Nutrition

How to ensure your athletes eat healthily

Brian Mackenzie explains how to determine your nutritional requirements.

Food provides the nutrients to help the body function properly. No single food contains them all in the amounts needed so a mixture of foods has to be eaten. Food is broken down into food groups of which there are five commonly accepted ones:

Bread, cereals and potatoes
Fruit and vegetables
Milk and diary foods
Meat, fish and alternatives
Fatty and sugary foods

To get the wide range of nutrients the body needs to remain healthy it is important to choose a variety of foods from the first four groups every day. Foods in the fifth group (fatty and sugary foods) are not essential to a healthy diet but add extra choice and taste. The proportion of each food group in the diet is shown by the different area occupied by each of the food groups on the plate in the picture below.

Healthy Eating

This guide does not apply to children under the age of five and if you are under medical supervision or with special dietary needs you should check with your doctor to be clear if this guide applies to you.

Bread, other cereals and potatoes

Includes	Other cereals means things like breakfast cereals, pasta, rice, oats, noodles, maize, millet and cornmeal. Beans and pulses can be eaten as part of this group.
Nutrients	Carbohydrate (starch), Fibre, some calcium and iron, B Vitamins
How much	Eat lots
Try to eat	Wholemeal, wholegrain, brown or high fibre versions where possible
Try to avoid	Having them fried too often (e.g. chips) Adding too much fat (e.g. thickly spread butter, or margarine on bread) Adding rich sauces and dressings (e.g. cream or cheese sauce on pasta)

Fruit & Vegetables

Includes	Fresh, frozen and canned fruit and vegetables and dried fruit. A glass of fruit juice can also contribute. Beans and pulses can be eaten as part of this group.
Nutrients	Vitamin C, Carotenes, Folates, Fibre and some carbohydrate
How much	Eat lots.
Try to eat	A wide variety of fruit and vegetables.
Try to avoid	Adding fat or rich sauces to vegetables (e.g. carrots glazed with butter, roast parsnips) Adding sugar or syrupy dressing to fruit (e.g. stewed apple with sugar)

Milk & dairy foods

Includes	Milk, cheese, yoghurt and fromage frais. This group does not include butter, eggs and cream.
Nutrients	Calcium Protein, Vitamin B12, Vitamins A and D
How much	Moderate amounts and choose lower fat versions whenever you can.
Try to eat	Lower fat versions means semi-skimmed or skimmed milk, low fat (0.1% fat) yoghurts or fromage frais, and lower fat cheeses (e.g. Edam, Half-fat Cheddar, Camembert). Check the amount of fat by looking at the nutrient information on the labels. Compare similar products and choose the lowest - for example 8% fat fromage frais may be labelled low fat but is not actually the lowest available.

Meat, fish and alternatives

Includes	Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, beans and pulses. Meat includes bacon and salami and meat products such as sausages, beef burgers and pate. These are all relatively high fat choices. Beans, such as canned baked beans and pulses are in this group. Fish includes frozen and canned fish such as sardines and tuna, fish fingers and fish cakes.
Nutrients	Iron, Protein, B Vitamins - specially B12, Zinc and Magnesium
How much	Eat moderate amounts and choose lower fat versions whenever you can.
Try to eat	Lower fat versions means things like meat with the fat cut off, poultry without the skin and fish without batter. Cook these foods without added fat. Beans and pulses are good alternatives to meat as they are naturally very low in fat.

Fatty and sugary foods

Includes	Margarine, low fat spread, butter, other spreading fats, cooking oils, oily salad dressings or mayonnaise, cream, chocolate, crisps, biscuits, pastries, cake, puddings, ice- cream, rich sauces and fatty gravies, sweets and sugar.
Nutrients	Some vitamins and essential fatty acids but also a lot of fat, sugar and salt
How much	Eat fatty and sugary foods sparingly - that is, infrequently and/or in small amounts.
Try to eat	Some foods from this group will be eaten every day, but should be kept to small amounts, for example; margarine, low fat spread, butter, other spreading fats, cooking oils, oily salad dressings or mayonnaise. Other foods from this group really are occasional foods, for example; cream, chocolate, crisps, biscuits, pastries, cake, puddings, ice-cream, rich sauces and fatty gravies, sweets and sugar.

How much do we need

People differ in the amount of calories they require each day and that is what affects the amount of food, in total, that individuals should eat. However much people need, the proportions of food from the different groups should remain the same.

The factors that affect people's daily energy requirements are:

Gender - women tend to need less calories than men
Age - older adults need less calories than adolescents and young adults
Overweight - being heavier than their ideal weight means less calories is required to achieve a healthy weight
Physically active - the more active a person is, the greater their calorie needs

Vitamin and mineral supplements

Vitamin and mineral supplements cannot replace good eating habits. Most people can get all the nutrients their body needs by choosing a variety of foods, in the proportions shown, from the five food groups.

Some people may need certain supplements. Women who are already, or planning to become pregnant need folic acid, and, may need extra iron. Elderly people may need extra Vitamin D and/or iron. People should consult a doctor or dietitian if they think they need to take a vitamin or mineral supplement.

About the Author

Brian Mackenzie is a UK Athletics level 4 performance coach and a coach tutor/assessor. He has been coaching sprint, middle distance and combined event athletes for the past 20+ years and has 35+ years experience as an endurance athlete. Brian can be contacted through his website at www.brianmac.co.uk

Article Reference

Mackenzie B. (2003), "How to ensure your athletes eat healthily", Brian Mackenzie's Successful Coaching (ISSN 1745-7513), Issue 6

Athlete Recipes

Athlete Recipes contains a variety of delicious menu solutions for dedicated athletes to meet their nutritional and energy needs.

As an athlete herself, Sylita understands exactly what those needs are. As a great cook, she also knows what tastes good!

Select this link for more information on "Athlete Recipes".

Fat Loss Revealed

Fat Loss Revealed is a complete blue print to fat loss success.

Everything you need to know about diet and nutrition, fat loss supplements, training and the mental edge are covered in Will Brink`s ultimate guide.

Select this link for more information on "Fat Loss Revealed".

Associated Pages

The following Sports Coach pages should be read in conjunction with this page: