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Sports Nutrition |
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| A non-drug nutritional approach to achieve optimal athletic performance | Dan Benardot, PhD, RD, LD, FACSM | ||||||
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For Nutrition Counseling
Robin Lea Benardot, RD, LD
For Additional Photos Jump to Visitors since Jan 1, 2005
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BOOK REVIEW
344 February
2007
Volume
107
Number
2 February 2007 ● Journal of the AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION
345 Advanced Sports Nutrition
By
Dan Benardot, PhD, RD; Advanced
Sports Nutrition is a comprehensive sports nutrition book ideal
for the reader/athlete interested in developing an appreciation of the science
behind current practical nutritional recommendations designed for optimizing
athletic performance. Written in a rather formal, but clear style that suits a
book that is referenced throughout all 18 chapters, the author delves into a
fair amount of sports nutrition research, but also provides plenty of practical
application for athletes. Part
I, Nutritional Sources for Athletes, outlines the functions of nutrients
such as carbohydrates, protein, fat, fluid, and electrolytes. These topics
are covered within the framework of an athlete’s perspective. For example, the
author reviews not only carbohydrate classification and glycemic index,
but carbohydrate metabolism during exercise. Benardot provides not only
recommendations for daily hydration but delves into the details of fluid
and electrolyte losses from sweating and training in the heat, and provides
guidelines for fluid intake before, during, and after exercise. An
essential chapter on the more common ergogenic aids heavily promoted to athletes
is also included in Part
I.
Starting
with
a review of
digestion and
absorption, Part
II, Nutrition
Aspects of
Optimal Performance,
covers the
benefits of
the optimal
timing of
energy and
nutrient intake
before, during,
and after
training, and
provides a detailed
outline for
eating in
the days
leading to
competition. Included
in Part
III, Factors
Affecting Nutritional
Needs, is
a thorough chapter
on weight
that discusses
weight loss
and body
composition issues
relevant to
athletes, methods
for assessing
body composition,
and the risks
associated with
the development
of eating
disorders. This
section also
covers nutritional
guidelines for
athletes traveling
to competition,
or those
competing and
training at
altitude, as
well as some
sex-and age-specific
nutritional considerations.
Part
IV, Nutritional Strategies for Specific Energy Systems, includes three
chapters that cover anaerobic sports, aerobic sports, and sports that combine
both power systems, with related sports assigned to each chapter. The chapter on
anaerobic metabolism covers sport-specific guidelines for power sports
such as baseball and gymnastics, while endurance sports such as triathlon and
cycling are covered in the chapter on aerobic metabolism. The various
sport-specific sections are relatively brief, with 15 sports covered in
total. Many of the sport-specific guidelines focus on the nutritional
demands of competition or game day, but also delineate some sport-specific
guidelines for training. For example, swimming (100-to 400meter races) is
reviewed in the anaerobic metabolism chapter as races are typically 2 minutes in
length. But as the author acknowledges, swim training places high training and
fuel demands on the athlete, requiring a nutrition plan similar to that of an
endurance athlete. Part V of the book finishes with three meal plans each
for each sport category: aerobic, anaerobic, or a combination of the two. Advanced
Sports Nutrition
is thorough
and even
covers topics
not commonly
found elsewhere,
such as chapters
on oxygen
efficiency and
fuel inhibitors.
This book
is filled
with plenty
of practical
research-based advice
that athletes
competing in
a variety of
sports can
apply in
training and
competition to
improve their
performance.—Monique Ryan,
MS, RD,
Personal Nutrition
Designs, 344
February
2007
Volume
107
Number
2 February
2007 ● Journal of the AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION 345
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