The routine of those who play sports professionally requires special care. Personalized nutritional monitoring helps to supplement your diet in the appropriate way to replace the wear and tear from training. Many doctors choose to only include natural products for athletes .
As this is a high-performance diet , natural products do not always complement the diet on their own.
Therefore, it is essential to have a nutritionist monitoring the eating plan and, if necessary, supplementing with industrialized products.
To avoid excesses on all sides, knowing the potential of foods helps to understand and talk to the nutritionist about new options to vary your diet.
Check out below some tips on natural products for athletes that can improve training performance and results in competitions.
Natural products for athletes
Many natural products for athletes replace industrialized supplements to help gain muscle mass, hypertrophy, weight gain, provide energy, recover muscle, etc.
Did you think that only synthetic supplements could help with these functions? Check out a list of natural products for athletes that play these and other roles in the diet.
1. Peanut butter
Peanut butter is one of the natural products for athletes that helps with muscle recovery.
Peanuts are rich in proteins and good fats that the body uses very well during training. Therefore, athletes can consume it before or after training.
The paste can be consumed in shakes or as a complement to fruits such as bananas. Depending on the combinations, the snack provides proteins, fats, carbohydrates and fiber.
2. Pumpkin seeds
Pumpkin seeds are another natural product for athletes that can complement their diet.
The biggest benefit of pumpkin seeds is that they are rich in magnesium, they are an excellent supplement to avoid cramps .
Athletes who practice running, fighting or football need to have strong muscles and cramps are the villains in moments of exhaustion.
Therefore, pumpkin seeds can be consumed whole or ground in salads, shakes and as a fruit accompaniment.
Tip : drinking the right amount of water for your body to function also helps prevent cramps.
3. Quinoa
Quinoa is also on this list of natural products for athletes that help strengthen their diet.
Quinoa is a grain of vegetable origin, rich in protein, iron and omega 3 and 6. Those who are vegan can replace meat of animal origin with their food.
These properties help to strengthen muscles and generate energy to sustain high-intensity training.
Quinoa can be used to make salads, tabbouleh (replacing bulgur), to bread meats such as fish and chicken, etc. A product that is easy to find and include in your diet.
The artificial supplementation for this strengthening purpose is the “Branch Chain Amino Acids” BCAA, which means “branched chain amino acids”.
4. Condiments
Condiments are other types of natural products for athletes that also effectively supplement the diet .
Foods such as ginger, cinnamon and pepper are some examples of excellent condiments for burning fat due to their thermogenic action.
Tip : red pepper can be used to season soups, ginger is great for mixing juices and cinnamon can accompany teas and your daily coffee.
Curry, coconut oil and turmeric are other suggestions to discuss with your nutritionist to include and add a different flavor to your food.
5. Plant and animal proteins
Vegetarian or not, proteins are natural products for athletes that are most essential for muscle hypertrophy, also known as lean mass gain .
Proteins feed muscle fibers and strengthen the body as a whole, helping training progress and competition results.
Anyone looking for an alternative to the famous Whey Protein can find an extra dose of protein through foods such as:
– For vegetarians : protein sources can come from soy, rice, beans or peas.
– For non-vegetarians : traditional sources of animal origin such as fish, beef, pork, chicken and cheese and derivatives.
6. Oilseeds
Oilseeds are natural products for athletes that are easy to include in your diet and can be used from breakfast to an afternoon snack to reinforce nutritional gains .
Chestnuts, for example, are rich in linoleic acid (omega 6) which our body does not produce and needs to be ingested through food.
Oilseeds also strengthen the immune system and have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in the body.
Other tasty nuts to include in your diet are almonds, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts and pistachios.
They can accompany a portion of low-fat yogurt, be used as flour, to produce vegetable milk or as portions to carry in your bag as a snack.
7. Avocado
Avocado is another product that is a source of monounsaturated fats, considered good. As one of the natural products for athletes, the fruit completes and provides more quality food.
It is also a food rich in other nutrients vitamin A, C and E, folic acid, iron, potassium and magnesium, which are essential for achieving good professional performance in competitions.
Furthermore, avocado is quite versatile in preparations. It can be consumed fresh, in the preparation of sauces, sandwich fillings and as an accompaniment to yogurt and other fruits.