Few people know what strenuous sport soccer really is and do not realise how important it is to pay proper attention to soccer nutrition. Referring to nutritional needs, you can draw a strong resemblance between marathon runners’ needs and those of soccer players’ nutrition.

The physical demands of soccer require a player to perform high energy actions and fast running. Marathon long distance running requires a steady pace over a certain distance. Now you still want to know what the strong resemblance is. Take into account that a soccer player change his direction about every 5 to 10 seconds, run 11 kilometers at a moderate pass and accelerates his speed between 50 to 60 times during the match.

When you are serious about soccer and want to excel as a player, the smallest of details of your eating habits can have an effect on your performance. Macronutrients, micronutrients, diets, fats, proteins and hydration all have an impact on your performance as a soccer player.

The nutritional needs of a general soccer player are underestimated badly. In general, a soccer player needs in the region of 2500 carbohydrate calories per day but only takes in about 1300 calories per day. Carbohydrates, apart from water, are regarded as the key nutrient for soccer players feeing program.

Pasta, milk, bread and fruits like bananas and appels are appropriate sources of carbohydrates to produce Glycogen. Glycogen is an important energy source for your muscles and assist players to have the appropriate endurance throughout the match. When deficient Glycogen levels are present soccer players will struggle to recuperate after a practice session or a match, complain about fatigue and suffer from poor concentration.

A high calorie count is imperative for a soccer player’s diet due to the high levels of activeness they are exposed to. Although it is recommended to limit the intake of fats, it is not a prerequisite to discard all forms of fat from their diets. Fat has low energy and nutritional values and does not provide prolonged energy. A protein intake of about 1,4 to 1,7 grams for each kilogram of body mass per day is sufficient. The main purpose of protein in the diet is to recondition your muscles and care for the immune system. In spite of all the good qualities protein has for a diet, it will not be able to provide the body with the equivalent of vigour that carbohydrates do.

Water is vital to keep the body hydrated. It is highly recommended that small rations of water are consumed during practices and matches and more so in hot weather. It is commonly known that sports drinks manufacturers claim that this beverage will assist you in obtaining the desired performance. The only part of that which is true is that it contains carbohydrates that your body takes up faster than other more complex carbohydrates. This result in a rise in your hypoglycaemic levels making you feels more energetic for a short period. Using sports drinks to substitute a meal before a match is strongly discouraged and should be used as an absolute last resort.

It is advantageous to eat about 700 counts of carbohydrates 4 hours before the start of the match and after a match has finished you must consume carbohydrates and fluids to replenish your body as soon as possible.

Tags: Nutrition

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