Team Sports

Soccer/Rugby/Baseball/Basketball/Volleyball/Water Polo

In team sports both parts of energy metabolism, such as the aerobic and anaerobic phase, are "stressed".

For those who practice team sports it is recommended the integration of the normal diet, considering the energy intake from carbohydrate and protein: protein contributes to the growth and maintenance of muscle mass, carbohydrate - as well as being an energy substrate - contributes to muscle recovery *.

For adult sportsmen, according to the practiced team sport discipline with the advice of a nutrition expert, it can be considered the integration of creatine (up to 6 g per day for one month) with a dose of 3 g per day it increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high intensity exercise.

Being sports that usually involve physical contact, jumps and twists it should be considered the health and possibly the integration to contribute to bones and joints function as they receive constant stress during physical performance and training: they are calcium and vitamin D food supplements. Calcium is especially needed for the maintenance of normal bones, while vitamin D contributes to normal absorption/utilisation of calcium and phosphorus and to the maintenance of normal bones.

Also vitamin C is a micronutrient that can play an important role in the integration of those who practice team sports because among other things it has an action on joints. Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of cartilage, and contributes to maintain the normal function of the immune system during and after intense physical exercise (the beneficial effect is obtained with a daily intake of 200 mg in addition to the recommended daily intake of vitamin C).
There are products that have a specific beneficial effect on joint function such as turmeric, boswellia plant extracts which also contributes to contrast states of localized tension. Other important nutritional factors that can be suitable are glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate and methylsulfonylmethane.

* Metabolizable carbohydrate contributes to the recovery of normal muscle function (contraction) after intense and/or prolonged exercise. The use of these products is specific as post-workout and in particular to obtain the claimed beneficial effect it is necessary to take an amount of carbohydrate from all sources in total equivalent to 4 g per kg of body weight, with an intake in doses to be initiated within 4 hours of an intense and/or prolonged exercise, however, it has to be concluded within 6 hours after exercise.