Nutrition

Eating healthily
Everyone needs a balanced diet to make sure that everything keeps working as it’s supposed to.
A balanced diet gives you all the essential nutrients you need. The six essential nutrients are carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and water. You also need fibre (to keep the gut in good working order).
Different nutrients are required for different functions in the body:

Nutrient Function
Carbohydrates Carbohydrates (e.g. glucose) provide energy.
Fats provide energy, act as an energy store and provide insulation.
Proteins are needed for growth and repair of tissue, and to provide energy in emergencies.
Vitamins Various functions: e.g. vitamin C is needed to prevent scurvy.
Minerals Various functions: e.g. iron is needed to make haemoglobin for healthy blood.
Water We need a constant supply to replace water lost through urinating, breathing and sweating.

What are Carbohydrates, fats and proteins made of?
1) Carbohydrates are made up of simple sugars like glucose.
2) Fats are made up of fatty acids and glycerol.
3) Proteins are made up of amino acids.

Some amino acids can’t be made by the body, so you have to get them from your diet – these are called essential amino acids.

You can get all the essential amino acids by eating protein that comes from animals (in other words, meat). These animal proteins are called first calls proteins.

Vegetarians have to eat a varied diet to get all the essential amino acids they need.
You can calculate the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of protein using this formula:
RDA (g) = 0.75*body mass (kg)

Energy and nutrient needs vary in different people
A balanced diet isn’t a set thing – it’s different for everyone. The balance of the different nutrients a person needs depends on things like their age, gender and activity level.

Metabolic rate
The amount of energy you need from your food also depends on your resting metabolic rate.
1) You need energy to fuel the chemical reactions in the body that keep you alive. These reactions are called your metabolism, and the speed at which they occur is your metabolic rate.
2) There are slight variations in the resting metabolic rate of different people. For example, muscle needs more energy than fatty tissue, which means (all other things being equal) people with a higher proportion of muscle to fat in their bodies will have a higher metabolic rate.
3) Men tend to have a slightly higher rate than women – they’re generally slightly bigger and have a larger proportion of muscle. Other genetic factors may also have some effect.
4) And regular exercise can boost your resting metabolic rate because it builds muscle.

Getting the right intake of nutrients is vital to health, exercise is important too – people who exercise regularly are usually fitter. But being fit isn’t the same as being healthy – you can be fit and slim, but still unhealthy because your diet isn’t balanced.

Hydration for Athletes
Proper hydration is helpful for achieving the best performance in elite athletes. Adequate fluid intake is also helpful for recreational exercisers to exercise at their best. There have been recommendations about how much water or sports drinks are needed and over the years athletes were advised to drink much more water than we now know is necessary.

Sports Drinks
Sports drinks can be helpful to athletes who are exercising at a high intensity for 60-90 minutes or more. It's necessary to replace losses of sodium, potassium and other electrolytes during exercise. Keep in mind that under normal situations most exercisers are unlikely to deplete these minerals during regular training. If, however, you find yourself exercising in extreme conditions or for long times consider adding a sports drink with electrolytes.