© Jones and Bartlett Publishers. NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION.
                                                               Introduction to
                           1 Sports Nutrition
                  ■ What is sports nutrition?
                  ■ Why study sports nutrition?
                  ■ What are the basic nutrients?
                  ■ How does the body produce energy?
                  ■ What are the Dietary Reference Intakes?
                  ■ What are enriched and fortified foods?
                  ■ What are the basic nutrition guidelines?
                  ■ How should athletes interpret the information on food labels?
                  ■ What are the factors to consider when developing an individualized sports nutrition plan for athletes?
                  ■ How can sports nutrition knowledge be converted into practical applications?
                                     © Jones and Bartlett Publishers. NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION.
                ennifer is a 42-year-old tennis player. She states that recently her energy levels have dropped
                and she has had a hard time recovering from long tennis matches. She also complains of being
            J
                “hungry all the time.” The constant hunger has been frustrating because she is trying to main-
            tain her current weight and thus attempting to control her total daily intake. She has been “eating
            well” since she found out two years ago that she has high cholesterol. She counseled with a dieti-
            tian at the time of her diagnosis and subsequently made major changes in her diet such as switch-
            ing to nonfat foods and eliminating dairy. Her goals are to increase her energy levels, decrease
            recovery time, and create a meal plan that will also be healthy for her husband and three sons.
            Question
            ■  What should be considered her top priority—her high cholesterol, struggle to maintain 
               her weight, constant hunger, low energy levels, or long recovery time?
                                                                                                                 3
                                                          © Jones and Bartlett Publishers. NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION.
                     What is sports nutrition?                                                        by busy schedules of exercise, competitions, work,
                                                                                                      school, and other commitments. It is this third step
        sports nutrition A recent       Sports nutrition is a specialization                          that many professionals lack after graduating from
        specialty area of study         within the field of nutrition that part-                      an undergraduate or graduate program in sports nu-
        and practice within the         ners closely with the study of the hu-                        trition, dietetics, exercise science, or athletic train-
        field of nutrition.             man body and exercise science. Sports                         ing. The focus of this book is to review sports
                  nutrition can be defined as the application of nutri-                               nutrition concepts while also translating the infor-
                  tion knowledge to a practical daily eating plan fo-                                 mation into specific meal plans, recipes, and case
                  cused on providing the fuel for physical activity,                                  study scenarios. Students are encouraged to seek ad-
                  facilitating the repair and rebuilding process fol-                                 ditional opportunities outside the classroom to work
                  lowing hard physical work, and optimizing athletic                                  with recreational and elite athletes to gain more ex-
                  performance in competitive events, while also pro-                                  perience in applying sports nutrition concepts before
                  moting overall health and wellness. The area of sports                              searching for a job in the “real world.”
                  nutrition is often thought to be reserved for only
                  “athletes,” which insinuates the inclusion of only                                     Why study sports nutrition?
                  those individuals who are performing at the elite
                  level. In this text, the term athlete refers to any in-                             Sports nutrition has recently emerged as a rec-
                  dividual who is regularly active, ranging from the                                  ognized specialty area within the field of nutri-
                  fitness enthusiast to the competitive amateur or pro-                               tion. Athletes challenge their bodies on a regular
                  fessional. Differences may exist in specific nutrient                               basis through physical training and competitions.
                  needs along this designated spectrum of athletes, cre-                              In order to keep up with the demands of their
                  ating the exciting challenge of individualizing sports                              activity or sport, athletes need to adequately fuel
                  nutrition plans.                                                                    their bodies on a daily basis. This fueling process
                        In order to fully understand and subsequently                                 requires a specialized approach; therefore, ath-
                                                 apply sports nutrition con-                          letes who want to make dietary changes should
                                                   cepts, professionals instruct-                     seek out professionals who are experts in sports
         gaining the performance edge              ing athletes on proper eating                      nutrition and experienced in developing individ-
           The field of sports nutrition           strategies first need to have a                    ualized plans.
           requires a command of                   command of general nutri-                                Because of its relative in-
           general nutrition and                   tion as well as exercise sci-                      fancy, sports nutrition research
           exercise science, an                    ence. The second step is to                        is providing new and exciting                           gaining the performance edge
           understanding of their                  gain the knowledge of how                          information on a regular basis.
           interrelationship, and the              nutrition and exercise science                                                                        The field of sports nutrition
           knowledge of how to                                                                        Over the years, this informa-                      is growing, and thus
           practically apply sports                are intertwined, understand-                       tion has been compiled to form                     creating a demand for
           nutrition concepts. This text           ing that physical training and                     dietary guidelines geared specif-                  qualified sports nutrition
           provides a review of the                dietary habits are reliant on                      ically for athletes. Profession-                   professionals. In order to 
           current sports nutrition                each other in order to pro-                        als who have studied sports                        be considered an “expert”
           research, established                   duce optimal performance.                          nutrition and have experience                      in sports nutrition, a
           dietary recommendations                                                                                                                       professional must obtain
           for athletes, and guidance              The final step can be consid-                      in the field can help athletes in-                 the appropriate education
           on how to develop                       ered one of the most critical—                     terpret research and determine                     and certification
           individualized nutrition                the practical application of                       how, or if, the information re-                    background as well as
           plans for athletes                      sports nutrition knowledge to                      lates to their sport and indi-                     hands-on experience
           participating in various                individual athletes partici-                       vidual needs.                                      working with athletes.
           sports.                                 pating in any sport or physi-
                                                                                                            Studying sports nutrition
                                                   cal activity.                                      and becoming an expert requires years of educa-
                        Sports nutrition professionals must be able to                                tion and experience. The last chapter of this text out-
                  teach athletes how to put “book” knowledge into                                     lines the traditional pathway to becoming an expert
                  practice with actual food selection and meal plan-                                  in this area, which can lead to an exciting and ful-
                  ning, while keeping in mind the challenges presented                                filling career.
