Biochemical Foundations of Human Vital Activity - Volkov, N.I., Nesen, E.N. 2000

Biochemistry of Sports
Biochemical Foundations of Athletes' Rational Nutrition

Nutrition is understood as the intake of food into the body, its transformation within the Digestive System, the absorption of its constituent components into the Blood, and their assimilation by body Tissues.

Nutrition provides the body with energy and all the chemical substances essential for building The Human Body, especially those that cannot be synthesized internally. Consequently, nutrition fulfills both the energy and plastic (structural) needs of the human body. A person's growth, development, health, physical performance, adaptation to various environmental factors, and longevity all depend on the food they consume. Proper, or balanced, nutrition forms the basis for the Prevention of many diseases as it helps maintain good health. Inadequate, excessive, or unbalanced nutrition adversely affects human health and physical performance. The Effect of food on the human body is determined by its Chemical Composition and physical properties.

At present, The chemical composition of food has been almost fully established, and HUMAN NUTRIENT REQUIREMENTS have been determined. Based on these findings, Dietary Guidelines and meal regimens have been developed for various population groups. Knowledge of the scientific principles of balanced nutrition is essential for everyone, especially athletes, whose activities involve maintaining high physical performance, ensuring rapid recovery, and achieving a specific body composition.

Due to exceptionally high training and competition loads, athletes expend a tremendous amount of energy, the reserves of which must be replenished rapidly. However, nutritional challenges are not limited to merely replacing the energy expended during training or competitions. A well-balanced diet must support all plastic processes, the regeneration of bodily structures damaged during athletic training, and the replacement of depleted Vitamins, minerals, Water, and regulators of energy and other metabolic pathways—the levels of fluctuation of which depend on the Specifics of the sport, the focus of the training process, and other factors. Therefore, achieving high athletic performance requires a proper nutritional program tailored to the specific sport and objectives, grounded in the understanding that nutrition is an integral part of the training program and a vital means of reaching goals during training and competition.

Many athletes use not only natural foods but also specialized products—so-called ergogenic AIDS, which enhance physical performance (some of which are banned in sports and classified as doping). As a rule, ergogenic aids are BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE SUBSTANCES that influence energy production processes or their regulatory mechanisms. The most scientifically substantiated, non-banned ergogenic aids available to athletes include carnitine, creatine, creatine phosphate, and phosphates, as well as certain organic acids, including metabolites of The Citric Acid Cycle.

Let us examine the fundamental principles of balanced nutrition for athletes, The Role of specific Cell/6.html">Chemical Components of food in muscular activity, and their recommended intake norms.