Marconutrients are split into 3 Catergories. This are Fats Carbohydrates and Proteins. A combination of fats Carbs and Proteins make up the majority of the indivduals diet, and the balance of this can make for a health diet. However if the balance of these is incorrect the impact upon health can be a negative one.
The Importance of of a healthy balanced diet is particularly important to athletes as this can affect, immune fuction, growth, bone health, teeth, hair, nails, over all well being and many more. The food we consume should give us all the viamin ands minerals that we need to fuction.
Common sense plays a role in decideding what foods we may think are healthy and what asre not so good for us.
Always Read labels to check what the food actually contains
Daily Energy Requirements
The foods that we consume are used a fuels in order for ouit bodies to carry out our daily activities.In the case of water polo players the average energey bein expended per day is usually more that the average indivdual due to training and competition through-out the weeks.
Basic energy requirements (BER)
For every Kg of body weight 1.3 Calories is required every hour. (An athlete weighing 50Kg would require 1.3 × 24hrs × 50Kg = 1560 Calories/day)
Extra energy requirements (EER)
For each hours training you require an additional 8.5 Calories for each Kg of body weight. (For a two hour training session our 50Kg athlete would require 8.5 × 2hrs × 50Kg = 850 Calories)
The consumption of macronutrients will relect the energy requirments of the water polo player. Several varibles can affect the energy requirments of the indivudual such as age, height, gender, metobolic rate, daily energy expenditure etc.
Marcronutrients for Water Polo players
Carbohydrates:
Carbohydrates (CHO) have been frequently identified in the literature as an area of great importance for athletes. CHO maintains blood glucose levels during exercise and CHO feeding before and during exercise allows an athlete to last 44% longer. The American dietetics association suggest that the optimal percentage of CHO for this type athlete to be between 60% and 70% of total calories per day. CHO intake of an athlete would preferable be expressed in terms of Grams per KG of bodyweight rather than a percentage of the athletes diet, with a range of 7g to 10g per KG of bodyweight for this type athlete and sport.
CHO intake are 200-300g of CHO to be consumed approximately 4 hours before exercise or competition, Replace CHO and electrolytes during training and competition at regular intervals and consume 0.7g per Kg of bodyweight (BW) within 2 hours of exercise or competition.
Protein:
Some research suggests protein should be 1.4-1.7 g/kg bodyweight (bodyweight in kg = bodyweight in pounds / 2.2 kg) per day (9) or as high as 2g/kg bodyweight per day in athletes (10). The Recommended Daily Allowance of 0.8 g/kg bodyweight per day protein is based on what is healthy for the average sedentary individual, which is not necessarily enough for athletes.
The additional protein is crucial not only for muscle repair, but also as an additional energy source. During times of low CHO stores and exhaustion, the body will use its own muscle as an energy source. Because it is so difficult to build and maintain muscle, athletes should be careful not to lose it.
Fat:
A balanced diet contains an optimal amount of mono-saturates and essential fatty acids, with minimal amounts of saturated fat. consumption of high fat diets beyond four weeks has been shown to have a detrimental effect on endurance performance, with an optimal amount being 30% of the athletes’ total intake with 10% or less consisting of saturated fats. With this in mind the athletes new diet plan consist of foods with reduced levels of saturated fat, consisting of no more that 5g of fat of which saturates.
Macronurients........
-Carbohydrates
- Protein
-Fat
Balanced Diet..........
An athlete should always try to obtain a balanced diet. Consuming an optimal amount of food from the diffrerent food groups help the athlete optain an ample amount of micornutrtients and macro nutrients.
What are marco nutrients?
