Sports Nutrition Science: an essential overview

The topic of sports nutrition has received considerable attention over the
past few decades, and it is likely to get even more attention, given that nutrition
plays such an important and sometimes crucial role in an athlete’s performance.
Indeed, nutrition influences nearly every process in the body involved
in energy production and recovery from exercise. To understand and
apply the principles of sport nutrition, some basic understanding of nutrition,
exercise physiology and sport science are necessary.The nutritional approach
for training and competition is one of the most important concerns
of sport nutrition science. Exercise produces several molecular, biochemical
and physiological responses and the aim of a well designed diet is to guarantee
a correct intake of energy, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals
and water in order to support basic nutrition requirements as well as
pre-, during and post-exercise specific nutrition phases. A very interesting
subject of sport nutrition is the use of supplements and their effects on human
performance and health.The number of supplements introduced to the
market is huge, however, only few products are apparently effective and
scientifically proven by a solid core of reference. For many other supplements
normally used by athletes, the data are anecdotic or based on only a
few studies and thus their use cannot be universally recommended. A key
item in sport nutrition is the manipulation of body mass and body composition.
Reducing fat mass is desirable in many sports with weight categories
and increasing muscle mass can be an advantage in sports that require
strength and power. Finally, nutritional requirements can be different for
women, young and elderly athletes. These categories have different age and
sex-related physiological needs and specific nutrition strategies must be
planned to guarantee adequate exercise adaptation and maintain overall
health.