Foods to boost endurance
Chellam Murugendar
Regular physical activity does wonders for your health and mood. No matter what your age, health and level of fitness, there is a form of exercise to suit you. Sporting activities enhance physical health by burning unwanted calories, enhancing bone health, improving cardiovascular performance, helping in digestion and detoxifying and purifying blood and toning up the muscles.
Physical exercise can also be a magical experience that relaxes and calms you. When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins which trigger a positive feeling in the body and these chemicals are also responsible for the “high feel” that athletes experience.
Sports physiology
The human body is a system encompassing various physico-chemical actions that require energy to perform any function. To understand the bio-availability of energy producers, it is important to be aware of the bio-chemical mechanism of energy production of the functional units of the body. The level of energy synthesis varies with the activities performed in our day-to-day life. This doubles during on-ground activity or when we are involved in repeated bouts of exercise. When we understand our body’s nutritional demands, we can easily achieve our task and excel in sports.
Sports nutrition is the science of understanding the physical demands of sports activity and meeting individualized dietary needs. Optimal feeding for extra dietary care may support a sportsperson to achieve his/her targets, based on the duration, intensity and type of physical activity. There are three metabolic systems that support physical activity such as aerobic metabolism, anaerobic metabolism, and combination of both metabolisms.
• Aerobic metabolism
This is the most common pathway of energy production in the body that releases the Adenosine-Tri-Phosphate (ATP) in Mitochondria. These ATPs are transferred to the muscle fibre and form actomyosin and cause contraction during activity. Energy in the form of ATP has limitations such as low stability and less concentration in the muscle. Hence, it demands anaerobic mechanisms. Sports such as jogging, hiking, aerobic dance, gymnastics, cycling and recreational swimming require aerobic breakdown of muscle glycogen and blood glucose.
• Anaerobic metabolism
This is a lengthy pathway of aerobic metabolism that can act in the absence of oxygen. This pathway contributes energy during one’s efforts up to 60 to 120 seconds. Physical activities such as swimming, bicycling or mountain climbing may require this pathway to suck energy. There is a co-enzyme complex which triggers the action of lactic acid into ATP. Sports such as basketball, football, soccer, tennis and swimming are high energy activities. Here energy is derived from muscle glycogen. Sportspersons challenge their bodies on a regular basis through physical training and competition.
Thus, understanding the physiology of energy that is demanded by various sports gives a clear picture of food and nutrition requirements. This specialized approach of fuelling for varied needs can make an individual sportsperson excel in his field.
Dietary guidelines
Food and its combination are important to fuel one’s performance on the playing field.
• Fuel your body with carbs
The most important component of successful sports training and performance is adequate calories to supply the energy that is expended and maintain strength and endurance as well as muscle mass and overall health. Carbohydrates are ideal fuel to keep up all these. Breads, cereals, fruits, roots, and vegetables are ideal for muscles before and after exercise. Daily carbohydrate requirement for athletes varies with time and intensity. An athlete needs 150-200 Kcal/Kg body weight for his heavy activity. School and college athletes may not require this much amount of energy as they will practice only for a couple of hours in a day. School athletes demand 500-600 calories extra. If you are not eating enough carbohydrates then you may lose your energy quickly while performing.
• Hydration matters
Water is critical for the proper functioning of the body. It is important to keep up the electrolyte balance and to promote the absorption of nutrients in the intestine. During activity, there will be loss of fluids because of perspiration resulting in cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Adequate intake of water will take care of the nutrition transport, waste elimination and lubricate the fluids in the joints. It also maintains the thermal balance of the body to accommodate various metabolic rates. A sportsperson needs one to two litres of water per hour during summer if he or she is into heavy exercise. So choosing a fluid, either a sports drink or fruit and vegetable juice and mineral water, is good.
• More protein not necessary
Protein is important to build and repair body tissues and muscles and many sportspersons believe that muscles are made up of protein and that eating more protein is good for muscle-building. Actually this is not correct. Endurance training and a non-protein high energy food with a well-balanced diet stimulates ideal muscle growth. Maintaining energy balance is the best way to retaining muscle mass. The actual protein recommendation for a sportsperson per day is 1.2-1.4 grams per kg of body weight for a mildly active sportsperson. A more active sportsperson needs 1.6 to 1.7 grams of protein per kg of body weight.
• Go for low fat
The daily fat intake of a sportsperson should be around 20-35 per cent of total energy intake which is important for the absorption of fat soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids. These components are important to maintain and replenish the intra-muscular triglycerides. Fat requirements are decided by the nature of activity. It may be slightly lesser than the normal requirements for a mildly active sportsperson and slightly higher than a non-sports person. Usually high resistance sports activity requires less body fat than aerobics and less resistance exercises. High fat intake may have a negative effect on training and performance as it lessens the appetite for a carbohydrate meal.
• Pay more attention to electrolytes
Sweat and perspiration may have a strong influence on the imbalance of electrolytes in a sportsperson. Fluid imbalance may lead to a poor performance by the sportsperson due to nausea and dizziness. Life threatening cardiac issues may also arise. A sportsperson can be assessed by a dietician for sweat loss while devising a diet plan for him/her. A sportsperson cannot wait to be thirsty as it is necessary to replace the loss of sodium and potassium. Sweat loss may vary with season and nature of activity. So sodium can be added to fluids during exercise. Three to four grams of sodium is recommended for the sportsperson extending up to two hours. Injection of sodium in the form of food and drink may lead to a speedy recovery.
