or an electrolyte imbalance. Myth 5. Myth 6. It is always wise to do a cross reference of information from multiple reliable sources from peer-reviewed scientific literature.

Fact- Biggest myth that most of the athletes believe in the sporting world is- more is better, bigger is better and anything in big numbers is better.

While certain supplements can play a major role in supporting athletic performance, it is crucial to approach supplementation with a well-informed and balanced perspective and a more individualistic approach. An excess weightage should be given to nutrient intake from whole foods by eating well balanced meals rather than being dependent only on supplements for fulfilling their nutrient requirements.

Consulting a professional working in the field of sports nutrition is the most credible source to rely on along with peer reviewed researches and appropriate health professionals.

Fact- Fasted cardio workouts have proven beneficial for many individuals on their journey to weight loss. But when it comes to an athlete practicing fasted cardio sessions, there is a high chance of them underperforming in their training or competition.

It should be an approach to be monitored closely by the nutritionist and coaches themselves, depending on the requirement. Fact- Myth is that carbohydrates are harmful and should be avoided, especially for weight management, but when it comes to athletic performance, it is a different ball game.

Carbohydrates are a primary source of energy, particularly for athletes and those engaging in intense physical activities. Especially, the endurance athletes need carbohydrate as the primary fuel which drives their rigorous training for hours.

The key is to choose complex carbohydrates and consume them in appropriate amounts based on individual needs and activity levels, where simple carbohydrates are given preference post-competition and during competition. As athletes always need topped up glycogen stores to work and perform better, keto diets, fat-based diets are not going to prove beneficial for improving athletic performance during competition as suggested by researchers.

In the end, it comes down to the bio-individuality of the athlete and then having an appropriate meal plan to endure all the basic micronutrient requirements.

Milk, eggs, lean red meat. However, a superior increase in muscle synthesis has been reported after consumption of whey protein when compared to other tested proteins.

Researchers believe this is largely due to the leucine type of branched-chain amino acid content of fluid-based dairy foods. Additionally in some studies, branched-chain amino acids seem to have superior digestive and absorptive properties.

For example, there are 8 grams of protein per cup of milk. not the recommended ~ g of protein post-exercise. That being said, casein is still considered a high quality protein so if you are looking for an alternative to whey supplements, milk is still a good choice!

Long story short, whey protein supplements are not essential because consuming high quality proteins milk, egg, lean red meats after resistance exercise are beneficial for muscle synthesis and repair. However, you may experience greater muscle synthesis using whey protein.

To ensure your body is adequately rehydrated, you need to drink 1. Athletes should aim to fully restore fluid losses in between exercise sessions.

I like to include this myth to assure all athletes that they are getting evidence-based, accurate nutrition information. This means that nutritionists are not subject to any regulatory or government oversight, unlike dietitians.

No specific qualifications are needed to be a nutritionist, so anyone with an interest in nutrition can use it. Dietitians need to be registered with a regulatory body, such as the College of Dietitians of British Columbia. Sports dietitians have combined knowledge in several topics, including clinical nutrition, nutrition science, exercise physiology, and application of evidence-based research, in addition to being passionate about sports!

To read more, please read the Vancouver Sun article found here. What we know about cramps is that the main risk factors include premature muscle fatigue, previous occurrence of cramps during exercise, increased exercise intensity and duration, and inadequate conditioning.

So how do we prevent cramps? Nutritionally, ensuring you are adequately fuelled and hydrated will help prevent fatigue, and subsequently may prevent cramping as well. A well-planned and well-balanced vegetarian diet can support athletic performance equally as well as a non-vegetarian diet.

Some good plant-based proteins include soy tofu, edamame, tempeh , quinoa, nuts, seeds, and legumes. In fact, vegetarian proteins have excellent health benefits due to their low fat specifically saturated fat and high fibre content. Lacto-ovo vegetarians also have the option of dairy products and eggs, which are also high quality protein sources.

If you are a vegetarian athlete or thinking of becoming vegetarian and you want some help optimizing your diet, feel free to contact me to book an individual counselling session [email protected].

When possible, I always recommend food first over supplements. However, there are some cases where supplements are beneficial. Nutritional supplements are necessary when someone is unable to get enough nutrition through food, or when the body is unable to adequately absorb nutrients from food.

Other supplements include performance-enhancing supplements. Out of the hundreds of available performance-enhancing supplements, there is only evidence supporting a handful of them. Some of the supplements out there may actually do more harm than good.

If you have questions about supplements you are taking, feel free to contact me at [email protected]. American College of Sports Medicine, American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada.

Nutrition and athletic performance. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 41, Fluids and electrolytes. Handbook of sports medicine and science: Sports nutrition pp.

Fuels used in exercise: Carbohydrate and fat. Micronutrients: Vitamins and minerals. Phillips, S. Dietary protein for athletes: from requirements to optimum adaptation, Journal of Sports Sciences, 29 Suppl 1, S It is always wise to do a cross reference of information from multiple reliable sources from peer-reviewed scientific literature.

Fact- Biggest myth that most of the athletes believe in the sporting world is- more is better, bigger is better and anything in big numbers is better. While certain supplements can play a major role in supporting athletic performance, it is crucial to approach supplementation with a well-informed and balanced perspective and a more individualistic approach.

An excess weightage should be given to nutrient intake from whole foods by eating well balanced meals rather than being dependent only on supplements for fulfilling their nutrient requirements. Consulting a professional working in the field of sports nutrition is the most credible source to rely on along with peer reviewed researches and appropriate health professionals.

Fact- Fasted cardio workouts have proven beneficial for many individuals on their journey to weight loss. But when it comes to an athlete practicing fasted cardio sessions, there is a high chance of them underperforming in their training or competition. It should be an approach to be monitored closely by the nutritionist and coaches themselves, depending on the requirement.

Fact- Myth is that carbohydrates are harmful and should be avoided, especially for weight management, but when it comes to athletic performance, it is a different ball game.

Carbohydrates are a primary source of energy, particularly for athletes and those engaging in intense physical activities. Especially, the endurance athletes need carbohydrate as the primary fuel which drives their rigorous training for hours.

The key is to choose complex carbohydrates and consume them in appropriate amounts based on individual needs and activity levels, where simple carbohydrates are given preference post-competition and during competition.

As athletes always need topped up glycogen stores to work and perform better, keto diets, fat-based diets are not going to prove beneficial for improving athletic performance during competition as suggested by researchers.

In the end, it comes down to the bio-individuality of the athlete and then having an appropriate meal plan to endure all the basic micronutrient requirements. Informed and well-thought decisions with respect to food choices, supplementation choices choosing dope-free supplements and the diet that is followed by the athletes, help enhance and uplift performance and avoid the fear of being caught in doping tests.

Sports science with the modality of sports nutrition will always be a useful weapon for all the athletes to deal with the health and fitness struggles in the sporting world.

By Editorial Team Blogs 0 Comments. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Share It Share this Busting Nutrition Myths Associated with the Sporting World Myth More Protein, More Muscles for Athletes.