Soccer diet and nutrition is one of the most important aspects in soccer. It provides players with energy for trainings and 90 minute matches. A lot of soccer players do not realize how important their diet is to the game. A lot of them believe that simply through heavy training, they can get their bodies at maximum potential. Although it’s true that training is very important in that sense, a carefully balanced diet will be the catalyst for a healthy body that can perform well under the stressful conditions that a soccer player must go through in practice or matches.
There are 4 aspects to a healthy soccer intake:
· Macronutrients
· Micronutrients
· Diet
· Hydration
A typical soccer player will cover 7-10 kilometers in a single 90 minute match. They will usually sprint for 800-1200 meters, accelerate and change their speeds 40-60 different times and change direction every 5 seconds or so. This also means that they will lose around 2-5 liters of fluid from their sweat glands so hydration is also very important.
Macronutrients are nutrients that the body needs in large quantities. They contain chemical elements that the body needs in order to function properly and at the highest level, such as carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and phosphorus. They also include carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
Just like macronutrients, micronutrients are elements which the body needs to function properly, but in this case only small quantities are required. The main chemical elements in the list of micronutrients includes boron, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, zinc, chlorine and molybdenum and although a deficiency in any of these won't affect your body as much as a macronutrient deficiency would, they're definitely needed if you want to maximize your body's potential.
Carbohydrate is the main source of energy for soccer players. They need to have 2400-3000 carbohydrate calories a day for maximum performance. Soccer utilizes glycogen which is the form of energy stored in leg muscles. The high average intensity of football play accelerates glycogen depletion. Plus, the time duration of a football match, 90 minutes, is more than enough to empty leg muscles of most of their glycogen. In fact, research has shown that football players sometimes deplete 90 per cent of their muscle glycogen during a match, more than enough to heighten fatigue and dramatically reduce running speeds.
Hydrating your body during soccer is very important. Get drinks such as water and sport drinks as often as possible as your body will work at maximum potential when it is fully hydrated. The better the body is hydrated, the better it will be able to keep its at a high level and fatigue will also settle in harder than with a person who is suffering from mild dehydration. Water can be used to hydrate you but sports drinks are better in some cases as they contain carbohydrates which can’t be found in water, and they contain glucose which can help reduce fatigue and muscle tiredness. It also has taste which means it can be consumed in large quantities.
Eating a normal course before a match will have its disadvantages. Therefore it is important that you find something to eat that is light but provides you with a good source of energy. You might want to consider eating fruit and vegetables along with bread. Through my own experience, pasta, chicken, fish and potatoes are the most common dish eaten before a match by professional players as they contain the most carbohydrates. You might also want to consider the GI (Glycemic Index) value of the foods you eat. Before matches, it's recommended that the food you eat contains as low GI value as possible because low GI foods help conserve energy and prolongs physical endurance.
Post match meals are as important as pre match meals. Your post match diet will have to cover all the nutrients you lost in your recent effort and get your muscles in shape again. Post match diets usually contain a lot of fluid and a good stream of carbohydrates can make you recover faster and easier. In this situation, high GI food works best as high GI food helps you replenish carbohydrate stores quicker after a match, since they get depleted after extensive effort.
All of this comes to one important factor, diet. Carbohydrate intake is the most important is it is the body’s fuel. Fat consumption must be minimized in the diet because they are not an efficient provider of energy. Although there is a lot of energy stored in fat, a long duration sport like football uses glycogen mainly found in carbohydrates to fuel its body.
http://www.soccer-fans-info.com/soccer-nutrition.html
http://expertfootball.com/training/nutrition.php
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/football-nutrition.html
http://www.glycemicindex.com/
For additional information on Soccer Glycmic Index Foods, click this