James Geraghty, MD of Molloys Pharmacy Group www.molloyspharmacy.com gave a presentation to a recent AAI Cross Country workshop in Galway on the nutritional need of athletes. The contribution to the workshop by James was very well recieved by those in attendance. A number of people have expressed an interested in reading through the material that he presented at the workshop and so we'll include it here for anyone not lucky enough to be there on the day.

James is a fully qualified pharmacist and, in addition, is an Ironman Triathlete. He has a passion for sports nutrition and is working with Roscommon GAA and many Tri clubs around Ireland.

Take it away James...

 (James' actual presentation from the day is also attached to the article here)

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NUTRITIONAL POINTS FOR ATHLETES

·         Implementing a nutrition plan can have a significant improvement on an athletes performance and recovery.

·         Breakfast is key. A slow releasing carbohydrate like porridge, muesli or ready brek are fine examples which stop spiking of insulin in the morning.

·         Add 2 spoons of wheat germ to the breakfast, this has no taste and is packed with vitamin E a potent antioxidant.

·         Hydrate in the morning with a couple of glasses of warm water to improve digestion (add a drop of lemon or apple cider vinegar to taste).

·         A good sports multivitamin taken about 4 times a year replaces any essential minerals or vitamins that might be low. Try brands like Solgar, Viridian, or Molloys Energy + all available in stores or on www.molloyspharmacy.com. The every day multivit brands are not geared towards athletes.

·         Consider eating quality / raw foods during the day.

·         Check out the fantastic qualities of celery and pineapple for example as snacks during the day (4 stalks of celery and 1/4 a pineapple daily is great for the body).

·         Meals should be packed with vegetables, rices, pastas and non processed meats and fish.

·         Avoid hydrogenated fats (bad fats). These are commonly found in processed food, sweets, confectionary and processed meats. They affect the integrity of the cell wall and inactivate numerous biochemical processes.

·         Supplement your diet with flax seed powder which is packed with good fats. Omega 3,6,9 are also good fats and lower the capability of bad fats to do damage. These are found in large quantities in oily fish.

·         Try to use an electrolyte drink during training or racing as this replaces critical minerals that are lost through perspiration.

·         Recovery is critical. The first half hour after training is very important. By having a protein / glutamine shake with a banana directly after training the bodies capability to recover is vastly improved.

Drug interactions with any of the above would be minimum. However if a person is taking warfarin, I would recommend being careful with the amount of omega oils one would take as this can increase bleed times. Also for people on antiepileptic medication (lithium) be aware of the amount of sodium one takes as this can interfere with the medication. If unsure at all please contact me or your Doctor. All the above including vitamins and minerals are WADA {World Antidoping Authority} compliant.