when (and to whom) it can be useful

September, time of good intentions: and to whom among these puts the one to resume it sport, after a year and a half of lockdowns and colored zones, a sports nutritionist. “That of the sports nutritionist is a figure that is becoming increasingly popular not only in professional sports clubs, but also among amateur sportsmen”, he explains to Official Active Dr. Sacha Sorrentino, a nutritionist biologist who is an expert in sports nutrition.

Why should a person go to a sports nutritionist?
“The sports nutritionist is able to indicate not only which foods and nutrients allow to obtain the desired performance and results, but also when and how many to eat. The risk, otherwise, is that without the right ‘fuel’ our body will not give us the effects we hope to achieve. Thanks to nutritional plan drawn up according to the training and physical state of the patient, it is possible to have an improvement in performance and recovery capacity in those who train a lot and a muscle toning in those who approach sport for the first time and want to improve their body composition. Remember that when we start training weight matters relatively, because if it is true that one kg of fat and one kg of muscle have the same weight, they do not have the same volume. A sports nutritionist takes care of balancing correctly fat mass and muscle mass. The goal is to ensure that the sports patient has an excellent ability to perform but also, above all, that he is physically well: if you do a race with excellent performance but then you need a week of rest to recover it is evident. that something is wrong. To get to this we start from blood tests specific and from an analysis of the patient’s body composition made through a impedancemetry or, in the case of high-level sportsmen, a dexa “.

In concrete terms, what impact does a nutritional plan have for an athlete in terms of nutrition?
“Nutritional needs change when you train. For example, it is important to know how to manage the hiring of carbohydrates adequately: these are the fuel of our organism, and certainly should not be eliminated from diet, but it is important to know when to eat them, in what quantities and of what quality. L’glycemic index it matters a lot. At the same time, you need to know when to take the proteins, which make up the structure of the muscle, ei fat, which constitute the energy reserve of our organism. If a person does weightlifting training they will not eat the same things as someone who runs or prepares a marathon. The sports nutritionist chooses the correct mix of nutrients and indicates when they should be introduced “.

Because the moment matters a lot …
“It is essential to respect the timing of taking meals and snacks when doing sports. After a meal, you have to wait at least two and a half to three hours before training, and after training you need to replenish within half an hour. If you think you can go for it sport immediately after eating to burn before the meal a big mistake is made: during digestion the blood is concentrated in the stomach and cannot flow adequately to the muscle level. Consequently, not only is there a reduced performance capacity, but also a reduced digestive capacity. The sports nutritionist has among other tasks precisely that of correcting this as well as the many other common mistakes among those who practice sports at an improvised or amateur level “.

What are the most common nutrition mistakes in amateur sports?
“Having an inadequate calorie intake for the sport you practice or choosing foods and nutrients incorrectly. Another common misconception is that little emphasis is placed on the rest: Often you tend to train a lot to try to reach your goal first, but rest days are essential. Then there is the chapter hydration, which is often overlooked. Another common mistake is not giving proper attention to the intestinal microbiota, thanks to which the absorption of nutrients occurs. You can eat the best foods, but if the intestine does not absorb them it is useless ”.

So are probiotics and prebiotics just as important as supplements?
“Maybe even more. Supplementation must be something that integrates everything that we cannot get through the diet. But if a person already has good nutrition, rich in antioxidants (and therefore of seasonal fruit and vegetables), of omega 3 (i.e. fresh fish not farmed), of fibre (therefore of whole foods) and trains no more than two or three times a week usually does not need supplements, which can instead be useful in athletes who train more than four times a week. But a intestinal microbiota in equilibrium precedes all this. The same Issn (International Society Of Sports Nutrition) for some years has included in the guidelines for athletes as the main advice among the supplements that must not be missing probiotics and prebiotics specific. And there are more and more scientific works that testify to the importance of the balance of the intestinal bacterial flora in the athlete. Also in this case it will be the sports nutritionist who will indicate the possible need for probiotics or prebiotics ”.