What is Sports Nutrition?

There is a universal scientific consensus that a diet can affect physical performance. A well-planned food strategy:

1. will help support any training programme, for both amateur and competitive fitness; 
2. promote efficient recovery between workouts; 
3. reduce the risk of disease or overtraining; 
4. help you to achieve the best performance.

Of course, everyone has different nutritional needs and there is no single diet suitable for everyone.

Some athletes require more calories, protein or vitamins than others; and each sport has its own unique nutritional needs, but in general, a broad scientific agreement can be found on what constitutes a healthy diet when doing sports.

The general guidelines are based on the conclusions of the International Olympic Committee Consensus Conference on Sport Nutrition in 2003 and 2010 (IOC); the Joint Position Statement of the American College of Sport Medicines, American Dietetic Association, and Dietitians of Canada (ACSM/ADA/DC, 2009) and the 2007 consensus statement of the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF, 2007).

The 2010 IOC Statement is significant because it highlights the importance of nutrition strategies in optimising elite performance. It recognises the progress of sports nutrition research since 2003, including:

1. the new concept of energy availability (energy intake minus the energy cost of exercise);
2. the importance of protein timing and intakes of 15-25g of protein after training to promote long-term maintenance or increase in muscle mass; 
3. increased carbohydrate intake (90 g/hr) for exercise over 3 hours; 
4. the importance of vitamin D for performance; 
5. the need for a personalised hydration plan to prevent dehydration and hyponatraemia. 

The process that led to the publication of these guidelines has been extremely thorough and has been based on the combined experience of many of the best sports nutrition experts in the world.