Even if you are a recreational football player, don’t arrive at a game after eating a large meal as you’ll feel too full to run well during a 90-minute outdoor contest or a 48-minute indoor one. Also don’t go to the game without having eaten all day. It’s important to have enough glycogen in your muscles to sprint, jump and kick, instead of running on an empty or a too-full tummy.
Football requires bursts of energy throughout a match, so consuming carbohydrates is essential to get the most out of your performance, while maintaining your health. The game heavily uses the quadricep muscles and carbs are best to provide fuel for leg muscles. Avoid high-fat items such as fried eggs, hamburgers, French fries and sausage before a game, since these can upset your stomach. You have to eat foods that have a low to moderate level of fibre, and help maintain stable blood sugar levels.
Good sources of carbs are rice, pasta, wholegrain bread, oatmeal, cereal and fresh or dried fruit. Add protein to your diet by consuming lean meats such as chicken and turkey during lunch. Allow three or ideally four hours to digest a meal before a game. In order to keep your body performing at an optimum level and not break down, stay hydrated by drinking a lot of water.
Sometimes eating a lot of fruit in one sitting can cause gas pains and cramping from the large amounts of fibre. Certain digestive conditions — such as fructose intolerance and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) — could cause you to have bloating, heartburn and diarrhoea, in addition to stomach cramping, after eating a lot of fruit. In those with fructose intolerance, the sugar in fruit travels to the intestines undigested. Intestinal bacteria feed off the fructose, releasing carbon dioxide and hydrogen gases in the process. These gases result in the symptoms associated with fructose intolerance. IBS symptoms could also develop after eating too much fruit.
The only way to reduce the pain, bloating, heartburn and diarrhoea associated with fructose intolerance is to completely eliminate fructose from your diet. In addition to fruit, fructose is found in honey, alcohol, sodas and other beverages that contain high-fructose corn syrup.
Football requires bursts of energy throughout a match, so consuming carbohydrates is essential to get the most out of your performance, while maintaining your health. The game heavily uses the quadricep muscles and carbs are best to provide fuel for leg muscles. Avoid high-fat items such as fried eggs, hamburgers, French fries and sausage before a game, since these can upset your stomach. You have to eat foods that have a low to moderate level of fibre, and help maintain stable blood sugar levels.
Good sources of carbs are rice, pasta, wholegrain bread, oatmeal, cereal and fresh or dried fruit. Add protein to your diet by consuming lean meats such as chicken and turkey during lunch. Allow three or ideally four hours to digest a meal before a game. In order to keep your body performing at an optimum level and not break down, stay hydrated by drinking a lot of water.
Fruit is usually considered to be healthy, but why do I always end up with a very bad bloating and cramps?
Eating fruit is recommended for a well-balanced diet, but if eating it makes your stomach cramp, then you may have a consider a few things. Cramping from eating fruits is not a common symptom, so you shouldn’t assume it’s a sign of a serious condition.Sometimes eating a lot of fruit in one sitting can cause gas pains and cramping from the large amounts of fibre. Certain digestive conditions — such as fructose intolerance and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) — could cause you to have bloating, heartburn and diarrhoea, in addition to stomach cramping, after eating a lot of fruit. In those with fructose intolerance, the sugar in fruit travels to the intestines undigested. Intestinal bacteria feed off the fructose, releasing carbon dioxide and hydrogen gases in the process. These gases result in the symptoms associated with fructose intolerance. IBS symptoms could also develop after eating too much fruit.
The only way to reduce the pain, bloating, heartburn and diarrhoea associated with fructose intolerance is to completely eliminate fructose from your diet. In addition to fruit, fructose is found in honey, alcohol, sodas and other beverages that contain high-fructose corn syrup.
Reporting by Fatima Hassan
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