• Increase your vitamins
Supplementing diet with vitamins is absolutely not necessary for an effective sports performance. Vitamin E and C are quite sufficient for endurance as they possess ergogenic properties. Iron, calcium, sodium and phosphorous are vital to the immune functions of athletes. A diet that contains all essential nutrients is preferred to compensate the protein and glycogen loss. Bananas, oranges, tomatoes are good for energy, vitamins and minerals.
• Think about supplements
Some supplements from food can also be effective to enhance the endurance of a sportsperson. It is the duty of the dietician to identify and suggest artificial supplements with safety, efficacy and potency. Dietary ergogenic aids are available in the form of nutrients, powders and pills. While handling ergogenic aids of diet supplements, necessary care needs to be taken about the dosage. Dietary ergogenics are caffeine, ginger, garlic, clove and cinnamon.
• Time your meals
If you are participating in a running race, it is best to have a low-fat, high-carbohydrate meal, two to three hours beforehand. When you choose your meal, always choose something that your body is familiar with to aid in quick digestion. Always plan your meal timing in order to avoid muscle cramps and heavy feeling. While planning a meal, focus on workout breaks and the nature of activity. If you are going for an early morning activity, you have to eat carbohydrate-rich snacks the previous night. If you work out during late evenings, have a snack after lunch that is 45 to 60 minutes before the workout. Every sportsperson must plan their time of meals according to their work schedule because every meal is fuel feed for your intense activity. Once you start your meal programming, your body and mind will adapt to the schedule and act better.
Pointers for individualized nutritional care
- Sporting activities can lead to nutritional deficiency and degenerative disease if there is no proper nutrition plan.
- The health history of an athlete must be the “team captain” of sports nutrition.
- A sports nutrition plan must fulfill the basic and clinical needs of an individual. Lifestyle, economy, and personal preferences can be mapped around the fundamental requirements.
- An individualized diet plan based on these needs will help a sportsperson achieve his targets.
- Basic sports nutrition concepts and guidelines can be applied universally.
- Every individual must be supported with a preference-based diet plan for maximum results as psychological satisfaction always plays a central role in food and nutrition.
- Every individual sports performer must be interviewed by the sports nutritionist while planning an effective schedule.
Diet tips for sportspersons
• Increase complex carbohydrates
• Decrease dietary fat
• Ensure adequate protein intake
• Increase dietary fiber
• Decrease/eliminate alcohol
• Decrease salt intake
• Increase water intake
Diet schedule for Sportspersons
| Schedule | Before training/pre training | During training/on training | Post training |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature of food | • Balanced meal before 1 to 2 hours | • Liquid foods not more than 500 ml • Feeding for every 1 hour • 30 grams of carbohydrates and 15 grams protein in 500 ml of water |
• High protein, high carbohydrate meal • Full meal |
| Instruction | • Avoid huge meal • Add energetic meal |
• Avoid heavy meal. Eat small quantities at frequent intervals. • Meals with less bulk can be given |
• Rapidly digesting carbohydrates and proteins accelerate the recovery |
| Type of meal | • Bread • Potato • Sandwich • Mixed nuts • Cup of fruits • Steamed rice cake |
• Sathu powder porridge • Butter milk • Milk shakes |
• Juices • Sports drink • Carbohydrate mixture, banana |
Recommended Indian meals for sportspersons
| Meals rich in Carbohydrates | Meals rich in Proteins | Meals rich in Carbohydrates and Proteins |
|---|---|---|
| • Idiyappam (String Hoppers) • Steamed Rice Pan cake (Appam) • Sambar Rice • Ravai pongal • Parboiled rice porridge • Rice and millets Puttu • Rice kheer • Steamed rice dumpling • Boiled potatoes • Boiled tapioca • Upma • Barley porridge • Ragi porridge • Oats • Whole wheat bread • Orange juice • Banana • Dried fruits • Fruit Juices (Apple, Pear, Banana) |
• Dhal Vadai • Sprouted grams • Boiled channa • Curd rice • Dhal adai • Black gram dhal porridge • Boiled egg • Poached eggs • Meat and Chicken dishes • Chopped almond • Avocado salad • Milk • Avocado juice • Nuts • Eggs (white) • Grilled chicken • Toast with peanut butter |
• Idly • Dosa • Pongal • Bissibela bath • Meat rice • Wheat Chapatti with Channa • Salad green (Lettuce, Spinach) • Sweet Potatoes • Bread Toast and Peanut Butter • Cereals with low fat Milk • Banana Milk Shake • Rice Flakes with Milk • Rava dal kichdi • Ragi porridge with buttermilk • Dal rice • Curd Rice • Soya • Vermicelli Kheer • Bread Pudding • Fruit Salads with custard |
Hydration schedule
| Event | Fluid | Break up | Instruction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-event | 1.5-3 litre | • 1-2 hour 0.5 litre • 10-15 minutes 0.6 litre |
• Empty the bladder 15 minutes before event. Drink cold water |
| During event | 2-3 litres for 3 hours programme | Once in 25 minutes | • Sip and drink water • No gulping |
References
- L.Kathleen Mahan & Janicel L.Raymond, Krause’s Food & The nutrition care process
- Joe Schwarcz and Fran Berkoff, Foods that Harm, Foods that Heal
- United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Library, Food Nutrition Information Center Menu
- Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad
The author is Associate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics. She can be reached at chellamssm@gmail.com.
