World Cup players' diets

2014-06-23 16:49 China Daily Web Editor: Yao Lan

World Cup players' diets: Carbs, water and chocolate milk

You are what you eat. And in sports like football this is particularly true. Consuming the right or wrong foods and drinks can be the difference between winning and losing a match. Food poisoning is an ever-present risk that can have massive effects on performance.

The size of Brazil means teams will be traveling extensively between games and crossing climates in the process.

Drinking an extra 15 to 20 ml for every hour of flight is recommended; fruit juices and water are preferable to the dehydrating cola, tea and coffee, which could just make the problem worse. The weight difference is the amount of fluid you've lost and for every kilo lost you should drink an extra liter of water.

About three hours before kick-off the players should be eating a meal high in carbohydrates. This is the energy source that keeps athletes going for the full 90 minutes — or longer if the match goes into extra time. Ideally it should consist of low-glycemic index foods such as porridge, pasta and rice. They are broken down more slowly and release sugar more gradually into the blood stream.

That isn't to say that high-glycemic foods have no place in sports nutrition. The runners' favorite: Jelly babies, for example, are broken down and absorbed quickly into the blood stream. This gives a vital boost of energy during games and consuming high-glycemic carbohydrates is vitally important for sports that last more than an hour.

Sports drinks have the same effect, with the benefit of replacing the fluid and salts lost from sweat. With temperatures predicted to be higher than 30 degrees Celsius for many matches, rehydrating will be a vital part of the team schedule.

The players won't be able to indulge, as alcohol will dehydrate them and not supply the vital nutrients they need. After the match they have a window of about an hour where they need to replenish their carbohydrate and calorie levels so they have the energy for the next match, stock up on their protein levels to help their muscles recover.

One of the best ways to do this is chocolate milk, as it has all the nutrients you need at the right levels for optimal nutritional recovery.

世界杯参赛球员食谱揭秘

人的健康依赖于饮食。对于足球这样的运动来说尤为如此。球员们的食谱会对比赛成败产生重要影响。食物中毒风险也无处不在，极大地影响球员的场上表现。

巴西幅员辽阔，各支球队需要长时间奔袭于各个比赛场馆，感受各种气候的考验。

球员乘坐飞机时，建议每隔一小时饮水15至20毫升。可口可乐、茶水和咖啡会让人更加口渴，而果汁和水的解渴效果较好。赛前和赛后的体重差正是机体损失掉的水分含量。每损失一千克水分，球员需要补充一千毫升纯水。

比赛开踢约三个小时前，球员们需要摄入富含碳水化合物的食物。这将保证他们有足够的体能完成全场90分钟的比赛，甚至挺入加时赛。原则上，应该包括低糖类食物，如粥、意大利面和米饭。这类食物分解较慢，也能将糖分更缓慢地释放到血液中。

当然，高糖食物同样占有一席之地。比如，球员们最喜欢吃的凝胶软糖，能够迅速分解进入血液，并为球场上的他们提供充足的能量。对于比赛时间超过一小时的运动项目来说，摄取高糖食物极为重要。

运动饮料也能提供能量，能够补充人体因出汗而导致的水分和盐分流失。在本届世界杯，许多比赛的赛场温度预计都将超过30摄氏度，因此，给球员补充水分将成为各支球队的重点任务之一。

酗酒是万万不行的，因为酒精会使人更加口渴，而且无法提供人体所需的重要营养成分。赛后，球员们有大约一小时的时间来补充碳水化合物和能量，以备再战。摄入蛋白质会有助于肌肉恢复。

赛后的最佳选择是巧克力牛奶，因为它含有人体所需的一切营养物质，有助于机体恢复到最佳营养水平。