NUTRIENTS and OTHER
GOOD STUFF
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Did you know that losing only 2 percent of your body weight from sweating will reduce your ability to perform your best? Did you know that 70% of your body weight is water and 30% of that is in your bones?
Your body uses water to carry substances to the cells and waste products to the kidneys. It also lubricates and helps you digest the food you eat as well as regulating your body's temperature. If your water level is low, your body will not function properly. Losing only 20% of it will result in death.
Always drink plenty of water before, during and after exercise and physical activity. You must drink more than you want, to maintain an adequate fluid level and prevent dehydration. Dehydration is a very serious condition that reduces your ability to perform and may do damage to your muscles. Dehydration is when your body releases more fluid than you take in.
Many young athletes don't take water consumption serious enough. They wonder why they run out of energy at the final minutes of a game or competition or why they are very tired and sore the next day after exercising. These symptoms could be directly related to not enough water intake.
Many times an athlete restricts his or her intake of water for a number of reasons. Whether they feel water will make them vomit or slow them down during physical activity or they just don't have enough water available to them at the time, an athlete should never restrict their intake of water. Very rarely does an athlete vomit from drinking too much water.
Many products and sport drinks are available to help quickly replenish fluids during exercise or competition, but, contain artificial ingredients and chemicals. Read the labels of everything you eat or drink and don't assume it's the right thing to put into your body because some commercial on TV says so. Water is the best choice for athletes or anyone who is physically active.
Here are some guidelines to follow regarding water consumption:
Vitamins are nutrients that help your body build and maintain blood cells, chemicals in your nervous system, hormones, body tissue and all the other cells in your body.
Minerals are substances found in soil. They help develop and maintain bones, muscles, blood, protein and energy.
Both vitamins and minerals play an important roll in keeping us healthy, but, cannot be produced by our bodies. They are necessary for processing fat and other nutrients and should enter your body from what you eat.
These necessary ingredients in food are essential to everyone who wants to perform well, fight off infections and help their bodies function properly. Although many young children and older people take vitamins and minerals to supplement their diets, people who eat a well balanced diet do not need to consume supplements to stay healthy.
Since certain amounts of over 50 nutrients are essential for proper body development and maintenance, you must eat a wide variety of food everyday. Athletes can not possible perform at their highest level without proper nutrition, as well as exercise and practice.
Good nutrition and fitness have to be acquired over a period of time and not right before a practice or exercise session or before a competition. Many athletes do not take nutrition serious enough. They think they can fill their bodies with proteins and carbohydrates the night before a big competition and will be able to perform their best without concerning themselves about nutrition until the next competition. If they ate properly all the time, their fitness level would increase and they would become better athletes.
Also known as Proteins and Carbohydrates, these nutrients found in the foods we eat are essential to maintain a healthy body. If you loose an excessive amount of much needed weight when training, you should add extra calories in the form of these nutrients during your training period.
Carbohydrates, also known as starches and sugars, are one on the most common sources of food energy. The carbohydrates in foods such as potatoes, rice and pasta are called complex carbohydrates or starches, and are very helpful in maintaining your weight and fitness level. The carbohydrates in foods such as cakes, soda, candy and fruits are called simple carbohydrates or sugar, will turn to fat if not used by your body during exercise or other physical activities. Both types of carbohydrates are not stored by your body, therefore, must be eaten daily to maintain your energy and fitness level.
Carbohydrates, along with fats and proteins provide fuel for your body to burn during exercise and physical activity. Without enough of these nutrients, you would have no energy to perform even the most basic functions.
Proteins, along with minerals and water are necessary for the body to build and repair your bones and tissues. They contain some of the essential nutrients called amino acids which cannot be manufactured by your body. Because the protein in meat and the protein in vegetables are different, to get the proper balance of these acids, you must eat a balanced amount of meats and vegetables.
Although some carbohydrates are good sources of protein, they are lacking some essential amino acids which your body also needs. Therefore, you must eat a combination of meats (meat protein) and vegetables (vegetable proteins) to obtain the proper balance of carbohydrates and proteins.
Although many nutrients are important for good health and physical performance, an excessive amount of carbohydrates and proteins is converted to body fat if you are not physically active.
Use the following "Proteins & Carbohydrates" guide to help you understand
what types of foods are high in these nutrients.
