SPORTS NUTRITION

Winning formula
John Brewer traces the development of sports nutrition and considers where nutrition can benefit performance
he history of modern sport can be traced back to the Ancient Greeks, where sporting contests were a regular part of daily lives. Although food was an important part in the life of all those living in Ancient Greece, it was particularly important for athletes who devoted their lives to regular training and preparation. The diets of these athletes concentrated on protein-rich foods such as meat, cheese and sh, under the impression that these would develop the muscle size and strength that were critical components of performance in sports such as wrestling and discus throwing. Ironically, many of the Ancient Greek athletes came from the upper echelons of society where proteinrich foods were more affordable; those who were less well off had to settle for a more carbohydrate-based diet that included bread and pulses, yet one which current research has suggested is far more appropriate for anyone involved in regular sport and exercise.

Role of carbohydrates
The emphasis on protein as the main dietary component for athletes persisted for many hundreds of years, and in fact still prevails in some quarters today. However, in 1939, the German scientists Christensen and Hansen (1) were amongst the rst to question the possible role of carbohydrates as a means of enhancing endurance performance, since they found a close link between blood glucose levels, and time to exhaustion whilst exercising on a bicycle ergometer. The likely contribution
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of carbohydrate to metabolism during exercise was further emphasised by early studies which found a signicant elevation in the Respiratory Quotient (RQ) during exercise, a gure that is based on the ratio of oxygen utilised by the muscles, to the carbon dioxide that they produce. The elevated RQ during exercise was seen as a clear indication that carbohydrates were a major substrate during exercise. The post-war period saw relatively little advance in sports nutrition, with austerity and rationing making it hard for athletes to access the quality and variety of food that todays competitors take for granted. The next break through in our understanding of the bodys requirements for nutrition during exercise came with the advent of the needle biopsy technique for human muscle, enabling scientists to examine much more closely the changes that took place in muscle during and after exercise. One of the rst studies to clarify the link between carbohydrate, stored as glycogen in the muscle and liver, was that of Scandinavian researchers Bergstrom and Hultman (2) in 1966. They found that not only was time to exhaustion increased following consumption of a high carbohydrate diet but, crucially, that pre-exercise muscle

The emphasis on protein as the main dietary component for athletes persisted for many hundreds of years, and in fact still prevails in some quarters today.

glycogen stores could be increased to levels that were above normal by rstly depleting glycogen stores completely with exhaustive exercise, then consuming a high carbohydrate diet. This became known as muscle glycogen super-compensation, and resulted in the recommendation in 1967 by Swedish physiologist Astrand (3) that a dietary regimen that should be followed by many endurance athletes, and in particular marathon runners, who should run distances of around 20 miles 7 days before a marathon, to consume a low carbohydrate diet for 3 days to fully deplete all glycogen stores, then consume a high carbohydrate diet (70% of total energy from carbohydrate for 3 days), before racing. This over-loading of glycogen stores should, in theory, provide marathon runners with the additional energy needed to complete the majority of the 26.2 mile marathon distance, although for many runners this can come at a price. The 3-day period of low muscle glycogen and low carbohydrate intake can be difcult both mentally and physically, and not necessarily the best way of preparing for an important race. Furthermore, some runners report a feeling of heaviness after the carbohydrate loading regimen, possibly due to the extra glycogen storage and associated additional water retention. As a result, in the 1980s many endurance athletes moved away from traditional carbohydrate loading, and instead reduced the volume and intensity of their training before an event, whilst increasing their carbohydrate intake. Exercise scientist, Bill Sherman from the USA, was one of the rst to nd that this method was equally successful as
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depletion-loading, and is now widely used by endurance athletes in a range of sports (4). Whilst endurance athletes have long subscribed to the benets of sports nutrition, and in particular the need for a high carbohydrate diet, athletes in team sports and power sports tended to lag behind. However, during the late 1980s and 1990s, sports nutrition started to play an increasingly important role in the preparation of athletes in teams, and in sports where energy output is characterised by short, intermittent bursts of high intensity activity, rather than continuous endurance exercise. Scientists were able to show that high intensity exercise, such as sprinting and jumping, depletes glycogen stores very rapidly, and established a link between low muscle glycogen and performance towards the end of team sports such as football (5). As a consequence, many coaches started to become aware of the impact that sports nutrition could have on the performance of their teams, and became advocates of the need for high carbohydrate diets amongst their players.

Proteins and supplements

supplementation of an athletes diet may be required. Science has also shown other areas where nutrition can benet performance. Creatine, used in the muscle to help the replenishment of energy stores after short, intensive bursts of exercise, can be increased with creatine supplementation, and this has been found to improve recovery and performance when sprints or high intensity bursts of activity need to be repeated (7). Caffeine, used as a stimulant for many years, has been found to improve alertness in athletes, and hence capable of enhancing performance in sports where concentration and mental alertness are critical (8). More generally, nutritionists and scientists have rightly advocated the need for a diet that contains plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables for athletes, so that they receive the required daily intake of vitamins and minerals that are essential for the maintenance of health, especially during periods of high intensity training. As a result of increases in our knowledge of the role that sports nutrition can play in enhancing performance and supporting training across a range of sports, a large industry has developed offering sports nutrition products to athletes of all abilities. For many, these can help to support and enhance their performance, although in the majority of cases, the same benets can often be achieved by including the right foods in their normal diet. However, particularly in cases where energy intake requirements are high to support the demands of training, nutritional supplements can play a vital role in providing the energy and nutrients that many of todays top athletes require. Enhancing performance legally and safely is, of course, the main goal of all forms of sports nutrition, and athletes who either inadvertently or deliberately

Caffeine, used as a stimulant for many years, has been found to improve alertness in athletes.

consume products that are on the banned list of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA), run the risk of having their careers terminated as a result of a positive blood or urine test. Most reputable sports nutrition manufacturers will now take extensive and often expensive steps to ensure that their products are free from all WADA banned substances, offering athletes the assurance that they can be consumed safely and effectively.

Conclusions
In conclusion, sports nutrition has advanced in many ways since the days and competition of the Ancient Greeks. As a result of scientic studies, we now have a much better, and wider, understanding of the ways in which nutrition can enhance human performance, and the best foods to consume to achieve this. In todays sporting environment, the gap between success and fame, or failure and anonymity, can be millimetres or micro-seconds, and coaches and athletes in all sports know that good sports nutrition can help to make the vital difference.

Data point
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Visit the following links for reference information:
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John Brewer is Professor of Sport, Faculty of Sport and Education, Polhill Avenue, University of Bedfordshire, Bedford MK41 9EA, UK. Tel: 44 (0)1234 793443 Email: [Link]@[Link] Web: [Link]/sportbeds
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