How can athletes balancing protein and carbohydrate requirements The fundamental question in the mind of any athlete is how to properly balance their nutrient intake. It's actually a rather complex problem, because there are conflicting ideas at work that can confuse even the most dedicated athlete.
For example, you want to carbohydrates for energy, but too many carbohydrates can make you sluggish or cause you to crash. If you focus on a lot of protein, your body will not be a readily available source of energy because it takes longer to break down protein than carbohydrates.
Athletes need a different type of food a weightlifter because an athlete is interested more in speed and endurance in bulk. However, most athletes do resistance training as well, they use up aerobic muscle movements as well, so much protein do they need?
The answer to the question of what athletes should do is based on what is most healthy. Protein is what builds muscle fat is needed for your hormones, nervous system and brain and carbs are the quickest way to provide energy for your daily activities and maintain a steady supply of sugar blood to the brain. If you miss one of these nutrients, or have not sufficient, you suffer from health problems, or at least less healthy than you might enjoy.
Nutrients and Metabolism
At each meal, you should have a balance between the three different macronutrients. If you just carbohydrates, for example, your body would be missing nutrient proteins that slow the breakdown of carbohydrates into sugar, and you find yourself hungry shortly after you have eaten. You also would not give your body what to restore and add muscle after exercise, either. Moreover, it is more difficult to fill on carbohydrates than protein, making it likely that you eat more than you should.
This illustrates the importance of balance in your diet.
Power also depends on the calendar. An athlete who is on the verge of a race should have a large amount of carbohydrates to turn, so it does not lack energy. However, protein-free sugar to break down more slowly, it could end up with a burst of speed and then a crash in blood sugar. Clearly, this is not a good result.
The other important factor is the special metabolism of an athlete. Some people simply burn calories faster than others. If you know you have a fast metabolism, you'll probably need protein to offset the rate of decomposition of sugar into energy. Someone whose metabolism is not as fast could get by with most carbohydrates.
Supplements
Also, never forget why you eat. It is not only to be the best athlete or looking good. This is to give your body the nutrients it needs. If you really want to be your best, you need to receive all the essential nutrients.
This may mean going to an all-in-one supplement like Animal Pak Universal Nutrition, or buying separate supplements if you know you'll get most of what you need in your diet. However, do consider that your diet is not giving you and fill the gaps.
For example, if you do not drink orange juice with breakfast, you can start taking vitamin C. If you do not eat fish often enough, you may want some Optimum Nutrition flax seed oil for essential fatty acids missing you.
Other supplements include creatine you might want as Bronx Wild Bull, chromium, green tea extract, a protein powder such as Dymatize Elite, and anything that can help you reach your goals as an athlete and an avid health.
Posted on March 3, 2010.