Feed the Fire: How Nutrition Plays a Crucial Role in Athletic Performance

Proper Nutrition Is Vital for Athletic Performance

Many athletes know the important role nutrition plays in their performance. These are individuals who try to push their bodies to the edge — their skills and abilities improve progressively. An athlete’s body must be able to perform and recover quickly. Should an athlete not provide their body with adequate nutrition, their ability to properly recover is not possible. This will have a negative impact on their training and performance.

How does nutrition impact athletic performance?

Energy

When an athlete trains for competition, they need to supply their bodies with large amounts of energy. This comes from eating the right amount of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. When an athlete does not consume enough of these nutrients, their bodies are not able to reach a peak level of performance. They are also more vulnerable to injury.

Weight Changes

This could be a welcome or unwelcome result of an athlete’s training. It’s possible that a person could experience dangerous weight changes when they have poor nutrition when exercising. Without proper nutrition, a person will lose important muscle mass. It’s also possible for an athlete to lose or gain body fat at a pace that is unhealthy.

Recovery Time

Athletes understand training will result in a controlled level of muscle damage. A person’s body is busy rebuilding stronger muscles after such damage. This causes the growth of muscle mass. It also increases an athlete’s strength and endurance.

Sports physicians agree that the initial two hours after training are the most important for exercise recovery. The body’s demand for proper nutrients will continue for 24 hours after exercise is over.

When a person is unable to meet their body’s nutritional demands, recovery could last days and even weeks.

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Many athletes use specific products that help supply their bodies with the necessary nutrients during their training or during competitions. Reviewing and researching what supplements are best for your body and fitness level is important.  Certain companies, like medium.com,  do these reviews for consumers to learn from.

Some companies that make health supplements, like Vasayo, can provide their customers with non-GMO liposomes products using micronutrient encapsulation technology. These types of supplements provide needed nutrients and improve their ability to be absorbed by the body.

Micronutrients

These are the vitamins and minerals we need to stay healthy. They play an essential role in a body’s energy production. Micronutrients are also important for hemoglobin synthesis maintenance for bone health as well as protection against oxidative damage, and more.

Micronutrients help the body to repair muscles damaged from exercise or injury. It’s incredibly important to have the correct concentration of micronutrients in your blood when engaged in a regular exercise regimen. Your athletic performance depends on it!

The best thing to do would be to go to a doctor and get a blood test so you can see where you lie on the spectrum.

Primary Minerals

These are magnesium, calcium, zinc, and iron. Primary minerals are often too low in athletes’ diets. This is especially true when it comes to female athletes. Not having a sufficient amount of these minerals can cause energy restriction. And, as you know, energy restriction is bad for athletic performance.

  • Magnesium is important in many ways, including cellular metabolism, regulating membrane stability, hormone function, and more.
  • Zinc influences the building and repairing of muscle tissue. It also promotes energy production as well as immune system function.
  • Calcium is essential for the repair, growth, and maintenance of bone tissue.
  • Iron is essential for the proper formation of proteins that carry oxygen as well as the enzymes needed in the blood for energy production and more.

Potassium

This nutrient is essential for electrolyte and fluid balance in the body. When an athlete is engaged in intense exercise, their potassium concentration will decrease. In order to compensate for this loss, a balanced diet is necessary. Ensure enough fresh fruits, vegetables, and carb and protein sources (lean meats, vegetarian sources, dairy, grains, etc.) are consumed.

This will maintain the levels of potassium needed by an athlete. Athletes or otherwise, everyone knows making sure to maintain your nutrient levels is of the utmost importance.  Take the time to pack snacks with you each day so you can be sure to keep your nutrient saturation levels at an optimum level.

Wrap-Up

Proper nutrition is essential for athletes to reach their highest level of performance. Without proper nutrition, they won’t have sufficient energy. Their bodies will be slow to recover and could experience stress, fatigue, and possible injuries. To learn if you’re getting proper nutrition, speak with your physician or registered dietitian.