Athletes are usually heavily engaged in sports and require a special diet to support their activities. Most sports teams hire a full-time nutritionist to guide the athletes on what to eat and what to avoid. Commonly, you will find articles suggesting what these sports people should eat but rarely mentioning what they should avoid. But you have come to the right place. We will look at 8 foods and ingredients athletes should avoid and limit to further their careers.
Soda
Soda and other sugary, fizzy drinks are not the best for your health. They are loaded with numerous artificial sweeteners that are not recommended for an athlete. If you want to avoid problems with sugar spikes and uncontrolled insulin levels, then you should not get used to drinking soda. Drinking it regularly is also associated with diabetes in athletes and many other illnesses.
Canned Soup
Canned soups are not ideal for athletes since canned soup is high in sodium. Even though soup contains other important nutrients, those who eat canned soup should always limit the amount to a minimum to avoid high blood pressure. Additionally, it should be avoided when an athlete is using legit steroids like those sold by the 120 kgs website. High blood pressure is a negative health condition that can reduce the effect of steroids.
Rice Cakes
These snacks have been considered to be some of the best since they are low in calories and high in fiber. But in a real sense, they can lead to a high glycemic rate that can shoot up to 100. This means more insulin secretion, which in turn affects how the body performs during sports activities.
Sweetened Cereals
Too much sugar is what every athlete should try to avoid. Therefore, cereals that are sweetened are not beneficial. Plain breakfast cereals have balanced nutrients including carbohydrates and fiber. Therefore, it is not necessary to add glucose and sugar to the cereals. This will only cause more harm than necessary.
Pasta
Any person may wonder what is wrong with pasta, but all typical pasta is made of processed wheat. Therefore, it has no other nutritional value apart from carbohydrates. Nutritionists do not recommend a total avoidance of pasta but rather limiting consumption. This is to allow other important nutrients to be eaten.
White Bread
This is another product made from processed wheat and nothing more. Eating too much of it will cause irregular blood sugar and derail efforts to work out. It can also cause athletes to become full of starchy foods alone.
Caffeine
Caffeine should be avoided by all means. It is a stimulant that affects the body’s performance negatively. Worse still, it can cause an addiction that will slowly impact the body negatively. If possible, caffeine intake should be very minimal.
Alcohol
Alcohol is a no-no for athletes. If they must have alcohol, it should be consumed at minimal levels and only occasionally. Athletes should only drink alcohol when there are no games or training sessions for a couple of days. Alcohol dehydrates the body. Just like caffeine, it can be addictive, and any athlete should try to avoid it.
