Edited by Dr. Devis Zamburlin
Bibliography: Dr. ENRICO ARCELLI - Practical suggestions for a healthy and rational nutrition of the player
Dietology applied to football
Also in football, as in many other sports, dietetics has made a lot of progress and in recent years more and more trainers and technicians have become interested in this important issue, which is an integral part of an athlete's improvement.
Power and the Match
The match represents the most important moment for the player, that of verifying his worth and the work done during the week; this is why it is always necessary to follow an "adequate diet. In order to achieve the highest competitive performance, it will be essential to choose a" diet that includes correct food and drink before and during the match. The way to feed after it will also be important for a better recovery, allowing the athlete to present himself to the next workout in optimal conditions. In fact, modern football requires close engagements and many times it happens that you have to play another match after less than three days.
Before the game
In the feeding that precedes the match even today various mistakes are made by the players, whether they are professionals, whether they play in the lower categories or in the youth categories. Some of these errors sometimes do not affect the performance of the match only because the players - especially the young ones - they enjoy digestive capacities well above the norm, thus managing to have no problems. Sometimes the young age also helps when you take foods that are not recommended or combined incorrectly. In other situations, however, the errors that occur occur are not immediately visible, but determine a worsening of efficiency during the race and the season (alcohol, smoke, etc.).
Very Prolonged Fasting
Athletes and trainers cannot underestimate the fact that the intake of food and drink should never take place for a long time, because it could have negative influences on the physical characteristics, and possibly on the psychic ones of the player. The consequences of an incorrect diet can create situations of different types:
fasting hypoglycemia, reactive hypoglycemia and hyperlipidemia which, especially if combined with the consequences of the onset of fatigue, can cause a significant deterioration in performance.
If it is true, therefore, that the incorrect intake of food can harm, it is also true that it is also important that the player does not go to the game fasting for several hours; just to give an example, playing in the morning the athlete must not get to the fasting camp. The consequence would be, the "" hypoglycemia ", that is to say the lowering of the level of glucose in the blood; as a result, the player would complain of lack of clarity during the game and poor performance and athletic ability.
Digestion Still In Progress
Sometimes, especially in amateur athletes, the inverse problem to the previous one happens, that of finishing eating when there is too little time left for the start of the match.
If the interval between the end of the meal and the start of the pre-match warm-up is excessively short (or / and if you have eaten poorly digestible or poorly combined foods), while on the field you may have both problems with gastric type (heaviness, acidity, nausea, vomiting), and general problems (dizziness, loss of strength) due to the fact that digestion has not yet finished and blood flows to the stomach. From this situation we can deduce that the performance is adversely affected. The brain is also negatively affected by the fact that food is still in the stomach.
So what are the nutrients to exclude or prefer in the pre-match meal? In the next article we will look at some tips in detail. "
Other articles on "Nutrition of the football player"
- Strength Training in Football - Part Seven
- Nutrition of the football player: pre-match meal
- Nutrition of the football player, before and during the match
- Nutrition of the football player, after the game
