Athletes need energy, but it can be difficult to regulate the number of calories they need.
Tia Norton, Britain's number one padel tennis player, explains that her nutrition routine was probably influenced by some surprising advice from a nutritionist. “One thing I learned from that is that eating a full-fat diet is actually much better for performance. “So I cut out things like full-fat milk, bacon, and cheese. I haven't. Since incorporating full fat into my diet, I've enjoyed it so much more because I don't have to restrict myself.”
Not all Sugar Rushes are created equal
Fruits, including bananas, which are fast-digesting carbohydrates, are a convenient pre-workout snack and can also be used to provide an easy sugar infusion during many sporting activities.
But Matt Gardner, head of nutrition at Virgin Active, says energy-boosting snacks and drinks aimed at the average gym-goer can “stimulate the sweet tooth”. He feels that these tools should be used when people are “stuck” and can't find an alternative.
Sports shops enter the food market
Producer Nina meets people involved with Byteback, a youth activist group that campaigns against junk food. The range of junk food available in sports shops is staggering, including a rainbow of energy drinks, many of which boast electrolytes and B vitamins. But they didn't say much about the amount of super B vitamins, they told her. Contains processed products, chemicals, and sugar.
Many protein bars are essentially chocolate bars. On the other hand, some products were just chocolates, but had slogans on their labels such as “I Love Football,” “Man of the Match,” and “Game On” to promote associations with the sport. I did.
Alice, one of the Bite Back activists, believes junk food has become “the wallpaper of our culture”. She added: “You can play sports 24 hours a day, every day, but that's still not enough to fight the constant flood of junk food that's being pumped at you.”
