Nutrition and Metabolism in Sports, Exercise and Health

Jie Kang

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781134882519
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Nutrition, Dietics & Bariatrics

The second edition of Nutrition and Metabolism in Sports, Exercise and Health offers a clear and comprehensive introduction to sport and exercise nutrition, integrating key nutritional facts, concepts and dietary guidelines with a thorough discussion of the fundamental biological science underpinning physiological and metabolic processes. Informed by the latest research in this fast-moving discipline, the book includes brand-new sections on, amongst others:

• Cellular structure for metabolism

• Alcohol and metabolism

• Uncoupling protein and thermogenesis

• Dietary guidelines from around the world

• Nutrient timing

• Protein synthesis and muscle hypertrophy

• Protein supplementation

• Ergogenic effects of selected stimulants

• Nutritional considerations for special populations

• Dehydration and exercise performance

Each chapter includes updated pedagogical features, including definitions of key terms, chapter summaries, case studies, review questions and suggested readings. A revised and expanded companion website offers additional teaching and learning features, such as PowerPoint slides, multiple-choice question banks and web links.

No book goes further in explaining how nutrients function within our biological system, helping students to develop a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and offering the best grounding in applying knowledge to practice in both improving athletic performance and preventing disease. As such, Nutrition and Metabolism in Sports, Exercise and Health is essential reading for all students of sport and exercise science, kinesiology, physical therapy, strength and conditioning, nutrition or health sciences.

1 Introduction

Contents

Key terms

Good health and strong performance: nutrition connection

• What is nutrition?

• Why study nutrition?

• Role of nutrition in fitness, health, and performance

Chemical and biological aspects of nutrition

• Chemistry of life

• Cells and their components

Nutrients

• What are nutrients?

• Classes of nutrients

• Chemical composition of nutrients

• The energy-yielding nutrients

• How much of each nutrient do we need?

What is reliable nutritional information?

• Scientific methods

• Types of research

• Judging nutritional information

Summary

Case study

Review questions

Suggested reading

Glossary

Key terms

• Acids

• Atoms

• Bases

• Buffer

• Control group

• Cytosol

• Double-blind study

• Element

• Endoplasmic reticulum

• Energy-yielding nutrients

• Epidemiological research

• Essential nutrients

• Experimental research

• Golgi apparatus

• Hypothesis

• Inorganic nutrients

• Ions

• Macronutrients

• Malnutrition

• Micronutrients

• Mitochondria

• Molecule

• Morbidity

• Nonessential nutrients

• Nucleus

• Nutrients

• Nutrition

• Obesity

• Organelles

• Organic compounds

• Over-nutrition

• Placebo

• Ribosomes

• Risk factor

• Single-blind study

• Sports nutrition

• Under-nutrition

Good health and strong performance: nutrition connection

Nutrition and its impact on health and performance are of crucial importance. Nutritional deficiencies were once a major health challenge in most developed countries. However, what we are facing now is the fact that nutritional abundance contributes to many of today’s health problems. In order to choose foods that satisfy your personal and cultural preferences, but also contribute to a healthy diet and prevent diseases, you must have information about what nutrients you require, what role they play in health and performance, and what foods contain them. You must also be able to judge the validity of the nutrition information you encounter. Your body uses the nutrients from foods to make all its components, fuel all its activities, and defend itself against diseases. How successfully your body handles these tasks depends, in part, on your food choices and your understanding of the principles of nutrition. Nutritious food choices support a healthy and strong body.

What is nutrition?

Nutrition is a science that links foods to health and diseases. It studies the structure and function of various food groups and the nutrients they contain. It also includes the biological processes by which our body consumes food and utilizes the nutrients. The science of nutrition also concerns the psychological, social, cultural, economic, and technological factors that influence which food we choose to eat.

Why study nutrition?

Nutrition has played a significant role in your life, even from before your birth, although you may not always be aware of it. It will continue to affect you in major ways depending on the foods you select. Not meeting nutrient needs in younger years make us more likely to suffer health consequences in later years. At the same time, taking too much of a nutrient can be harmful. A poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle are known to be the major risk factors for life-threatening chronic diseases such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and some forms of cancer, which together amount to two-thirds of all deaths in North America (Table 1.1). Such linkage between lifestyle and chronic diseases is, in part, mediated through the development of obesity, a condition attributable to a positive energy balance (i.e., energy brought in via foods > energy expended via physical activities). Most of these chronic diseases mentioned above are the comorbidity (a diseased state, disability or poor health) of obesity. In fact, obesity is considered to be the second cause of preventable death in North America (Figure 1.1).

Table 1.1 Leading causes of death in the US

Rank	Cause of death	Total deaths (%)
1	Heart diseases (primarily coronary heart disease)^1,2	29
2	Cancer^1,3	23
3	Cerebrovascular diseases (stroke)^1,2,3	7
4	Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and allied conditions (lung diseases)^3	5
5	Accidents and adverse effects^2	4
6	Diabetes^1	3
7	Influenza and pneumonia	3
8	Alzheimer’s disease^1	2
9	Kidney diseases^1,3	2
10	Blood-borne infections	1

Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Vital Statistical Report, Final data.

