If you exercise regularly or if you are an athlete in training, you are trying to make your muscles work better. You want to be stronger if you are a weightlifter, you want to be able to throw a blistering fast ball if you are a baseball pitcher or you want to be able to finish strong at the end of a 26-mile race if you are a marathon runner. Adequate nutrition is a key component of sports performance. The greater the demands for increased performance both in training and competition, the higher the nutritional value must be. This means good nutritional habits before, during and after performance.

In this essay I will be discussing whether creatine phosphate can be a positive addition to sports performance, why carbohydrates are the primary supplement for energy, why water is important for a athletes, how fats can be used in a good sports diet, why vitamin and mineral are essential for a peak performance, and why iron helps with stamina in an athletes performance.

Can creatine phosphate be a positive addition to an athlete's nutritional diet?

In the research that I've found, creatine can be used in a positive way when added to an athlete's diet properly. Creatine can provide

It is also an important storage site for the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. (Phelan, 2002)

After a sport, glycogen levels are quite severely depleted (as high as 84%) and players can lose 1-5% of body weight through sweating which can result in impaired endurance performance. If insufficient post-exercise carbohydrate consumption takes place then the glycogen levels may not be restored. This means that performance may be affected for the next match or training session. (Soccer Performance, 2002)

Vitamins like minerals are also known as micronutrients as they are only required by the body in small amounts.

Water alone is not sufficient for hydration; water will transfer through to the cells more quickly in the presence of sugar and sodium. Mineral balance must also be maintained, but you sweat out proportionately more water than minerals. Sweat losses to keep the body cool can exceed several liters in a 1-hour period. A good indication that you have fully rehydrated is to check to see if your urine is clear. Cool water is the best choice. (G-Push, 2002)

Minerals serve as constituents of enzymes, hormones and vitamins. They help in body structure (bones and teeth), function (maintaining heart rhythm, muscle contractility), and help regulate cellular metabolism as parts of enzymes and hormones. They also combine with other chemicals such as calcium and phosphate in bones or exist singularly, for example calcium in body fluids. (Soccer Performance, 2002)

Fat contains more than twice as much energy as carbohydrates (9 kcals/gram compared to 4 kcals/gram). Fatty food increases the risk of cardiovascular heart disease and obesity, also evidence shows that the rate of energy produced from fat is slower than for carbohydrate (CHO) and that muscle glycogen is the most important substrate for energy production in sports (the use of fats is most pronounced during the last 15 minutes of a game). Lower exercise intensities will use more fat for energy and higher intensities will use more CHO. As football involves much high intensity work, this shows the importance of CHO stores which can be increased with training, although, a well-trained individual can use more of their fat stores sparing CHO for periods of high-intensity exercise. (Soccer Performance, 2002)

Water is important to the performance of an athlete

It is clear that a professional athletes who trains and competes at regular intervals must have large glycogen stores in order to maintain optimal physical performance - thus the importance of good nutritional habits. There is no such thing as 'good' or 'bad' food, only better food choices. If you fuel your body properly, then it will be better equipped to help you meet your athletic potential.

The body contains between 3.5 and 4.5g of iron, 2/3 of which is present in hemoglobin. The remainder is stored in the liver, spleen and bone-marrow. A small amount is present as myoglobin, which acts as an oxygen store in muscle tissue. Iron also plays an important role in the immune system, people with low iron levels having lowered resistance to infection. Research has also shown iron deficiency to be associated with impaired brain function. (Vegetarian Society, 2002)

Some common words found in the essay are:
Soccer Performance, ATP ATP, Vegetarian Society, Athletic Performance, Adipose Tissue, Western World, performance 2002, soccer performance, soccer performance 2002, muscle glycogen, adipose tissue, non-haem iron, glycogen levels, vegetarian society 2002, creatine phosphate, iron non-haem, nutritional habits, food 2002, iron non-haem iron, White Adipose, Brown Adipose, sources energy carbohydrates, reaction sources energy,
Approximate Word count = 2585
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)