UNIB10009

Food for Sport

Mark Hargreaves
Department of Physiology
 IOC Consensus Statement on Sports
Nutrition 2003

Nutrition and Athletic Performance

Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 41: 709-731, 2009

www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition

www.sportsdietitians.com.au
 Food and drink too play their part.
The normal balanced diet of the average
home or school, with perhaps rather more
fluids (especially water and milk) than
usual, are all that an athlete requires.

J.E. Lovelock, 1938

 Integration of exercise
performance and fatigue

T.D. Noakes, A. St. Clair Gibson & E.V. Lambert, 2005

Potential factors in fatigue

Central fatigue (CNS)

Ionic disturbances (Na+, K+)
Impaired excitation-contraction coupling
Substrate depletion (ATP, PCr, CHO)
Metabolite accumulation (Pi, H+, ROS)
Fluid and electrolyte losses
Hyperthermia
Muscle damage
Strategies to enhance fatigue resistance
Training physical, technical, mental
Nutrition carbohydrate, fluid, protein?
Heat acclimatisation / cooling
Drugs / Supplements / Gene doping ?
Skeletal muscle ATP genera2on

High energy phosphagens
(ATP/CP)

Anaerobic glycolysis


Oxida2ve metabolism of CHO
and fat
Fuels for endurance sports

L.Van Loon et al. J. Physiol. 536: 295-304, 2001

B. Saltin & L.B. Rowell. Fed. Proc. 39: 1506-1513, 1980
 You can have all the heart in the
world, but it doesnt mean anything
unless youve got the legs

Lance Armstrong
 Essentials for sprint
success
Muscle mass to generate force and
power
Fast twitch fibres
Neuromuscular recruitment
Fatigue resistance
Ability to generate and tolerate
lactic acid (buffer capacity)
Fast reaction time
Essentials for endurance
success
High VO2 max (>70ml.kg-1.min-1)
Ability to maintain high %VO2 max
(fractional utilisation)
High power output at lactate threshold
(LT) muscle oxidative capacity
Fatigue resistance
Efficient/economical technique
Ability to oxidise fat at high power
outputs
 Mechanisms of performance
enhancement with nutritional
intervention

Increased stores and/or reduced utilisation

of key muscle substrates

Molecular adaptations genes, proteins?

Central nervous system effect

Issues in sports nutrition research

Studies not undertaken on competitive athletes

Responders versus non-responders
Conditions of studies do not always mimic real-life
(or optimal) practices or use valid measures of
performance
Studies may not be able to detect changes that are
worthwhile for competitive athletes
J. Bergstrm et al. Acta Physiol. Scand. 71: 140-150, 1967
Carbohydrate ingestion and
marathon running

It seems, therefore, that the

picture of exhaustion, weakness,
shock and other symptoms of
hypoglycemia following prolonged
effort may be prevented by the
adequate and timely ingestion of
carbohydrate.

B. Gordon et al. JAMA 85: 508-509, 1925

Carbohydrate ingestion improves
exercise capacity

M. Hargreaves. Aust. J. Nutr. Diet. 53: S4, 1996

 Carbohydrate ingestion improves
exercise performance

CHO
Placebo

297 + 1W 58.7 + 0.5

*P<0.001
(n=17)
291 + 10W 60.2 + 0.7

50 55 60 (min)

A.E. Jeukendrup et al. Int. J. Sports Med 18: 125-129, 1997

 Carbohydrate ingestion improves
performance

Prevents fall in blood glucose

Maintains muscle CHO oxidation and brain glucose supply

Reduces perception of fatigue

Increases exercise time to fatigue and total work

 Protein nutrition and exercise

Protein-based training adaptations include increased mitochondrial density,

increased contractile proteins/muscle mass and enhanced buffer capacity

B.B. Rasmussen & S.M. Phillips. Exerc. Sport Sci. Rev. 31: 127-131, 2003
 Protein intakes in
resistance-trained atheletes

S.M. Phillips. Nutrition. 20: 689-695, 2004

Protein intake during training

I. Gontzea et al. Nutr. Rep. Int. 10: 35-43, 1974

Mechanisms of heat loss during exercise

J.Werner. Persp. Exerc. Sci. Sports Med.Vol. 6, 1993, p. 55

 Dehydration during exercise
impairs performance

DEHYDRATED
EUHYDRATED

*P<0.05, n=6

4 8 12 (min)

R.M.Walsh et al. Int. J. Sports Med. 15: 392-398, 1994

Fluid ingestion attenuates hyperthermia
during exercise

M. Hargreaves. Aust. J. Nutr. Diet. 53: S4, 1996

 Benefits of fluid ingestion

Increased blood volume

Decreased heart rate
Increased stroke volume and cardiac output
Lower core temperature
Lower plasma [Na+] and osmolality
Reduced muscle glycogen use
Enhanced exercise performance
Effects of fluid and CHO are independent and additive
L.E. Armstrong et al. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 17: 456-461, 1985
Assessing pre-exercise hydration status

Body mass
Urine specific gravity/osmolality
Urine colour

Hydrated Dehydrated
Key issues in sports nutrition

Energy balance
Sufficient dietary CHO intake and CHO
supplementation if required
Water and salt losses
Protein perhaps?
Vitamin supplementation usually not
required
Supplements be alert!