Nutritional Support

for Exercise
MACRONUTRIENTS
- Needed in relatively large amounts/ quantities by the
human body.

- All macronutrients are organic in nature.

Can be used in metabolism to produce useable energy in

the form of ATP.
 Carbohydrates

MACRONUTRIENTS
Proteins Lipids
 CARBOHYDRATES
- Primary energy source during high-intensity activity.

- The presence of adequate amounts of carbohydrates in the

diet allows proteins that are ingested to be used for muscle
growth.
Glycogen Depletion
where almost all of the athlete's
glycogen stores are depleted after
long periods of exertion without
sufficient carbohydrate consumption.
Glycemic Index
is a measure used to determine how much a
food can affect your blood sugar levels.
Several factors affect the glycemic index of a
food, including the ripeness, nutrient
composition, and cooking method.
Glycemic Index
High-glycemic-index foods (glycemic index =
70 or higher)
Moderate-glycemic-index foods (glycemic
index = 56–69)
Low-glycemic-index foods (glycemic index =
55 or lower)
Carbohydrate Loading
Carb loading is one of the most common of these
nutritional tools, often used by athletes to improve
their performance.

It involves adjusting your diet and physical activity

levels to boost the amount of carbohydrates stored
in your body.
 Carbohydrate and Electrolyte
Sports drinks
Carbohydrate and electrolyte sports drinks are
meant to increase physical performance by
providing an exogenous source of glucose,
resulting in a sparing of muscle glycogen
When can sports drinks
be ingested?
Carbohydrate is the major
metabolic substrate for both
aerobic and anaerobic activities.
Diets containing at least 50% of total
calories from carbohydrates are
recommended for endurance athletes
because time to exhaustion during
endurance activity is increased.
Although high-glycemic-index foods
increase blood glucose concentration
more quickly than low-glycemic-index
foods, ingestion of high-glycemic-index
foods prior to exercise does not appear to
aid endurance performance.
Carbohydrate loading can increase
endurance performance by allowing
a faster race pace in the latter stages
of a long endurance event.
Carbohydrate-loading strategies are effective
in increasing muscle glycogen content.
However, in well-trained endurance athletes,
rest and sufficient carbohydrate ingestion
also result in supercompensation of muscle
glycogen content.
Carbohydrate loading does not
increase performance in short-
duration, high-power anaerobic
activities.
Most sports drinks contain several different
types of carbohydrates. Advantages to this
approach include increased absorption rate,
improved taste to encourage consumption,
and minimizing the negative effect of
increasing osmolality on water absorption.
Electrolytes are added to sports drinks to:
promote a sustained drive to drink, which
promotes voluntary fluid ingestion; maintain
plasma volume, which helps to maintain cardiac
output during exercise; maintain extracellular fl
uid volumes; and reduce the risk of
hyponatremia and decrease urine output.
Carbohydrate sports drinks can be ingested
before, during, and after endurance activity.
They maintain hydration and supply
exogenous carbohydrate for metabolism
during activity, as well as aid rehydration
and muscle glycogen resynthesis after
activity
 PROTEIN
Protein is an important part of a healthy diet.
Proteins are made up of chemical 'building
blocks' called amino acids. Your body uses
amino acids to build and repair muscles and
bones and to make hormones and enzymes.
They can also be used as an energy source.
 PROTEIN
Nitrogen Balance
to measure the amount of protein or
nitrogen ingested compared with the
amount of nitrogen excreted
Positive Nitrogen Balance
occurs when more nitrogen is ingested
than excreted and indicates that nitrogen
is being retained in the body and amino
acids are being used to synthesize bodily
tissue.
Negative Nitrogen Balance
occurs when more nitrogen is being
excreted than ingested and indicates that
amino acids are being used in
metabolism.
High-Protein Diet
Without adequate scientific evidence or understanding
of types of higher protein diets and fears of reducing
carbohydrate concentrations, clinically trained dietitians
typically do not recommend high-protein diets because
of their perceived association with increased risk of
heart disease, some types of cancer, adult bone loss
(osteoporosis), kidney disease, and difficulties with
weight control.
However, animal protein sources tend to be rich in
saturated fats, and it is difficult to separate the
effects of dietary animal protein and fat. In one
study attempting to do so, soy protein was
substituted for animal protein, and results showed
reductions in total blood cholesterol, especially in
individuals whose initial total blood cholesterol
levels were high.
Protein Supplementation
Before, During, and After
Training
Protein supplementation in the form of
protein bars or protein-containing
sports drinks may be of value not only
to individuals performing resistance
training, but also to those performing
endurance training.
 Resistance Training and Protein
Supplementation
• Ingestion and infusion of amino acids with, or
without carbohydrate, stimulates protein
synthesis after resistance exercise.
 Resistance Training and Protein
Supplementation

