NEWS
To perform at any level, an athlete needs energy: energy to play, to think, to recover and to sleep. The human body consumes energy. The food chain helps replenish this lost energy. The first question every athlete asks when they come for counseling is ‘Which is the best food for me?’ Here are the top 10 highly nutritious food for a sportsperson:
Best Nutritious Food : Kidney Pea
Rajma is the king of beans. Combining rajma and rice gives a complete amino acid profile to a athlete. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein and kidney beans help in the synthesis of muscles. Many players have erratic sugar levels which lower concentration. Kidney beans help moderate sugar levels with their fiber and amylase inhibitors. Cane beans are safe and an excellent option for travelling athletes who need a quick, safe and healthy protein snack. Consume best at breakfast or post workout. To avoid gas make sure the beans are well boiled in a pressure cooker for at least 15 minutes.
Best Nutritious Food : Chickpeas
Chana, both black and white contains about 19% protein. With a very high Folic acid content chickpeas have the ability to help athletes produce faster red blood cells. Most athletes with their high intensity training damages there blood and DNA. Eating chickpeas everyday help in fast healing and recovery. In India the famous chana masala is one dish no athlete should turn down.
Best Nutritious Food : Dates
Ancient soldiers marched into battle with dates or ‘Khajoor’. Easy to carry and densely packed with iron, calcium, potassium and other minerals, this tiny fruit means business. The best time to consume 8-10 dates is during long hours of training. Athletes do get hungry and need to munch on a high energy reserve food. When athletes have low hemoglobin or iron levels which cause fatigue they need to switch to a high date snacking diet.
Best Nutritious Food : Sweet Potato
While normal potatoes post-training really help recharge muscle glycogen, sweet potato is like Usain Bolt for recovery. Quick to recharge your reserves, sweet potato is often missed out due to bland taste. With one of the highest vitamin A servings, athletes shouldn’t think twice about adding it to their meal. Vitamin A helps in better lung function, boosting the lung capacity as well as jump starting the athlete’s immune system. My favourite is using sweet potato as a soup base or mashing it into your parathans.
Best Nutritious Food : Carrot
Very rarely do I see colour on an athlete’s plate. The orange of carrots contain beta-carotene that helps in recovery. Vitamin K is an important agent that helps in the clotting of blood. Athletes get injured and Vitamin K helps in quick recovery. Cooked carrots are the best for absorption of its nutrients. For dessert I advice carrot halwa as an acceptable cheat meal for an athlete. The fiber in carrots help prevent constipation.
Best Nutritious Food : Banana
This fruit needs no introduction. Small or large, it’s available round the year and is light on an athlete’s pocket. Besides, it is extremely handy to carry and comes in its own wrapper. Banana can be eaten before, during and after training. Research has shown that dopamine in bananas are able to calm an athlete. When training hard, athlete’s blood pressure peaks, which does not sometimes allow an athlete to think clearly. Banana helps keep your brain cool and powers your muscles.
Best Nutritious Food : Eggs
Packed with 6 grams of protein within a fragile shell, egg is like an atomic bomb in the field of nutrition. Athletes should try to add 3-6 eggs a day in their diet. Egg has Vitamin B complex along with a powerful mineral call Selenium, which is a key antioxidant. Athletes suffer severe microscopic trauma to their muscles on a daily basis. The combination of good quality protein and vitamins help enhance the recovery process. Eggs should always be consumed cooked.Raw eggs do not allow digestion of the Vitamin B complex, and as such makes the protein synthesis in the body drop.
Best Nutritious Food : Tomato
The red in tomatoes comes from lycopene. Research has shown that lycopene boosts lung function. So eating more of this fruit, commonly known as vegetable, will enhance your endurance levels in training. I suggest knocking out the seeds. Cooked tomatoes have higher content of lycopene. And a lot of athletes love me as I advise them to have loads of tomato sauce. Lycopene is also known to aid growth hormone and so tomato juice for younger athletes is No.1 on my prescription list of beverages.
Best Nutritious Food : Beetroot
Since the London Olympics, I have always been enamoured of this ‘Red Giant’. I love this vegetable because of its nitrate content and its ability to dilate blood vessels. For the athlete this means large blood vessels when exercising- it delivers more oxygen, glucose, amino acid and salts to the muscles whilst removing greater volume of carbon dioxide and lactic acid. Research has shown that exercise exhaustion decreases and the oxygen saturation in the blood increases by supplementing beetroot in the diet. For me, eating 2 beetroot plain is mandatory. It can be had as chips, cooked, baked, or as a juice. Blend beetroot in lemonade to ease the harsh taste. My personal favorite is beetroot halwa. The best time to have beetroot is 3 hours prior to practice.
Best Nutritious Food : Guava
Amrut is the king of fruits in my book. With Vitamin C levels in Supersonic Orbit, every athlete should have this to help in recovery and to boost immunity. When athletes are injured, I ask them to eat 3 guavas a day for fast healing. Also, one of the high protein containing fruits, guava should be eaten with the seeds as they help in better bowel movement. Athletes consume too much of calories via proteins and carbs. However, the system of digestion slows down. Guava ensures clean digestion, not to mention clearer skin for all those brand endorsements.
There are dozens of foods that an athlete requires. These, when added to your meals, enhance the ability of your body. Indian red leafy vegetables are my favourite that do not make it to my top 10 list. This is because like rice, dal and curd which are considered staple, I add green and red leafy vegetables as key ingredients in an athlete’s daily meal. My sincere advice for all warriors in their games: eat with a plan, know your foods and try to get organic as much as possible.
Visit us at QUA Nutrition to change the way you fuel. Change to the way the best athlete’s fuel.
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