Attention all sportspeople: Are you eating right?
Carbs, nutrition and sportspeople — Here's some advice from a professional athlete and nutritionist ...
“Sportsmen and women are only able to reach their peak performance level when they make healthy eating and nutrition a part of their daily training routine,” said Hennele Steyn, nutritionist and former World Triathlon Champion.
She is also a former winner of the ABSA Cape Epic MTB Race in the women’s category and brand ambassador for Spectramed Medical Scheme and Zurreal. According to Hennele, proper nutrition starts and ends with a perfectly balanced, healthy eating plan.
“While a balanced diet can go a long way towards boosting an athlete’s performance, physical well-being and recovery, questions are often raised about how best to eat enough to have the energy to perform at your peak, while making sure that excess weight is not gained,” Hennele said.
“New diets and diet trends show up all the time. However, if all of these were truly able to help people achieve what they claim to, why are there still new diets entering the market almost daily?” Hennele asked.
“The answer is relatively simple – if you are unable to stick to a particular diet for the rest of your life, it will only show short-term results and not a sustainable lifestyle,” she cautioned.
“Diet and exercise play an important part in ensuring that I am always race-ready. I am passionate about nutrition, and part of my philosophy is based on getting enough nutrients in smaller portions, and reaching my optimum lean muscle mass,” Hennele said.
According to Hennele, the most important factor to weigh up is whether you are, in fact, following a nutritionally sound and balanced eating plan.
“Balanced eating is not a case of everything in moderation, but rather eating enough of each food group as determined by scientific principles.”
Hennele believes that there should be a place for the correct carbohydrates, especially if someone is training to be an athlete.
“To optimise nutrition, I advise sportsmen and -women to eat balanced meals. Make sure to include the three food groups: protein, carbohydrates and essential fats. There is a correct amount per kilogram of body weight per day of each of these food groups. Select your carbohydrates from a list of low Glycemic Index (GI) natural foods, like vegetables, fruit and grains. A golden rule is to avoid man-made foods,” Hennele said.
“Remember that fruit and grains are not ‘unhealthy’, just high in carbohydrates, but we do need them for the essential micro-nutrients. Not enough fresh fruit and vegetables in your diet can lead to serious health problems.”
Hennele said that it is not only athletes who need to follow a balanced, healthy diet.
“Young children, in particular, need all the nutritional and natural food they can get. One of the best ways to provide this is to focus on cutting out all quick-to-prepare, processed and pre-prepared meals,” Hennele said.
• Source: MNA
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