Diet and nutrition

• Balanced diet

  Getting the right amount of nutrients for your lifestyle
• Balanced diet

  • Supports your lifestyle by providing the nutrients your body needs for energy, growth and hydration
  • Helps prevent health problems and injury
  • Helps speed up recovery following exercise
• Fats

  • Molecules called fatty acids
  • Provide more energy than carbohydrates for low intensity exercise
  • Help keep the body warm and protect organs
  • Help absorb some vitamins by the body using fats
  • Too many saturated fats can cause obesity
  • 25-30% needed
• Carbohydrates

  • The main source of energy for the body
  • Vital for providing energy for muscles during physical activity
  • Simple carbohydrates like sugar
  • Complex carbohydrates like starch from bread, pasta or rice
  • Complex carbohydrates release energy steadily over longer periods
  • some will get used straight away when eaten, the rest gets stored in the liver and muscles called glycogen
  • 55-60% needed
• Proteins

  • Help the body grow and repair itself
  • Made from molecules called amino acids
  • Found in meat, fish, eggs and beans
  • 15-20% needed
• Vitamins

  • Help bones, teeth, skin and other tissues
  • Used in processes that release energy from food
  • Fat-soluble vitamins can be stored in the body (e.g. Vitamin A, Vitamin D)
  • Water-soluble vitamins can't be stored (e.g. Vitamin C)
• Minerals

  • Needed for healthy bones and blood
  • Help in various chemical reactions in the body (e.g. calcium, iron)
• Water

  • Needed in loads of chemical reactions in the body
  • Used in sweat to help regulate body temperature
  • Lost through sweat, breath, urine and faeces
• If you don't drink enough water to replace what's lost, you become dehydrated
• Effects of dehydration

  • Blood thickening making it harder for the heart to pump
  • Decreased flow of oxygen to muscles
  • Increase in body temperature
  • Muscle fatigue and cramps
  • Slower reactions and poorer decision-making
• Sports drinks help rehydrate you quickly by containing sugar to replace energy used and a bit of salt
• Drinking too much water can lead to overhydration, causing headaches, nausea and confusion
• Fibre


  Keeps the digestive system working properly so the body gets all the nutrients it needs from food

  fruit And vegetables
• Energy intake and usage

  • Controls your weight
  • If intake doesn't match usage, body uses or stores fat accordingly
• Endurance activities


  • Need a diet rich in carbohydrates to provide plenty of easily available energy
  • Fats can also provide energy for low to moderate intensity exercise
• Muscle growth activities

  • Need a diet rich in protein to build and repair muscles
• Keeping body fat low is important for many physical activities
• Hydration is really important when exercising, especially for activities with high sweat rates
• 7 components of diet

  Vitamins

  Minerals

  fibre

  protein

  fats

  water

  carbohydrates