Food and drinks for sport

A good diet can help you get the best fitness and sport results. Sports nutritionist and registered dietitian Wendy Martinson shares her tips on food and drink for athletes.

Wendy advises Olympic athletes on how to improve their diet. She is a lead performance nutritionist for the English Institute of Sport and nutritionist for the Great Britain rowing team.

Everyone should aim to eat a healthy balanced diet, whatever their activity level, as this will provide you with all the nutrients you need.

The following additional advice is for people who are training once per day or more.

Can I eat more when I'm doing lots of exercise?

If you are exercising once or more every day, you will use more energy than if you did little or none. If you are a healthy weight and you don't want to lose body fat, you will need to eat more food each day to maintain your weight.

But you still need to make sure that you have a balanced diet. To increase your energy intake and fuel your training sessions, eat more carbohydrate-rich foods, such as bread, cereals, rice, pasta and potatoes. Try to choose wholegrain varieties, and eat potatoes with their skins on. Include sources of essential fats from foods such as oily fish, nuts and seeds. You will also need enough protein-rich foods to help repair and build your muscles.

Learn more about how to have a balanced diet in The eatwell plate.

Is it better to eat a diet high in starchy carbohydrates or protein when I'm training?

You will need more carbohydrate and protein if you are training regularly each day. Carbohydrates are the fuel that power your exercise regime.

Carbohydrates, including bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and cereals, are the most important fuel for muscles, and an essential energy source for the brain and central nervous system.

Carbohydrates are stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver. These stores are small, so a regular intake of carbohydrate is necessary to keep them topped up. Low glycogen stores may result in poor performance and increase the risk of injury. For some sports however, such as weight making sports where elite athletes may have to weigh in at a certain weight category (such as boxing), or endurance sports (such as long-distance running), there can be physiological benefits of training with low glycogen stores during certain sessions. These sessions must be carefully planned, due to the potential risks.

Most people will be able to get enough protein from a healthy, varied diet. Good sources of protein include meat, fish, eggs and dairy foods.

Athletes need protein in greater amounts and at regular intervals throughout the day for muscle growth and repair. The proportions of carbohydrate and protein required will vary depending on the sport, so it's best to seek advice from a qualified professional on your individual requirements.

Learn more by reading our pages on starchy foods and a balanced diet.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/Sport.aspx