Notes

1 Causes of death in which diet plays a part.

2 Causes of death in which excessive alcohol consumption plays a part.

3 Causes of death in which tobacco use plays a part.

Needless to say, your food choice today can affect your health tomorrow. Understanding nutrition will allow you to make wise choices about foods you consume, thus improving health and fitness. You must be aware, however, that making appropriate food choices is not an easy task, and can be influenced by many outside factors. For example, a decision should be preceded by your answer to questions such as: Are you active? Are you an athlete? Are you planning a pregnancy? Are you trying to prevent the physical decline that occurs with aging? Did your mother die of a heart attack? Does cancer run in your family? Are you trying to lose weight or eat a vegetarian diet? Is your heritage Asian, African, European, or Central or South American? In order to choose foods that satisfy your personal and cultural preferences but also contribute to a healthy diet and prevent diseases, you must not only have information about what nutrients you require and what foods contain them, but also understand the role nutrients play in the body and how they may contribute to an enhanced physical performance or a pathological process that leads to a disease. You must also be able to judge the validity of the nutrition information you encounter. Should you be taking antioxidant supplements, eating fat-free foods, or drinking calcium-fortified orange juice? Should you believe the story or testimony you saw on the news about a weight loss diet or protein supplement? Filtering out the worthless requires a solid understanding of principles of nutrition, the nutrient contents of foods, the function of nutrition in the body, as well as the process by which scientists study nutrition.

Figure 1.1 Leading preventable causes of death

Role of nutrition in fitness, health, and performance

The two primary factors that influence one’s health status are genetics and lifestyle. Most chronic diseases have a genetic basis. The Human Genome Project, which deciphered the DNA code of our 80,000 to 100,000 genes, has identified various genes associated with many chronic diseases. Genetically, females whose mothers had breast cancer are at increased risk for breast cancer, while males whose fathers had prostate cancer are at increased risk for prostate cancer. Scientists now have the ability to analyze the genetic basis underlying various diseases, and such information may be used to evaluate individual susceptibility. For individuals with genetic profiles predisposing them to a specific chronic disease, genetic therapy may provide an effective treatment or cure.

Genetic influence, as well as lifestyle, may play an important role in the development of chronic disease. Recent studies have suggested that lifestyle, particularly one that incorporates a healthy diet and exercise, may provide the best hope for living a healthier and longer life. It is the most proactive and cost-effective approach to addressing an increasing prevalence of these chronic diseases in our society. Over the years, scientists in the field of epidemiology have identified a number of lifestyle-related risk factors. A risk factor is a health behavior or pre-existing condition that has been associated with a particular disease, such as cigarette smoking, physical inactivity, stress, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, etc. Proper diet and exercise have been found to be able to reduce many of these risk factors, thereby preventing diseases. It is believed that such a healthier lifestyle can also intertwine with one’s genetic profile. In other words, what you eat and how you exercise may influence your genes.

Proper nutrition is an important component in the total training program of the athlete. The consumption of energy-containing nutrients such as carbohydrate provides the fuel necessary for increased biological work. Nutrient deficiencies can seriously impair performance, whereas nutrient supplementation may delay fatigue and improve performance. Nutritional status can be a major factor differentiating athletes of comparable genetic endowment and state of training. Regular training allows athletes to improve their performance by enhancing biomechanical skills, sharpening psychological focus, and maximizing physiological functions. However, gains in these areas can be directly potentiated or undermined by various dietary factors associated with the athlete. For example, losing excess body fat will enhance biomechanical efficiency; consuming carbohydrate during exercise may prevent hypoglycemia and thus fatigue; and providing adequate dietary iron may ensure optimal oxygen delivery to the working muscles.

Sports nutrition represents one of the fast-growing areas of study within recent years. It is the study and practice of nutrition and diet as it relates to athletic performance. Although scientists have studied the interactions between nutrition and various forms of sports and physical activities for more than a century, it is only within the past few decades that extensive research has been undertaken regarding the specific guidelines and recommendations to athletes. Louise Burke, a prominent sports nutritionist from Australia, defines sports nutrition as the application of eating strategies to promote good health and adaptation to training, to recover quickly after each exe...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright page
• Table of Contents
• List of figures
• List of tables
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Macronutrients: carbohydrates
• 3 Macronutrients: lipids
• 4 Macronutrients: proteins
• 5 Micronutrients: vitamins
• 6 Micronutrients: minerals and water
• 7 Digestion and absorption
• 8 Energy and energy-yielding metabolic pathways
• 9 Nutrients metabolism
• 10 Guidelines for designing a healthy and competitive diet
• 11 Ergogenic aids and supplements
• 12 Nutrition and metabolism in special cases
• 13 Measurement of energy consumption and output
• 14 Body weight and composition for health and performance
• 15 Energy balance and weight control
• 16 Thermoregulation and fluid balance
• Appendix A: metric units, English–metric conversions, and cooking measurement equivalents
• Appendix B: chemical structure of amino acids
• Appendix C: dietary reference intakes for energy, macronutrients, and micronutrients
• Appendix D: estimated energy requirement calculations and physical activity values
• Appendix E: daily values used in food labels with a comparison to RDAs
• Appendix F: world anti-doping code international standard prohibited list
• Appendix G: directions for conducting three-day dietary analysis
• Bibliography
• Index