If you ask a sports nutritionist or dietitian if you should take dietary supplements, the answer will probably be “no.” Most of them believe that a well-balanced diet is sufficient for an athlete’s needs, that athletes should be treated no differently from the general population. The same philosophy holds true for athletes who have poor eating habits — especially teenage girls — who are told to eat better but not to use supplements.
This attitude is very prevalent in the U.S. However, some of the world’s leading sports powers, such as the former Soviets and East Germans, believed just the opposite — that athletes in almost all sports need food supplements. This is especially startling since these countries had excellent training tables where the athletes ate well-balanced diets.
These countries’ extensive nutritional research in specific sports showed that athletes need supplements even when they have well-balanced diets. The scientists found that even the best diets did not replace all the vitamins, minerals and foodstuffs used up by the athlete. This depletion of nutrients occurs when athletes undergo long and intense training or work out 2-3 times per day.
As a result specialized drinks and various pastries for use by athletes were developed because the best well-balanced diet is not capable of restoring all the products that are used up. The athletes also took tablets or liquid forms of the various supplemental nutrients. These supplements were taken at specific times so they would be better assimilated. Most often they were given during the restorative period, when the body is replenishing its diminished supplies and providing more energy for future workouts.
In their research, the athletes are studied very closely to determine food intake. Food rations were carefully measured and food not consumed was subtracted from the total so that there is an accurate count. This intake was then compared to already calculated amounts of what the athlete needed in his or her sport. If there was a discrepancy, the athletes were given supplements. In almost all cases, after taking the supplements, the athletes performed better.
If we closely examine the role of nutrition in the body, we can see why performance improves after an athlete uses needed supplements. The calories and chemical composition of the food rations satisfied the body in relation to energy and the nutritional substances necessary for cell construction and biosynthesis of enzymes, hormones, mediators of nerve impulses and other important functions of the body. If nutrition is not adequate, various problems can arise, including a decreased resistance to illness, decreased sense of well-being, and most importantly, a decrease in mental and physical work capacity.
The body’s need for nutrients depends upon age, sex, physiological condition, physical activeness, professional work, climate and other factors. Athletes experience great muscle tension and psychic activity during extreme training and competition loads. This differentiates them from non-athletes.
The key to athletic nutrition lies in restructuring the metabolic processes so that they lead to greater adaptation to increasing physical loads and greater functional capabilities. Because of this, the quantities and combinations of food substances optimal for people of average physical activity are not optimal for athletes. Following are the main features of an athlete’s diet:
(1) The nutrition should not only compensate for used energy and food substances, but have the ability to increase work capacity and speed up recovery after intense physical loads. The latter objective is especially important. Today, as the training regimen becomes more complex with multiple trainings and short periods between eating and doing muscular work, the nutrition of athletes should be directed to a quicker return to the prework level of functioning.
In addition, the nutrition should prepare the athlete for executing the next physical loads and thus help avoid over-tensing and over-fatigue. The food should be very easy to digest. In essence, the nutritional regimen should correspond to the training and competition regimens.
(2) In planning the athletic nutrition, use a differentiated approach. Take into consideration the specifics of psychological loads and select adequate forms of nutrition in the training, pre-competitive, competitive and restorative periods.
(3) In putting together the food ration, create a favorable metabolic background for proper biosynthesis of the food combinations. (An example of a bad combination would be spinach and a calcium food, because chemicals in spinach interfere with calcium absorption.) The combinations should be chemical regulators of physiological processes that are tied in with the accomplishment of muscular activity. The food rations should be individualized for each athlete.
(4) Food factors should be used to regulate body mass to maintain the correct weight for optimal performance. To lose weight, use food products and supplements for getting to the correct weight. Also, the food products must ensure quicker development of muscle mass and strength. Training and exercise increase muscle mass, but only if the needed food products are present.
Athletes are not the same as the general population; their nutritional needs are much greater. Because of athletes’ exceedingly heavy and sometimes multiple trainings, even the best balanced diets are not capable of restoring the protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals used up in training. Nor do they provide the additional energy supplies that are needed for future trainings and performance. This is why supplements are necessary to ensure that the athlete is able to attain peak performance.
When using supplements, be sure that they are made of whole foods, not chemicals. The results you get from whole food supplements, as for example, whole food (organic) supplements as made by Standard Process, are much more significant in their positive effects.
Do not be mislead into thinking that all supplements are equal in value. Studies have shown that when you use whole food supplements the results are much different than when synthetic supplements are used. The main reason for this is that synthetic supplements often do not replicate what is included in whole food supplements. For example, Vitamin C in the synthetic version consists only of ascorbic acid but in the natural version made from whole foods, Vitamin C is considered as a complex of nutrients. Think of Vitamin C as an egg. The amniotic fluid, or the white of the egg, is ascorbic acid. However, the yolk contains many other vitamins and minerals. Together they make up Vitamin C. In the synthetic version you have only ascorbic acid, not true Vitamin C. Because of this, the results are dramatically different.
The FDA and doctors are often highly critical of natural supplements. The reason for this appears to be that some natural supplements are often superior to or equal to their synthetic counterparts. Because of the close tie in between the medical profession and the drug industry it is understandable that natural supplements are frowned upon. For example, we are told that supplements can be dangerous. What is overlooked is that only a few people a year die from the misuse of supplements. But over 120,000 people die from misuse of drugs. But it appears that because the drugs are doctor prescribed this is acceptable. The bottom line is that if you wish to attain your maximum potential in sport you should use supplements but only when needed. As the terms implies, “supplement” means to supplement your diet not to replace it.
See the chapters on nutrition and supplementation in Explosive Golf, Explosive Running, Explosive Basketball Training and Womens Soccer: Using Science to Improve Speed for more details.