Ensuring
a suitable carbohydrate intake before and during exertion can really improve
performance,
especially during lengthy exercise. Carbohydrates taken immediately after
exertion restore the energy used more quickly and completely.
Simple
carbohydrates consist of monosaccharides. this group includes glucose, saccharose
(common household sugar), fructose (fruit sugar), lactose (milk sugar) and
others. The complex carbohydrates consist of a number of monosaccharides chained
together: this large family includes the starches, which are plentiful in
foods such as bread, pasta, potatoes and rice.
Complex
carbohydrates yield energy gradually to the body. Simple carbohydrates are
assimilated rapidly, they are consequently ideal during exertion and constitute
the basis of energy-giving products.
Proteins
are essential to our body structure and to our muscles in particular. We
need
to absorb just under 1g per kilogram of body weight, i.e. approx 60g for
a person weighing 70kg. There are numerous forms of proteins, each made
up of
a succession of smaller "building blocks", the amino acids.
A
correct diet primarily means choosing the right foods and distributing that
food intake correctly during the day, as follows:
A
substantial breakfast, including citrus fruit juice, and wholemeal cereals
(containing plenty of roughage) softened with milk or yoghurt. White coffee
is best avoided as it is very heavy to digest.
A
frugal lunch, preferably based on carbohydrates (pasta or rice is ideal, especially
for those who will be working hard in the early afternoon) and vegetables.
A
more complete evening meal, Italian style, with a first course of pasta eaten
with a sauce, and a second course of meat, fish or cheese (although cheese
should not be eaten more than twice a week) with vegetables.
Fruit
should be eaten only between meals, its important nutrients are better assimilated
in this way, and the time taken to digest other food is not increased.
A
correct diet also means eating foods which have a high carbohydrate content
and contain little fat (especially animal fat) and which provide a sufficient
protein and roughage intake.