                  4          CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Sports Nutrition
                                                            © Jones and Bartlett Publishers. NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION.
                     What are the basic nutrients?                                                        ily tissues and are therefore critical for recovery from
                                                                                                          intense physical training. Proteins ensure the body
                  Foods and beverages are composed of six nutrients                                       stays healthy and continues working efficiently by
                  that are vital to the human body for producing en-                                      aiding in many bodily processes. Protein can also be
                  ergy, contributing to the growth and development of                                     used for energy, providing 4 calories per gram; how-
                  tissues, regulating body processes, and preventing de-                                  ever, it is not used efficiently and therefore is not a
                  ficiency and degenerative diseases. The six nutrients                                   source of energy preferred by the body. Proteins are
                  are carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals,                                  found in a variety of foods including grains and veg-
                                       and water. These six nutrients are clas-                           etables, but are mainly concentrated in the milk/
        essential A nutrition          sified as essential nutrients. The body                            alternative as well as meat and beans/alternative (soy
        descriptor referring to        requires these nutrients to function                               products, nuts, seeds, beans, and other nonanimal
        nutrients that must be         properly; however, the body is unable                              products) group.
        obtained from the diet.        to endogenously manufacture them in                                What are fats?
        macronutrients These           the quantities needed daily, and there-
        include carbohydrates,                                                                            Fats consist of oils and fat-like substances found in
        proteins, and fats and         fore these nutrients must be obtained                              foods such as cholesterol and phospholipids. Fats
        are classified as such         from the diet. Carbohydrates, proteins,                            are commonly referred to as lipids. With 9 calories
        because they have              and fats are classified as macronutri-
        caloric value and the                                                                             per gram, fats are a concentrated source of energy.
        body has a large daily         ents because they have a caloric value                             Fat is primarily used as a fuel at rest and during low-
        need for them.                 and the body needs a large quantity of                             to-moderate intensity exercise. Fats are also involved
        micronutrients Vitamins        these nutrients on a daily basis. The                              in providing structure to cell membranes, aiding in
        and minerals are               micronutrients include vitamins and                                the production of hormones, lining of nerves for
        classified as                  minerals; the prefix micro- is used be-
        micronutrients because                                                                            proper functioning, and facilitating the absorption
        the body’s daily               cause the body’s daily requirements for                            of fat-soluble vitamins. Fats are concentrated in but-
        requirements for these         these nutrients are small. Water fits into                         ter, margarines, salad dressings, and oils, but are also
        nutrients are small.           its own class, and requirements for it
                  vary greatly among individuals. These nutrients will                                    found in meats, dairy products, nuts, seeds, olives,
                  be introduced in this section; individual chapters later                                avocados, and some grain products.
                  in this book will provide a more thorough review                                        What are vitamins?
                  of their application to athletics.                                                      Vitamins are a large class of nutrients that contain
                  What are carbohydrates?                                                                 carbon and hydrogen, as well as possibly oxygen, ni-
                                                                                                          trogen, and other elements. There are two main re-
                  Carbohydrates are compounds constructed by car-                                         quirements for a substance to be classified as a
                  bon, hydrogen, and oxygen molecules. Carbo-                                             vitamin. First, the substance must be consumed ex-
                  hydrates are converted into glucose in the body,                                        ogenously because the body cannot produce it or
                  providing the main source of fuel (4 calories per gram                                  cannot produce it in sufficient quantities to meet
                  of carbohydrate) for all physical activity. Carbohy-                                    its needs. Second, the substance must be essential
                  drates are found in a wide variety of foods includ-                                     to at least one vital chemical reaction or process in
                  ing grains, fruits, and vegetables, as well as in the                                   the human body. Vitamins do not directly provide
                  milk/alternative (soy, rice, nut, or other nondairy                                     energy to the body; however, some vitamins aid in
                  products) group.                                                                        the extraction of energy from macronutrients. Vit-
                  What are proteins?                                                                      amins are involved in a wide variety of bodily func-
                                                                                                          tions and processes that help to keep the body healthy
                  Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, con-                                   and disease-free. Vitamins are classified as either wa-
                  structed by carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitro-                                        ter soluble (B vitamins and vitamin C) or fat solu-
                  gen molecules. Amino acids can be made within the                                       ble (vitamins A, D, E, and K), depending on their
        nonessential A nutrient        body (nonessential) or required from                               method of absorption, transport, and storage in 
        descriptor referring to        dietary sources (essential). Proteins are                          the body. Vitamins are found in nearly all foods in-
        nutrients that can be          involved in the development, growth,                               cluding fruits, vegetables, grains, meat and beans/
        made within the body.          and repair of muscle and other bod-                                alternative, milk/alternative, and some fats.
                                                                                                                                          What are the basic nutrients?                5