Tips for a healthy diet for the football player

Edited by Dr. Devis Zamburlin

Bibliography: Dr. ENRICO ARCELLI - Practical suggestions for a healthy and rational nutrition of the player

** VERY FEW FATS. - The first rule to have an easier digestion is to reduce the fat content in the meal that precedes the meeting; above all, fried and long cooked fats should be avoided; sausages should then be excluded (with the sole exception of bresaola and defatted raw ham), fatty meats and sauces; it is also necessary to try to eliminate the obviously fatty parts of the meat, the skin of the chicken, etc. cooking fats, condiments, cheeses, whole milk must be reduced; a minimum quantity of real fats (butter, margarine, various types of oils ...) is allowed and it is by far preferable that it is raw. Fats take a long time to digest and lengthen the digestion times even of the foods with which they are associated. Once digested and arrived in the bloodstream, they negatively affect digestion through hyperlipidemia. (ie the high concentration of lipids in the blood).

** FEW PROTEIN. - In the meal before the game it is not necessary to consume proteins; you can therefore completely abstain from foods that contain it in abundance, such as meats of various types, eggs, cheeses, milk. Someone, however, out of habit, might want to hire them; in these cases it is advisable to take - as has already been said - a few slices of bresaola or raw ham carefully deprived of the white part (very rich in fat), or a limited portion of very lean meat cooked without fat.

** ABUNDANCE OF COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES. - Foods rich in carbohydrates are usually the most easily digestible and are also those that favor the increase of glycogen stores in the muscles and liver; complex carbohydrates, ie starches, such as those contained in pasta, in bread are preferred , in rice, in potatoes and so on.

** NEVER TOO MANY SIMPLE SUGARS. - It will be good to limit the quantity of simple carbohydrates, that is sugars, starting from sucrose, that is cooking sugar, and from glucose (also called dextrose). When you take several grams of these sugars at once, in fact, there is first a rapid rise in blood sugar, or "hyperglycemia". This is followed by an "entry into the blood of insulin (a hormone produced by the pancreas) in a quantity much higher than normal. The glycaemia thus tends to return to basal values; however - if the rise in the level of glucose, and consequently that of insulin, is rapid and of considerable magnitude - it can also happen that the blood sugar falls below normal values; we then speak of "reactive hypoglycemia", that is, a lowering of blood sugar due to a reaction to its excessive rise. As we said at the beginning, hypoglycemia does not allow you to express yourself at maximum efficiency. Before the meeting, therefore, you must avoid taking more than a certain (minimum) quantity of drinks or foods rich in cooking sugar. (sucrose) or glucose. Even some foods rich in starch, in truth, tend to raise blood sugar and (consequently) insulinemia, but never as abruptly as these two sugars do.

** AVOID INCORRECT PAIRINGS. - Often two foods are combined which, due to the fact that they require different digestive processes, lengthen the time of digestion. It is for this reason that it is not appropriate to eat fruit at the end of the meal when you want to have a quick digestion. Also the combination of a dish rich in starch (pasta or rice) with a protein food (steak or other types of meat, eggs, cheeses ...) requires digestion times longer than those necessary to digest only the "one or" other dish. The same can be said for the combination of two protein foods (meat and cheese; meat and eggs; eggs and cheese; milk and meat; milk and eggs ...). to consume - especially in the midday meal, especially if there is training in the afternoon - only the "single plate"; it consists of an abundant ration of a first course (or, more rarely, a second course), followed or preceded by a dish of cooked or preferably raw vegetables; in this way the digestion times are generally much shorter. On the day of the game it can be advantageous to use the single plate, obviously one consisting - in addition to vegetables - of pasta or rice.

** AVOID ALCOHOLICS. - There are those who believe that a glass of wine, a glass of amaro or a glass of spirits help to digest or play better; ethyl alcohol, to tell the truth, depresses some inhibitory functions of the brain and can give a feeling of euphoria ; but don't be under the illusion that this helps the player's performance. Alcoholic beverages should be completely eliminated from the previous evening, especially if it is expected that the game will be played with high temperature and / or humidity and with considerable solar radiation; In fact, ethyl alcohol causes a malfunction of the central nervous system, consequently changing the correct regulation of body temperature, heartbeats, and therefore also the use of energy systems.