Nutritionists have studied the diet of Olympians

The phrase "Food is fuel" is suitable for Winter Olympians. With each season of the Olympic Games, there are many materials about what athletes eat, what "forbidden" foods they want to afford after the competition, but strict diets and nutrition rules are not as important as the need to eat enough food. This was reported on February 11 by Scientific American magazine.

"People often think that athletes need to be very strict about their diet and choose their foods carefully. [Most importantly,] many Winter Olympians actually don't eat enough," said Rebecca Hall, a nutritionist who worked with the Canadian and Australian Olympic teams.

Competing at the Winter Olympics can be very grueling: depending on the sport, athletes can be exposed to extreme cold, rapid weather changes, high altitudes, and lack of sunlight. And all this is before taking into account the enormous physical exertion and the fact that they may have very little time for meals.

The diet of Olympians depends on a combination of scientific knowledge about nutrition, personal preferences and necessity. Different people may require different combinations of nutrients, and different sports may require different calorie levels. But the main thing is that it is extremely important for athletes to get enough calories.

Lucy Mauer, a nutritionist and sports nutrition specialist at the University of Utah, emphasized that calories can have a negative connotation. However, she noted that from a scientific point of view, they are a direct source of energy.

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The number of calories required depends on the type of sport. For example, in disciplines such as individual biathlon, where athletes ski for several miles and then shoot at targets, they can spend about 7,000 calories, according to at least one estimate. For such activities, it is necessary to consume a lot of food, mainly carbohydrates.

Sports scientists recommend that athletes of such disciplines consume about 6-12 grams of carbohydrates per 1 kg of body weight per day. The reason lies in the fact that after consumption, the body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose, which is transported through the body and into the brain. Muscles and liver store glucose in the form of glycogen, the main source of energy for the body and brain. According to Mauer, maintaining these reserves at a high level is critically important.

If carbohydrates occupy gold in the diet of Winter Olympians, then proteins deserve silver, and fats deserve bronze. Mauer emphasized that protein is essential for muscle recovery and repair, as well as helping growth. According to Carrie McgOwley, professor of sports sciences at the University of Central Sweden, high–level athletes are usually recommended to eat 1.2-2 grams of protein per 1 kg of body weight per day.

After meeting their macronutrient needs, athletes need more vitamins, especially vitamin D and iron. Vitamin D is important for bone health and the functioning of the immune system. Most of it enters the body under the influence of sunlight, but Winter Olympians do not often spend time in the sun, which limits the amount of vitamin they can get from the environment.

At the same time, experts emphasize that there is no universal diet, since every Olympian has his own needs, tastes and culture, which may not agree with dietary recommendations or scientific research results.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) newspaper reported on the importance of fats for the body on February 9. According to a study, the consumption of fatty dairy products is associated with a lower risk of dementia.

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