Not too long ago, national history was made when the Sri Lankan athletics team secured an overall rank of 4th at the 25th Asian Athletics Championship – the highest the country has ever reached to date. This also saw the team break several national records.
Achieving feats like this is no easy task, as athletes undergo rigorous training sessions for months, sometimes even years, to build up the strength, stamina, and agility expected of them.
However, training alone does not make or break an athlete. Getting adequate sleep and having the right psyche and proper diet and nutrition are all crucial factors that come into play.
Yet, recent studies have shown that in the Sri Lankan setting, young athletes fail to reach their daily requirements of energy, proteins, minerals, and vitamins (W.A.W.S. Rupasinghe et al, 2023).
In this interview, Clinical Nutritionist and University of Colombo Faculty of Medicine Department of Physiology Senior Lecturer Professor Ranil Jayawardena speaks on the importance of sports nutrition.
Following are excerpts:
Why is nutrition especially important when it comes to athletics?
First, proper nutrition is important for everyone, for two reasons: to maintain their health and for performance. For a normal person, we are more concerned about the former whereas for an athlete, along with the need for good general wellbeing, improved performance is very important.
Around 90% of an athlete’s performance is due to genetics and training and another 5-10% can be attributed to mental wellbeing, preventing injuries, and good support. The place for nutrition is just about 5%.
However, getting proper nutrition can make all the difference in boosting the performance and giving an added advantage when it comes to competition. Although good nutrition cannot make an average athlete the best athlete, the best athlete can be average if he does not get proper nutrition.
What would an ideal diet for an athlete look like?
This is difficult to answer because there is a huge variety of sports. Some sports have a strong association with nutrition while some do not.
For example, in marathon running, an endurance sport, proper hydration and getting the energy subsets at the right time are of utmost importance. Before training, they need to load their carbs and hydrate too. During training or an event, around every 4 km, hydrating and taking simple carbs is extremely important. It is as simple as drinking sugar, close to 100% carbs.
For bodybuilders, the diet would usually consist of zero fats, zero carbohydrates, and 100% protein. The nutritional requirements also differ for weightlifters, depending on whether they are in the weight loss or weight making phase.
However, in an event like shooting, which is mainly concentration dependent, or cricket, which is mostly a matter of decision-taking, nutrition has very little importance. Thus, the ideal diet is individualised and also highly dependent on the sport.
What is the approach towards athletes who are vegetarian or vegan?
Simple answer: we shouldn’t encourage it. It is difficult for these athletes to achieve the required level of protein and certain nutrients.
A vegetarian diet is possible since they can drink milk and take milk-based supplements like whey protein and casein protein, but they do need to check their blood levels regularly and take vitamin and mineral supplements based on the results. However, for vegans, it tends to be extremely hard to achieve the required protein levels because vegan protein supplements are expensive and of low biological value.
Do supplements play a role in their nutrition?
Of course. Obviously, the cornerstone is diet – athletes should not skip meals and should have proper food habits. But for some sports and some athletes, just the meals are not enough, in which case, calorie-rich supplements are recommended. These fulfil the calorie requirements rather than improve the performance.
Marathon runners – usually small, thin people – spend around 4,000 calories per day. If they cannot get these calories from food, they are advised to take high calorie supplements. Suppose their calorie intake is sufficient, but the protein intake is insufficient, then protein supplements are recommended.
Evidence shows that whey protein improves muscle mass. Having protein early in the morning is important to preserve muscle mass and prevent breakdown, which is of particular importance for sports such as javelin throwing.
Sri Lankans usually do not have a protein-rich meal for breakfast. Therefore, bedtime protein supplements are important. Several other food supplements are available as well, but it is a step-by-step dependent course.
Additionally, there is a place for vitamin, calcium, and iron supplements, dependent on blood levels, and others like fish oil, probiotics, and essential amino acids.
How does nutritional advice change when it comes to sports injuries?
We first have to prevent injuries from occurring by having athletes take a suitable recovery meal immediately after training and ensuring that they consume adequate antioxidants in the form of vegetables in all their meals.
When injuries occur, nutrition has an important place in recovery as well, where things like protein, fruits, antioxidants, and Omega 3 will provide certain advantages in recovery. We may also have to cut down the calories at the same time, especially if it is a weight sensitive sport.
How important is hydration for an athlete?
Hydration is very important – it is a simple intervention which improves performance. It’s very common for athletes nowadays to become dehydrated, especially in a humid, hot country such as this.
There are measures athletes can take to assess their hydration levels. One is to measure their weight before and after training. If there is a weight loss, they should take a balanced water intake – for example, for half a kilogramme lost, athletes should drink at least half a litre of water.
Another simple step is to observe their urine colour – dark-coloured urine indicates dehydration. Rather than waiting for thirst symptoms to develop, athletes can follow these steps to identify and correct dehydration early.
Here in Sri Lanka, how can an athlete access proper nutritional advice?
The most important person to turn to, for an athlete, is the coach. Early on, the coaches probably give nutritional advice. Most coaches in Sri Lanka have a sports background and have some experience practising proper nutrition as well.
Other support systems for nutrition can also be found in Sri Lanka. The Institute of Sports Medicine has a dietician and several doctors who can provide the support needed. Meeting a general physician can also be of benefit.
Do you have any take-home messages for young, up and coming sportsmen and women?
Firstly, athletes should give the due importance to their nutrition as it will enhance their training. Simple measures can be taken to achieve this. One such example is having a carbohydrate-rich meal or snack before training, such as two slices of bread with jam, a bowl of cornflakes, or even a cup of rice or sweet potato.
During training, especially if it is very intense, athletes must hydrate well, while also taking carbohydrate-rich snacks during this time. Things like a banana, fruit juice, or a couple of dates are good examples. Very importantly, immediately after training, athletes need to have a meal with proteins and carbohydrates, which can be in the form of regular rice and curry with eggs, chicken, or fish. This applies to ordinary school athletes before and after an event as well.
Additionally, athletes should not skip meals and should follow basic nutritional advice, such as consuming unsaturated rather than saturated fats. The protein requirements of athletes are higher than normal individuals and should be distributed throughout the day in all three meals.
If they believe they have a weakness or deficiency, it is advised to talk to a doctor and get their blood levels checked. Vitamins and supplements also may be helpful, especially for women who could be having iron deficiencies.
References:
Rupasinghe, W.A.W.S., Perera, T.S.H., Silva, K.D.R.R., Samita, S. and Wickramaratne, M.N., 2023. Nutritional intake of sport undergraduates in Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. BMC nutrition, 9(1), p.2.