What are the priorities for recovery nutrition?
Recovery is a challenge for athletes who are undertaking two or more
sessions each day, training for prolonged periods, or competing in a
program that involves multiple events. Between each work-out, the body
needs to adapt to the physiological stress. In the training situation,
with correct planning of the workload and the recovery time, adaptation
allows the body to become fitter, stronger and faster. In the competition
scenario, however, there may be less control over the work-to-recovery
ration. A simpler but more realistic goal may be to start all events in
the best shape possible.
Recovery encompasses a complex range of process that include:
- restoring the muscles and liver with expended fuel
- replacing the fluid and electrolytes lost in sweat
- allowing the immune system to handle the damage and challenges
causes by the exercise bout
- manufacturing new muscle protein, red blood cells and other cellular
components as part of the repair and adaptation process.
The importance of each of these goals varies according to the workout -
for example, how much fuel was utilised? Was muscle damage caused? Did
the athlete lose much sweat? Was a stimulus presented to increase muscle
protein? A pro-active recovery means providing the body with all the
nutrients it needs, in a speedy and practical manner, to optimise the
desired processes following each session. State-of-the-art guidelines for
each of the following issues are presented below:
- Refueling
The muscle can restore its fuel (glycogen) levels by about 5 per cent
per hour, provided that enough carbohydrate is eaten. Depending on the
fuel cost of the training schedule and the need to fuel up to race, a
serious athlete may need to consume 6-10g pf carbohydrate per kg body
weight each day (300 -700g per day). If the time between prolonged
training sessions is less than 8hrs, it makes sense to use all of this
period for effective refueling. To kick-start this process an intake of
at least 1g/kg of carbohydrate - 50-100g for most athletes - is needed.
This has lead to the advice that athletes should consume carbohydrate -
either their next meal, or at least a snack - as soon as possible after
an exhausting workout, to prepare for the next.
- Rehydration
Most athletes finish training or competition sessions with some
level of fluid deficit. In hot conditions or after strenuous sessions,
fluid losses are usually large and require a focused effort to rehydrate
after the workout. In this case, comparing pre- and post-session
measurements of body weight can provide an approximation of the overall
fluid deficit. Athletes may need to replace 150 per cent of the fluid
deficit to get back to baseline - for example, if you are 2kg lighter (2
litres lighter) at the end of the session, you will need to drink 3
litres of fluid over the next hours to fully replace the existing and
ongoing fluid losses.
- Immune System
n general, the immune system is suppressed by intensive training, with
many parameters being reduced or disturbed during the hours following a
work-out. This may place athletes at risk of succumbing to an
infectious illness during this time. Many nutrients or dietary factors
have been proposed as an aid to the immune system - for example,
vitamins C and E, glutamine, zinc and echinacea - but none of these have
proved to provide universal protection. The most recent evidence points
to carbohydrate as one of the most promising nutritional immune
protectors. Consuming carbohydrate during and/or after a prolonged or
high-intensity work-out has been shown to reduce the disturbance to
immune system markers. Carbohydrate intake may be beneficial for a
number of reasons. For example, it reduces the stress hormone response
to exercise thus minimising its effect on the immune system. It also
supplies glucose to fuel the activity of many of the immune system white
cells.
- Muscle Repair and Building
Prolonged and high-intensity exercise causes a substantial
breakdown of muscle protein. During the recovery phase there is a
reduction in catabolic (breakdown) processes and a gradual increase in
anabolic (building) processes. Recent research has shown that early
intake of essential amino acids from good quality protein foods helps to
promote the increase in protein rebuilding. In fact, protein consumed
immediately after, or in the case of resistance training work-outs,
immediately before the session, is taken up more effectively by the
muscle into rebuilding processes, than protein consumed in the hours
afterwards. However, the protein needs to be consumed with carbohydrate
foods to maximise this effect. Carbohydrate intake stimulates an
insulin response, which potentiates the increase in protein uptake and
rebuilding.
How does recovery eating fit into the big picture of nutrition goals?
