Have you ever wondered why athletes take extra supplements despite eating regular food?
Whether or not you are active in sports, workout on a regular basis, or just starting out, sports nutrition plays a crucial role in factors that contribute to sports performance. An athlete who is deficient in fundamental nutrients is more likely to sustain injuries.
To meet individual nutritional needs, achieve personal fitness goals, dietary supplements are usually considered an addition to athletes’ diet plans. Supplement use will vary between individuals and is based on physical activity levels.
A balanced diet should be sufficient to give athletes the energy and nutrients that they need for their training programs. However, sports supplements give athletes an energy boost and push their bodies to peak performance.
What are sports supplements?
Sports supplements, also referred to as ergogenic aids, are products designed to improve general health, enhance athletic performance, and post-workout recovery. Supplements typically appear in various forms, such as capsules, tablets, liquids, powders, gels, or bars.
Some essential nutrients s such as protein, creatine, and branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are the most widely used sports supplements in sports. They are naturally produced in the body and can be found in meat products.
However, sports supplements cannot substitute for a healthy diet, but they provide athletes health benefits depending on the type and intensity of their physical activity.
What supplements should you use and what are the functions?
Sports supplements can be a convenient source of nutrients like carbohydrates, protein, electrolytes, or caffeine that help sustain and recover from physical activity by replenishing stores before, during, or after an event.
Protein
While most athletes can get enough protein from whole food sources, powders are convenient. Protein is essential for sportspersons and athletes to upsurge the intake of protein in their day-to-day diet. Muscles need protein to grow and recover from muscle breakdown.
During the consumption of protein, the body breaks it down into individual amino acids during digestion and then uses these amino acids to create new proteins where needed. Amino acids are vital for muscle repair.
Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs)
BCAAs are essential nutrients that help the body slow down protein and muscle breakdown, which can aid in preventing muscle fatigue during intense workouts. BCAAs play a major role in preventing muscle fatigue and promoting muscle growth and recovery.
BCAAs include three essential amino acids: valine, leucine, and isoleucine, which are generally used as an efficient energy source during exercise. You can buy either BCAA capsules or powders that you mix into water or other liquids.
Electrolytes
Sports drinks – electrolyte replenishment, are meant to keep you hydrated by replacing the sodium and potassium you lose when you sweat. They also keep blood glucose levels stable so you can make the most of your energy during endurance or high-intensity exercise.
The important electrolytes for athletes are sodium, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. If electrolytes become imbalanced, you will experience fatigue, dehydration, or cramping during your workout. Replenishing your body’s electrolytes is a great way that athletes can boost performance and help their bodies recover faster.
However, if you are more of a recreational athlete, sports drinks can give you extra calories and sodium that you do not necessarily need.
Creatine
Creatine is one of the most effective supplements available, in regards to its ability to increase high-intensity exercise capacity, and promote lean muscle mass increases during training. It is an organic acid that is produced in the liver and helps supply energy to cells all over the body, especially muscle cells.
Athletes take creatine because it allows the body to gain muscle and produce more energy, and with more energy, they will be able to increase the intensity of their workouts. Many athletes use creatine to improve their overall performance. It also helps aid in quicker muscle recovery after an intense workout.
Caffeine
Caffeine is the most widely consumed ergogenic aids in the sporting world. It acts centrally on the brain to lower the perception of effort, which is particularly noticeable in longer events such as running or cycling. It has the ability to cross the membranes of nerve and muscle cells, resulting in neural and muscular effects. Caffeine intake can increase endorphin release and improve alertness
In distance events over 90 minutes, mental tiredness, as well as physical fatigue, plays a large role in determining performance as the event progresses. Caffeine can help to maintain physical performance in this situation.