• Protein ingestion immediately prior to,93 or

within 3 hours after exercise, results in
increased protein synthesis.
 Resistance Training and Protein
Supplementation
• Increased protein synthesis with
supplementation prior to exercise may be related
to increased blood flow during exercise, which
increases amino acid availability for protein
synthesis to the exercising muscle.
 Resistance Training and Protein
Supplementation
• Yet it has also been reported that protein
supplementation postexercise, particularly
immediately following a resistance training
session, can effectively increase muscle protein
synthesis.
 Resistance Training and Protein
Supplementation
• Presumably, consuming additional protein
during the period in which muscles are repairing
tissue damaged by intense weightlifting exercise
results in gains in muscle mass.
 Endurance Training and Protein
Supplementation
• Endurance athletes are not normally concerned
with achieving an increase in fat-free mass.
However, they are concerned with recovery
between training sessions and after
competitions, as well as possible increases in
aerobic performance.
 Endurance Training and Protein
Supplementation
• Recovery includes not only maintenance of
muscle glycogen levels, but also maintaining
fat-free mass, and preventing muscle soreness
resulting from muscle damage.
 Endurance Training and Protein
Supplementation
• It has been found that postexercise ingestion of
a protein and carbohydrate supplement, as
opposed to one comprised solely of
carbohydrate, results in enhanced glycogen
resynthesis.
 Type of Amino Acid in Supplements
• The amino acid composition of a protein
supplement is an important consideration for the
athlete. Amino acids can be classified as either
essential, or those not produced by the body and
accordingly must be consumed, or nonessential,
or those that can be produced by the body
Quick Review
• The upper range of percentages of 25% to 35% of
protein intake will allow more optimal repair of
muscle and connective tissue.

• Protein needs of athletes may be elevated due to the

increased metabolism of protein during activity and
the need to maintain or increase skeletal muscle
mass.
Quick Review
• Recommended protein needs of endurance (1.2
to 1.4 g˙kg body mass−1 ˙ day − 1 ) and
strength-training athletes (1.4 or greater g˙kg
body mass − 1 ˙ day − 1 ) are higher than the
RDA (0.8 g˙ kg body mass −1 ˙ day −1 ) but
may be met by the athletes’ increased caloric
consumption.
Quick Review
• There is a relatively large window of
opportunity, which begins shortly before a
resistance training session and ends several hours
after exercise, during which supplementation
may increase protein synthesis. However, long-
term training studies are needed to substantiate
whether supplementation increases fat-free mass.
Quick Review
• Supplements that contain a
combination of carbohydrate and
protein may aid recovery from
endurance activities and maintenance
of muscle mass in endurance athletes.
Quick Review
• Inclusion of essential and BCCAs in a
protein supplement may be important
because these amino acids are
simulators of protein synthesis.
Why might athletes require more
than the RDA for protein?
 TRIGLYCERIDES
Triglycerides are a common member of the larger
family of macronutrients known as lipids, or fats.
Saturated fat intake is associated with an
increased risk of cardiovascular disease,
colon cancer, breast cancer, and prostate
cancer, whereas increased ingestion of
monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats
reduces these disease risks.
Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are associated
with health benefits such as decreased
cardiovascular risk and risk for some types of
cancer. However, the association with these
decreased disease risks may be small, and further
research is warranted before conclusions can be
reached.
Theoretically, high-fat diets should increase
endurance performance by increasing fat
metabolism, which would spare muscle
glycogen. Although this dietary strategy does
increase lipid metabolism, it does not appear
to improve endurance performance.