The potato makes you fat, it should never be eaten in the evening, it’s difficult to digest I’m alone some of the myths to dispel regarding the topic of potatoes as a source of nutrition for physical performance. A very simple fact such as that for which a medium-sized potato (100 grams) contains 15.9 grams of carbohydrates, 455 mg of potassium and provides 80 Kcal of energy would be enough to convince us that these tubers are essential in the diet of athletes and sportsmen in general. But there’s a lot more to knowing to include potatoes on your menu regularly.
The basic principles of sports nutrition
There is an extensive and in-depth report on the relationship between potatoes and sport 2019 metaresearch published in Springer which starts from the fundamental principles of sports nutrition.
Although low-carb diets are increasingly widespread in the population, even among those who say they follow the Mediterranean diet, when it comes to sports nutrition and nutrition for active people, sportsmen or athletes the principle of a balanced diet remains valid and that it is wrong to rely on one or two food groups as a means of achieving high-level physical performance and health.
Different types of athletes and physically active people may have slightly different nutritional needs, but The basics of sports nutrition haven’t changed much in the past 25 years: Specific combinations may vary, but carbohydrates, proteins and fluids are essential components of an active individual’s diet. Additionally, most of the available research supports the idea that carbohydrates, particularly high-quality, nutrient-dense carbohydrates from whole food sources are needed for optimal exercise performance. Just like potatoes. The high quality carbohydrate sources – foods that offer an array of macro and micronutrients as well as energy – can help build a solid nutritional basis for level of training, recovery and adaptation that most physically active people strive to achieve. Low-carb diets typically don’t allow athletes to train with the intensity necessary to achieve peak physical performance.
Potatoes as a source of nutrition for physical performance
Limiting carbohydrate intake (and total calorie intake in general) may make sense for those who are less physically active, but people who participate in regular sporting activity or athletes still need high-quality carbohydrates to improve muscle glycogen storage and to deliver carbohydrates to muscles and other organs during strenuous exercise.
Potatoes, when consumed in the right forms and quantities, build a strong nutritional foundation for the level of training, recovery and adaptation athletes seek to achieve.
Potatoes: A high quality carbohydrate for a balanced diet
From a broader nutritional perspective, carbohydrate-rich foods play a vital role, but only high-quality, nutrient-dense sources of carbohydrates – foods that offer a range of macro and micronutrients in addition to energy – can offer the full range of benefits athletes need.
Potatoes have often been mentioned in the literature as key example of a high carbohydrate food that provides multiple nutritional benefits. One medium white baked potato in its skins (148 g) is an excellent source of potassium (23% DV), vitamin C (24% DV), and vitamin B6 (23% DV), and a good source of dietary fiber ( 13% DV) and magnesium (10% DV) based on a 2000 kcal per day diet.
Only a small percentage of the population achieves an adequate intake of potassium in their usual diet and among vegetables, potatoes are one of the most significant sources of dietary potassium and can provide health benefits, from reducing the risk of hypertension to supporting health of the bones. Dietary potassium is also a electrolyte that helps athletes maintain fluid balancea key factor during and after exercise that can help prevent dehydration.
Potatoes and protein intake
The protein quality of potatoes, which have a biological value between 90 and 100, is higher than that of most other non-animal protein sources and even some animal sources. It is now recognized that high-quality protein sources can help maximize training-induced gains in muscle growth and strength following various forms of exercise. Being a Carbohydrate-rich food that also contains high-quality proteinPotatoes as a post-exercise meal have the potential to not only replenish depleted muscle glycogen stores, but also stimulate muscle protein synthesis.
Meet carbohydrate needs for high-intensity performance
A fundamental principle referred to earlier is the essential function of carbohydrates in an athlete’s diet. Dietary proteins and fats, to some extent, may play a more important role in the athlete’s diet than previously thought. However, carbohydrates remain the substrate most efficiently metabolized by the body and the only macronutrient that can be broken down quickly enough to provide energy during bouts of high-intensity training, when relying primarily on fast-twitch muscle fibers.
And competitive athlete, who can train four hours a day or more, needs to consume up to 12 g/kg of body weight per day of carbohydrates. Even athletes who train fewer hours may need carbohydrate intakes in the order of 5-7 g/kg/day to meet the demands of moderate exercise.
It is nearly impossible to meet this level of need without eating a diet rich in carbohydrate sources such as potatoes, rice and pasta. When athletes don’t eat enough carbohydrates, they fail to fully replenish muscle glycogen storesresulting in loss of performance, fatigue, weakness and possibly illness.
Carbohydrate Absorption Rate: A Performance Factor?
Most sports nutritionists agree that solid or liquid supplements with a high carbohydrate content, which are absorbed quickly, are best during exercise to avoid gastrointestinal problems and provide the muscles with the necessary energy. The types of carbohydrates to consume before and after exercise, however, aren’t so clear cut. Some have theorized that low glycemic carbohydrates, those that appear in the bloodstream more slowly and produce a blunted glucose response, may be best before exercise. However, few existing studies support this idea.
In one study, athletes were provided with a pre-event meal of lentils (GI = 26) or a meal of mashed potatoes, bread, and egg whites (GI = 76) two hours before high-intensity running. Neither meal improved running performance more than the other.
In another study long-term pre-event feeding was supplemented the diet of a group of cyclists with rapidly absorbed potato starch for 3 days before a 3-hour run, followed by a 60-minute run. The additional carbohydrates provided by potato starch have resulted in a 47% increase in muscle glycogen stores before exercise and an improvement in cycling performance. If you want to learn more, we talked about it in this article.
After exercise, especially when rapid glycogen resynthesis is required (such as in the case of training on consecutive days or heavy training performed on alternating days), experts indicate that the consumption of approximately 0.5-0.6 g/kg of rapidly absorbed carbohydrates (roughly the equivalent of a medium potato or a cup of rice or pasta) every 30 minutes for 2 to 4 hours after exercise can promote rapid glycogen resynthesis.
When timing isn’t a factor (i.e., your next workout won’t happen for 24 hours or more), researchers suggest that glycogen resynthesis isn’t influenced so much by the type of carbohydrate as it is by the total amount of carbohydrate consumed between workouts.
In both short-term and long-term recovery conditions, a source of rapidly absorbed carbohydrates, such as a potatocan be an excellent way to replenish needed carbohydrates in the body.
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