Today is the last competition day of the Beijing Winter Olympics, and the Chinese delegation continues to refresh the best results, create historic breakthroughs, and prove the strength of Chinese sports in front of the world.
The achievement of achievements and honors is inseparable from the athletes' hard-working preparation training day and night and the unswerving support of the people of the motherland. As an indispensable member behind the brilliant achievements, sports nutrition technology guarantee provides strong support for the Chinese national team in the preparation for the Winter Olympics day and night.
If you love ice and snow sports, do you also want to understand how nutrition can help ice and snow sports?
Exercise in low temperatures
Many challenges
Winter sports athletes, who often need to train and compete in extreme environments with severe cold and low temperatures, medium and high altitudes, face multiple nutritional challenges. These include: increased energy expenditure, accelerated consumption of muscle glycogen and liver glycogen, increased fluid loss, motor anemia and increased levels of individual oxidative stress.
Due to differences in physiological physical characteristics, energy supply systems and training venues, the nutritional needs of athletes are similar but different. For Chinese athletes, learning to eat correctly and doing "eating is training" can give play to "nutrition is combat effectiveness".
When the ambient temperature is below minus 10 degrees Celsius, it is a low temperature environment. Exercise training in a low temperature environment will face challenges such as low body temperature, dehydration and energy supply cannot keep up with the needs.
First, under the unified regulation of the cerebral cortex and the hypothalamic thermoregulation center, the body regulates thermogenesis and heat dissipation through neuro-humoral regulation, and maintains constant body temperature. However, due to uncertain exposure factors, frostbite or cold damage may occur due to prolonged cold conditions or cold external environments.
Second, the low temperature increases the energy consumption of the human body, mainly because of maintaining body temperature, coupled with increased activity, shivering, nervousness, etc., the basal metabolism can increase by 10% to 15%, and the total energy needs to increase by 5% to 25%. In this case, the proportion of the body's energy from carbohydrates is reduced, the protein production capacity is higher than normal or slightly higher, and the fat production capacity ratio is relatively higher, reaching 30% to 35% of the total energy. At this time, people's preference for high-energy, high-fat foods and hot foods will be correspondingly higher than in warm environments.
Third, it is easy to experience water shortage or dehydration, due to heavy clothing and heavy sweating caused by difficult movement. Cold can stimulate polyuria, while active drinking is also inhibited. All of these behaviors increase the risk of dehydration. Exercise dehydration, which causes the loss of water and sodium and potassium ions in the body, has a certain impact on health and exercise ability. Manifestations include thirst and oliguria, and increased heart rate, nausea and anorexia, muscle twitching, and fatigue, all of which reduce athletic performance.
Four main points
Enhance combat power in ice and snow
Exercise in a low temperature environment, the body's energy and various nutrient requirements have increased, corresponding to the following dietary recommendations:
Adjust the ratio of the supply of the three macro nutrients, increase the supply of carbohydrates and fats, eat more starchy staple foods, and match the intake of high-quality protein.
Ensure plenty of vegetables and fruits and red meats, such as peeled pigs, beef and mutton. This allows for an adequate supply of vitamin C and iron, and other sources such as vitamin B1, vitamin B2, niacin and vitamin A, and the mineral zinc and magnesium are also increased accordingly.
Pay attention to the rehydration before and after exercise, and provide hot water, hot tea or warm sports drinks when conditions permit, of which the proportion of carbohydrates is 6% to 8%. According to the duration of exercise and water loss, appropriate amounts of sodium and potassium ions should be supplemented, and it is recommended that the daily water intake be no less than 4% of their own body weight.
Increase the frequency of daily meals, and arrange additional meals and late meals in the training room or between meals according to the actual training plan. However, it is necessary to pay attention to the choice of additional food, meal method, and eating time to avoid affecting the intake of three meals a day. Small, portable, and easily digestible packaged foods such as pastries, bananas, energy bars, and chocolate milk are recommended for meals.
Participate in snow sports
Note the following points
Nowadays, with the convening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, more and more public groups have begun to pay attention to ice and snow sports. When ordinary people participate in ice and snow sports, they must pay attention to the following points:
Pay attention to dietary balance, not picky eating, no diet, diversified diet, choose vegetables and fruits of different colors and a variety of foods containing high-quality protein.
Ensure adequate energy sources, pay attention to food supply and replenishment before and after exercise, and focus on foods that maintain muscle and endurance. Do not eat in time due to cold conditions or venue restrictions, fasting exercise or long-term exercise. Before exercising, you should pay attention to the supplement of carbohydrate foods, and easy-to-digest main foods can be used as the first choice, such as: bread, rice, and noodles. After exercise, you can eat some high-carb snacks such as biscuits, energy bars, bananas, etc., and replenish your energy at any time.
Learn to replenish fluids in small quantities and multiple times in a timely manner, and drink water as appropriate according to your own gastrointestinal situation. Sports drinks are also a good choice. Avoid excessive exercise, exhaustion of energy, muscle fatigue and body damage.
Pay attention to the supplement of calcium, magnesium, iron and other elements, and drink more calcium-rich foods such as milk, yogurt, and cheese to maintain bone health.
Author: Sports Nutrition Center, Institute of Sports Medicine, General Administration of Sport
Wang Qirong, head of the technical team of the resident nutritionist of the national team preparing for the Olympic Games
National Bobsleigh Team Sports Nutritionist Cao Chenliang
National Cross-Country Ski Team Sports Nutritionist Zhu Pei
Review: Expert of the National Health Science Popularization Expert Database
Professor Li Keji, School of Public Health, Peking University
Curator: Tan Jia
Editor: Yu Yunxi