Nutrition for Peak Performance

• Proper nutrition alone, including proper carbohydrate loading, can improve endurance by over 180%.
  
• Never begin exercise dehydrated; doing so will increase the risk of heat illness and poor performance. Weigh yourself before and after exercise to make certain you have ingested enough fluids to prevent dehydration
  
• The food pyramid is still the best guide for understanding basic nutritional needs and the proportions required. However, teenagers or athletes in training require more than the minimum requirements
  

Nutrition Program Components

TOTAL ENERGY INTAKE

• Consume 20-27 kcal per pound of body weight per day.

CARBOHYDRATE AND FLUID INTAKE DURING ROUTINE DAILY TRAINING

• Consume 3.5-4.5g of carbohydrate per lb. of body weight per day or roughly 60%-70% of total calories.

• Drink enough fluids every day so that your body weight remains constant at the start of each training session. If your urine color is not clear, it is likely that you are becoming dehydrated.

THE PRE-GAME MEAL

• Eat 3-4 hours before the match begins; 60%-70% of meal calories should be from carbohydrates; foods should be customary and easy to digest.

• Avoid high-fat and fried foods, which are not easily digested and may cause gastrointestinal discomfort.
  
• Avoid high-fiber foods because they may cause abdominal cramping and gas.
  
• Avoid solid foods immediately before or during the game; they are digested too slowly during exercise.

• If you are extremely nervous before a game or recovering from an illness, consider liquid meals.
  
• Consider liquid meals when travel time to a game is short.
  
• Drink 16-32 oz of a fluid-replacement sports drink 2 hours before the game plus another 8-16 oz 15-20 minutes before the event to top off the fluid reservoirs.
  
• Avoid the dehydrating effects of caffeine or cola drinks for 72 hours before a game

NUTRITION DURING THE GAME

• Consume a fluid-replacement sports drink that contains carbohydrates and electrolytes at every stoppage in play. Plain water provides necessary fluid, but it reduces overall fluid intake and does not supply needed carbohydrates.
  
• Remind your teammates to drink whenever possible during the game, even though they may not be thirsty. Place your individual bottles containing a cold sports drink at the side-lines so it will be more convenient to drink during stoppages of play.
  
• At half-time, try to drink enough fluids to replenish all of the body weight you have lost during the first period of play. Fluids exit the stomach much faster than do solids, so sports drinks are preferable to solid foods during the half-time break.

AFTER THE GAME

• During recovery from strenuous soccer play, you should strive to replace your body’s reserves of carbohydrate (glycogen), water and electrolytes, especially sodium.
  
• For the first 2-3 hours after the game, drink at least 24 oz of fluid for every pound of weight lost. Sodium chloride (table salt) in a sports drink or in regular foods is needed to minimize urine production, enhance fluid intake, and ensure rapid replacement of body fluids.
  
• Immediately after the game, 1g per lb. of carbohydrate (preferably consisting of sugars or other rapidly digested carbohydrates).
  
• Over the following 24 hours, resume your training diet, consuming 8-10g/lb of carbohydrate with 10-12 cups of fluid.

Hydration

There is an old misconception that is dying hard. It is similar to the no "pain: no gain" training philosophy. Many coaches once believed that restricting water during a competition or practice session toughened an athlete. Unfortunately, some people still follow this practice that lowers performance and can be dangerous. For each percent of body weight lost due to dehydration an athlete’s performance decreases by 2 percent. If you want to perform at a high level, you need to drink water.

If you’re going to be exercising for 20 minutes or less, dehydration is not usually a problem, but difficulties can arise during longer exertions. The rules for making sure you get enough fluids and are not dehydrated are as follows:

• The rate of passage of water from your stomach into your small intestines depends on how much fluid is actually in your stomach. Therefore to increase overall absorption of fluids you need to deposit a fair amount (10-12 ozs.) of liquid in your stomach just before you begin to exercise
• To sustain a good absorption of fluid you should take three to four sips of beverage every 10 mins., if possible.
• If you are going to be exercising for less than 60 minutes, you do not need to worry about including carbohydrate in your drink. Plain water is fine. For prolonged efforts, however, you will want to include carbohydrates.
• Years of research has proven that the correct amount of concentration of carbohydrate in your drink is about 5-7 percent.
• A 6 percent "simple-sugar" drink will empty from your stomach at the same rate as a fancy, 6 percent "glucose polymer" beverage.
• Contrary to what some believe, cod drinks are not absorbed into your body more quickly than warm ones.
• Taking drinks during exercise does not increase your risk of digestive-system problems. In actuality most gut disorders that arise during exercise are caused by dehydration, not from taking in fluid. Dehydration induces nausea and discomfort by reducing the blood flow in the digestive system.

The Bottom Line

• Don’t neglect good nutrition from your training program. Eating on the run and not eating the right proportions of protein, carbohydrates and getting the right vitamins plays an important role in your ability to perform. No last minute food will make up for a poor diet.
• Carbohydrate loading has proven to provide an extra "fuel tank" for exercise and help in events that last longer than 90 minutes
• Most athletes, especially teenagers require more than the minimum daily servings. The increased consumption should come from the vegetable group and bread, cereal, rice and pasta group.
• Do not eat sweets before a game – after the initial high, this causes the blood sugar levels to drop, giving you a feeling of tiredness
• DRINK WATER! Do not let yourself get dehydrated.

References:

1. Sports Science Exchange Roundtable, Gatorade Sports Science instititute, Volume 11(2000), Number 1.
2. Reber, Robert, Sports Nutrition, University of Illinois, 1999.
3. Lifegevity Program, Essentials of Nutrition, 2001