Healthy nutrition is an important component of all sports victories. Under heavy loads, athletes pay special attention to nutrition and do exactly the right thing.
Athletes' nutrition is based on simple rules of a healthy diet. The most important thing is that food should replenish the expended energy. And athletes spend it many times more than ordinary people. The more intense the workout, the more calories are eaten, otherwise the athlete may become exhausted.
Rule one: exclude alcohol and add water
Alcohol and sports are incompatible, both in the opinion of doctors and in the opinion of the athletes themselves. Alcohol leads to dehydration and aging of cells, causes intoxication and impairs coordination of movements. An exception may be just a glass of wine or a little brandy for a holiday.
Water consumption, on the contrary, increases along with the stress on the body. People who are involved in active sports drink up to five liters of fluid per day. Water is involved in all vital processes of the athlete's body: it transfers nutrients, removes waste and increases the reserve of endurance.
According to the athletes themselves, they use different liquids: clean water, fruit drinks, drinks based on lemon and honey, and even soda from time to time. Every famous athlete has their own drinking preferences.
Rule two: healthy proteins, fats and carbohydrates
All athletes need protein foods. During intense training, an athlete spends several times more energy than any person doing physical work. To maintain muscle mass and normal hormonal balance, you need to eat enough protein and fat.
The diet of people involved in sports must include eggs, boiled meat, fish and seafood. As well as cottage cheese and bananas, which also contain a lot of proteins that muscles need during serious exertion.
At the same time, healthy fats that are contained in foods and saved during steaming help maintain a normal weight. As well as a small amount of butter and light salad dressings. It is recommended to exclude mayonnaise and fast food items.
Another important component of the nutrition of athletes is a properly selected carbohydrate food. It also replenishes energy deficits after exercise. In the Olympic canteens, the usual side dish is served: potatoes, pasta, cereals. Only properly cooked.
Rule three: vitamins and minerals
Athletes prefer natural vegetables and fruits to imported jars from a pharmacy, which contain all the necessary vitamins and minerals. Vegetable and fruit salads, soups, stews are a must for all Olympians in the world.
Before the competition, many athletes maintain a plant-based diet, shedding those extra pounds. Athletes are people too, it is not always possible to follow the regime. That's when apples, oatmeal and dried fruit with yogurt come to the rescue.
In practice, athletes rarely use dietary supplements and only those approved for use in sports nutrition. The life of an athlete consists of overloading, many of them are against any diet and artificial additives.
They eat everything, don't put on extra pounds and win medals. The reason for this phenomenon is the wonderful genetics inherited from the ancestors. But it is not given to everyone. So this kind of nutrition is the exception rather than the rule in the sports world.