For the athlete who is undertaking two or more training sessions each
day, eating for recovery plays a substantial role in the daily food
schedule and in total nutrient uptake. Either meals (which generally
supply all the nutrients needed for recovery) must be timetabled so that
they can be eaten straight after the work-out, or special recovery snacks
must be slotted in to cover nutrient needs until the next meal can be
eaten. These recovery snacks then need to be counted towards total daily
intake.
For athletes who have high-energy needs, these snacks add a useful
contribution towards the total day's kilojoule needs. When there is a
large kilojoule budget to play with, it may not matter too much if the
snacks only look after the key recovery nutrients - for example
carbohydrate - or contain extra kilojoules from fat. On the other hand,
for the athlete whose skinfold goals require a careful attitude to
kilojoule intake, recovery snacks may need to be low in fat, and count
towards meeting daily needs for vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.
Snacks that can supply special needs for calcium, iron or other nutrients
may double up as recovery snacks and good overall choices.
What are the practical considerations for recovery eating?
Some athletes finish sessions with a good appetite, so most foods are
appealing to eat. On the other hand, a fatigued athlete may only feel
like eating something that is compact and easy to chew. When snacks need
to be kept or eaten at the training venue itself, foods and drinks that
require minimal storage and preparation are useful. At other times,
valuable features of recovery foods include being portable and able to
travel interstate or overseas without penalties from customs officials,
being individually packaged and sealed for the benefit of lengthy nights
of drug testing, or being labelled with nutritional information so that
the athlete can check how much they need to consume to meet their recovery
goals. Situations and challenges in sport change from day to day, and
between athletes - so recovery snacks need to be carefully chosen to meet
these needs.
What is the bottom line for lollies?
For occasions or individual athletes, who want an easily consumed
source of simple carbohydrates, lollies are a suitable choice. Like many
other carbohydrate foods, lollies will help in meeting refueling goals.
However, lollies do not provide protein, fluid or other nutrients that
could be important in other recovery processes. Therefore, other recovery
snacks should be eaten in addition to, or instead of, lollies to fulfill
the complete recovery picture. Many coaches complain that athletes don't
stop at the 60g of lollies that might be needed to kick-start glycogen
synthesis after a work-out or event - in fact, lollies often come in jumbo
family size packs of 500g or more, and are likely to be consumed in
excess. The bottom line is that each athlete needs to judge their
recovery needs and plan an eating pattern that fits their total package.
The following table provides ideas for snacks providing carbohydrate, as
well as carbohydrate-protein combinations.
Carbohydrate-rich recovery snacks
(50g CHO portions)
700-800ml sports drink
2 sports gels
500ml fruit juice or soft drink
300ml carbohydrate loader drink
60-70g packet jelly beans or jubes
2 slices toast/bread with jam or honey or banana topping
1 large chocolate bar (80g)
2 cereal bars
1 cup thick vegetable soup + large bread roll
115g (1 large or 2 small) American muffins, fruit buns or scones
300g creamed rice
300g (large) baked potato with salsa filling
100g pancakes (2 stack) + 30g syrup
Nutritious carbohydrate-protein recovery snacks
(contain 50g CHO + valuable source of protein and
micronutrients)
250-300ml liquid meal supplement
250-300ml milk shake or fruit smoothie
1-2 sports bars (check labels for carbohydrate and protein content)
1 large bowl (2 cups) breakfast cereal with milk
1 large or 2 small cereal bars + 200g carton fruit-flavoured yoghurt
220g baked beans on 2 slices of toast
1 bread roll with cheese/meat filling + large banana
300g ( bowl) fruit salad with 200g fruit-flavoured yoghurt
2 crumpets with thick spread peanut butter + 200ml flavoured milk
300g (large) baked potato + cottage cheese filling + glass of milk
200g (1/3 -1/4 pizza) with chicken/meat and vegetables
Written by Louise Burke and the Department of Sports Nutrition, AIS ©
Australian Sports Commission 2004
