What Is Sports Nutrition?

Athletes and physically active individuals focus a lot on enhancing their performance, from the number of hours they sleep or rest to the type protective gear and footwear they use when exercising or playing a game. One extremely important aspect of sports performance is nutrition.

Sports nutrition refers to food intake that focuses on providing your body with nutritional needs to achieve peak perform. What you eat and drink has a huge effect on your performance. It can influence whether you win games, competitions, or matches. It can also impact how easily your body incurs injuries as well as how quickly your body recovers from injuries.

Sports nutrition experts help determine what exactly you should be eating and drinking – including in what quantities – so that you can benefit the most in your performance as an athlete.

Here are a few nutrition guidelines orthopedic experts, sports medicine physicians, and nutritionists focus on when helping to enhance athletic performance.

Hydration

One of the most important ways to keep your body at peak performance level is ample hydration. Athletes and physically active individuals lose a lot of water through sweat. As a result, they are at a higher risk of dehydration. To improve your athletic performance, make sure you drink enough water according to your body size and physical activity level.

Healthy Calories

Calories from food provide you with fuel and energy needed for training and sports. These calories should come from nutrient-rich foods that contain carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Fruits, vegetables, rice, bread, and pasta are rich in carbohydrates. Without carbohydrates, which your body converts into glucose and stores for energy, you won’t have the endurance for high-intensity sports. Once your body runs out of carbohydrates for energy, it will begin to burn fat and protein, which can affect performance.

Foods rich in protein include meat, fish, chicken, and beans. Similar to water, your body cannot store extra protein, so you need to keep replenishing your body to be able to build new tissue. Fats, which are equally important, are present in meats, eggs, milk, and cheese. Once your body runs out of glucose to convert into energy, it may begin to burn fat. However, a high-fat diet can be detrimental to your health. Athletes can control fat intake by eating more carbohydrates.

Sports medicine doctors take many factors into consideration when building a nutrition plan for an athlete, including weight, height, performance goals, overall health, number of calories burned on a daily basis, the type of sport played, and much more. The meals you eat before a game can affect your performance on the day itself, which is why good sports nutrition is built on daily, consistent healthy choices and habits.

Sports Medicine Doctor in St. Peters and O’Fallon, MO

If you are looking to enhance your performance and consistently be at your best in every game, the physicians at Advanced Bone & Joint can provide you with comprehensive orthopedic sports medicine care that includes sports nutrition guidance and monitoring. In addition, we also provide highly individualized injury treatments and rehabilitation for athletes, weekend warriors, and people with active lifestyles.

To schedule a consultation, call (636) 229-4222 or request an appointment now. We look forward to serving you in our St. Peters or O’Fallon facility.