There are many opinions regarding what and how much to eat and drink before, during and after a workout or race. Even athletes training for the same event will have very varied diets, depending on their training regimes, metabolism levels and physiology. While eating the right food can enhance your performance, eating the wrong type of food at the wrong time may not only give you an indigestion, but may even induce nausea and cramping, causing you to abort your training or race midway.
While the nutritional needs of a recreational athlete do not differ very much from someone who leads a sedentary lifestyle, it is the proportion of carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, minerals and fluids that may need to be adjusted. Endurance athletes such as marathoners and long-distance cyclists, for example, may need to increase their intake of carbohydrates, while those engaged in strength-type of sports such as weight lifters and body builders may need to up their protein intake.
It is also important to watch what you eat after your exercise, as this can affect how your body recovers as well as your performance in the next workout. The crucial re-fueling period is 30 min to 2 hours after your exercise, when you need to eat appropriate foods to replace the carbohydrates and protein used up during the exercise.
The following are some resources from the National Library Singapore on sports nutrition.
BOOKS
Clinical sports nutrition
Louise Burke & Vicki Deakin (editors)
Sydney: McGraw-Hill, c2006
Call no.: R 613.2088796 CLI
(Available for reference at the National Library Singapore)
Written for sports nutritionists, coaches, athletes and sport science professionals, this book provides comprehensive coverage on topics such as nutrition for competition, recovery foods, weight loss, eating disorders in athletes, sports supplements and recommendations for athletes with special needs such as those with diabetes and gastrointestinal disorders.
Sports nutrition for endurance athletes
Monique Ryan
Boulder, Colo.: VeloPress, 2007
Call no.: R 613.2024796 RYA
(Available for reference at the National Library Singapore)
This guide provides invaluable information to help recreational and competitive endurance athletes plan their nutrition. Topics range from optimal food and fluid choices to tips on eating for optimal performance and recovery. There are also specific nutritional guidelines for different sports, such as road cycling, distance running, swimming, rowing and adventure racing.
See also:
You may also be interested in these books from the National Library Singapore and the public libraries. To check on the availability of the listed books, you can do a search on our online catalogue at http://www.nl.sg
Sports supplements: What nutritional supplements really work
Bean, A.
London: A & C Black, 2007
Call no.: 613.20247964252 CLA
Nancy Clark's food guide for marathoners: Tips for everyday champions
Clark, N.
Aachen: Meyer & Meyer, 2007
Call no.: 797.21 JEN
Vegetarian sports nutrition Larson-Meyer, D.
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, c2007
Call no.: 613.262024796 LAR
Nutrition for health, fitness, & sport Williams, M. H.
Dubuque: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, c2007
Call no.: 613.2024796 SUN
The marathon chef: Food for getting fit Roux, M.
London: Seven Dials Paperbacks
Call no.: 613.2024796 SUN
Nutrition for marathon running Griffin, J.
Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire: Crowood Press
Call no.: 613.2024796 GRI
Eat to win for the 21st century: The Sports nutrition bible for a new generation Haas, R.
New York: New American Library, c2005
Call no.: 613.2024796 IVY
The performance zone: Your nutrition action plan for greater endurance & sports performance Ivy, J. and Portman, R.
North Bergen, N.J.: Basic Health, c2004
Call no.: 613.2024796 IVY
DATABASE ARTICLES
Newspaper articles
Caffeine boosts performance, but reactions may vary 14 October 2007, The Straits Times
Full article available from Factiva database
This article discusses how caffeine, an ingredient found in tea, coffee and powergels can be used to improve one's speed and endurance in sports. However, it can be accompanied by side effects such as dehydration, heart palpitations and headaches. The tolerance level for caffeine also differs from individual to individual.
Eat nutritious food to perform better 3 May 2008, Daily News & Analysis
Full article available from Factiva database
This article focuses on the three key ingredients in sports nutrition: carbohydrates, fluid and iron. It explains how these are utilised by the body during exercise and recommends some guidelines for food and fluid selections.
Journal articles
Eating and Drinking Lee, Yishane, Runners' World, Nov 2008, Vol. 43 Issue 11, p. 86 2p
Full article available from EbscoHost database
This article provides tips from runners on what to eat and drink before, during and after a run, with varied choices ranging from coffee and diet coke before an early morning run, gummy bears and energy bars during a long run to chocolate milk and smoothies post-exercise.
Nutrition Preparation Cort, Michelle, Modern Athlete & Coach, Oct2008, Vol. 46 Issue 4, p20 2p
Full article available from EbscoHost database
This article discusses nutrition choices for competitive athletes with guidelines on what to eat, how much to eat and at what time to eat, depending on the exercise or race duration, intensity and weather conditions.
All above articles can be viewed from the National Library Digital Library. Visit http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg Then search or browse for "Factiva" and "EbscoHost" You are required to login to the eResources before using the databases.
WEBSITES
Nutrition: Sports Performance http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/nutrition.htm This website contains links to articles on nutrition strategies targeted to help athletes perform their best during training and races. Topics range from what food to eat to help your muscles recover quickly after a workout, how sports drinks help your endurance during long training and why fat is an essential part of an athlete's diet.
Sports Nutrition http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sportsnutrition/Sports_Nutrition.htm This informative website provides advice and recommendations on a variety of sports nutrition topics, such as nutrition tips for strength training, high-protein diets, weight loss diets and sodium intake for athletes.
Australian Institute of Sports: Nutrition http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition An authoritative website that contains a wealth of information on sports nutrition, through the provision of fact sheets covering nutrition for competition and training, travel and hydration guidelines. It also includes a section on sports supplements, sample recipes with detailed nutrition breakdown information, recommended books on the topic and a FAQ section.
NEW ARRIVALS
Take a sneak peak at the new books in our libraries.
Nutrition Almanac Kirschmann, John
New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007
Call no. R 613.2 NA
This invaluable nutrition 'bible' explains in detail how different types and combinations of macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats and proteins) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals and water) are required to help improve your health and well-being. It includes an A-Z listing of over 100 ailments with specific nutrition advice provided to help in controlling and alleviating these conditions.
This book can be found at the National Library Singapore.
Search our online catalogue about the book at: http://www.nl.sg
Fitness nutrition for special dietary needs Volpe, Stella et al
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, c2007
Call Number: R 613.2024796 VOL
Suitable for dietitians, coaches and active sports people, this reference provides nutrition guidelines for different population segments who lead active lifestyles but have special dietary needs, such as children, the elderly, expecting mothers, and those who are vegetarians, overweight, have diabetes or have eating disorders or who exercise in extreme environments. Sample meal plans and exercise prescriptions are also provided in each chapter.
This book can be found at the National Library and at other NLB libraries.
Written by Sharon Teng
Reference Librarian
National Library
Reference Point Service
Have a reference enquiry to ask?
You can ask for assistance in identifying and using appropriate printed and electronic resources to meet your information needs. The reference librarians at the National Library will provide answers to queries, suggest search strategies and guide you to relevant and useful resources.
