Three hundred million people go to the ice and snow, only by eating well can you have fun!

Today is the last day of competition of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The Chinese delegation continues to set new best results, create historic breakthroughs, and prove to the world the strength of Chinese sports.

The achievements and honors are inseparable from the athletes' hard work and preparations for the Winter Olympics, and the unwavering support of the people of the motherland. As an indispensable member behind the brilliant achievements, sports nutrition technology has provided strong support for the Chinese national team in its preparations for the Winter Olympics.

For those of you who love ice and snow sports, do you also want to know how nutrition can help ice and snow sports?

Exercise in cold weather

Many challenges

Winter sports athletes usually need to train and compete in extreme environments of severe cold and high altitudes, and face multiple challenges in nutrition, including: increased energy consumption, accelerated consumption of muscle and liver glycogen, increased fluid loss, sports anemia, and increased individual oxidative stress levels.

Due to differences in physiological and physical characteristics, energy supply systems and training and competition venues, athletes have similar but different nutritional needs. For Chinese athletes, learning to eat properly and achieving "eating is training" can bring out the "nutrition is combat effectiveness".

When the ambient temperature is below -10 degrees Celsius, it is considered a low-temperature environment. When exercising in a low-temperature environment, you will face challenges such as hypothermia, dehydration, and insufficient energy supply.

First, the body regulates heat production and heat dissipation through neurohumoral regulation under the unified regulation of the cerebral cortex and hypothalamus temperature regulation center to maintain a constant body temperature. However, under the influence of uncertain exposure factors, such as being in cold conditions for a long time or the external environment is cold, frostbite or cold injury may occur.

Second, low temperatures increase the body's energy consumption, mainly because of maintaining body temperature. Combined with increased activity, shivering, nervousness, etc., the basal metabolism can increase by 10% to 15%, and the total energy needs to increase by 5% to 25%. In this case, the proportion of the body's energy coming from carbohydrates is reduced, the protein production capacity is normal or slightly higher, and the fat production capacity is relatively increased, reaching 30% to 35% of the total energy. At this time, people's preference for high-energy, high-fat foods and hot foods will be correspondingly higher than in a warm environment.

Third, it is easy to become dehydrated or lack of water, which is caused by heavy clothing, difficulty in movement, and excessive sweating. Coldness can stimulate polyuria, and active drinking of water is also inhibited. These behaviors will increase the risk of dehydration. Sports dehydration causes the loss of water and sodium and potassium ions in the body, which has a certain impact on health and athletic ability. The symptoms range from thirst and oliguria to increased heart rate, nausea and anorexia, muscle cramps and fatigue, which will reduce athletic performance.

Four points

Enhance combat effectiveness in ice and snow

When exercising in a low-temperature environment, the body's energy and various nutrient requirements increase. Correspondingly, the following dietary recommendations are made:

① Adjust the supply ratio of the three major macronutrients, increase the supply of carbohydrates and fats, eat more starchy staple foods, and combine them with the intake of high-quality protein.

② Ensure adequate intake of fruits and vegetables and red meat, such as skinless pork, beef and mutton. This will provide adequate supply of vitamin C and iron, and also increase the sources of other vitamins such as vitamin B1, vitamin B2, niacin and vitamin A, and minerals such as zinc and magnesium.

③ Pay attention to fluid replenishment before, during and after exercise. If conditions permit, provide hot water, hot tea or warm sports drinks, which contain 6% to 8% carbohydrates. Depending on the duration of exercise and water loss, sodium and potassium ions should be supplemented in appropriate amounts. It is recommended that daily water intake should be no less than 4% of your body weight.

④ Increase the frequency of daily meals. According to the actual training plan, arrange snacks and evening snacks between training sessions or between meals. However, you need to pay attention to the choice of snack foods, meal methods, and meal times to avoid affecting the intake of three meals a day. Snacks are recommended to be small, portable, and easily digestible packaged foods, such as cakes, bananas, energy bars, and chocolate milk.

Participate in ice and snow sports

Note the following points

Nowadays, with the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, more and more people are beginning to pay attention to ice and snow sports. When ordinary people participate in ice and snow sports, they must pay attention to the following points:

① Pay attention to dietary balance, do not be picky about food, do not diet, eat a diversified diet, choose fruits and vegetables of different colors and a variety of foods containing high-quality protein.

② Ensure adequate energy sources, pay attention to food supply and replenishment before and after exercise, and focus on foods that maintain muscle and endurance. Avoid exercising on an empty stomach or not eating in time after long-term exercise due to cold conditions or venue restrictions. Before exercise, you should focus on supplementing carbohydrate foods. Easily digestible staple foods can be the first choice, such as: bread, rice, noodles. After exercise, you can eat some biscuits, energy bars, bananas and other high-carbohydrate snacks to replenish energy at any time.

③ Learn to replenish fluids in a timely manner in small amounts and multiple times, and drink water as appropriate according to your gastrointestinal condition. Sports drinks are also a good choice. Avoid excessive exercise, which depletes energy, causes muscle fatigue and physical damage.

④ Pay attention to the supplementation of elements such as calcium, magnesium, and iron, drink more calcium-rich foods such as milk, yogurt, and cheese to maintain bone health.

Author: Sports Nutrition Center, Institute of Sports Medicine, State Sports General Administration

Wang Qirong, head of the nutritionist technical team of the national team preparing for the Olympics

Cao Chenliang, sports nutritionist of the National Bobsled Team

Zhu Pei, sports nutritionist of the National Cross-Country Skiing Team

Review: Experts from the National Health Science Expert Database

Li Keji, professor at the School of Public Health, Peking University

Planning: Tan Jia

Editor: Yu Yunxi