A Guide to Eating for Sports There is a piece of good news that eating to reach your peak performance level likely doesn’t r

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问题                   A Guide to Eating for Sports
    There is a piece of good news that eating to reach your peak performance level likely doesn’t require a special diet or supplements. It’s all about working the right foods into your fitness plan in the right amounts. Here are some basics.
Eat Extra for Excellence
    Teen athletes have unique nutrition needs. Because athletes work out more than their less-active peers, they generally need extra calories to fuel both their sports performance and their growth. Depending on how active they are, teen athletes may need anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000 total calories per day to meet their energy needs.
    Since tech athletes need extra fuel, it’s usually a bad idea for them to diet. Athletes in sports where weight is emphasized—such as wrestling, swimming, dance, or gymnastics—may feel pressure to lose weight, but they need to weigh that choice with the possible negative side effects mentioned above. If a coach, gym teacher, or teammate says that you need to go on a diet, talk to your doctor first or visit a dietitian  who specializes in teen athletes. If a health professional you trust agrees that it’s safe to diet, he or she can work with you to develop a plan that allows you to perform your best and lose weight.
    Eat a Variety of Foods
    You may have heard about "carb loading" before a game. But when it comes to powering your game fox’ the long haul, it’s a bad idea to focus on only one type of food. Carbohydrates are an important source of fuel, but they’re only one of many foods an athlete needs. It also takes vitamins, minerals, protein, and fats to stay in peak playing shape.
    Muscular Minerals and Vital Vitamins
    Calcium helps build the strong bones that athletes depend on, and iron carries oxygen to muscles. Most teens don’t get enough of these minerals, and that’s especially tree of teen athletes because their needs may be even higher than those of other teens.
    To get the iron you need, cat lean red meats (meats with not much fat on them); grains that are fortified  with iron; and green, leafy vegetables. Calcium—a must for protecting against stress fractures— is found in dairy foods, such as low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese.
    In addition to calcium and iron, you need a whole bunch of other vitamins and minerals that do everything  from help you access energy to keep you from getting sick. Eating a balanced diet, including lots of different fruits and veggies, should provide the vitamins and minerals needed for good health and sports performance.
    Protein Power
    Athletes need slightly more protein than less-active teens, but most teen athletes get plenty of protein  through regular eating. It’s a myth that athletes need a huge daily intake of protein to build large, strong muscles. Muscle growth comes from regular training and hard work—not popping a pill. And taking in too much protein can actually harm the body, causing dehydration, calcium loss, and even kidney problems.
    Good sources of protein are fish, lean meats and poultry, eggs, dairy, nuts, soy, and peanut butter.
    Carb Charge
    Carbohydrates provide athletes with an excellent source of fuel. Cutting back on carbs or following low-carb diets isn’t a good idea for athletes because restricting carbohydrates can cause a person to feel tired and worn out, which ultimately affects performance.
    Fat Fuel
    Everyone needs a certain amount of fat each day, and this is particularly true for athletes. That’s because active muscles quickly bum through carbs and need fats for long-lasting energy. Like carbs, not all fats are created equal. Experts advise athletes to concentrate on healthier fats, such as the unsaturated fat found in most vegetable oils. Choosing when to cat fats is also important for athletes. Fatty foods can slow digestion, so it’s a good idea to avoid eating these foods for a few hours before and after exercising.
    Shun Supplements
    Protein supplements and energy bars don’t do a whole lot of good, but they won’t really do you much harm either. But other types of supplements can really do some damage.
    Anabolic steroids(合成代谢类固醇) can seriously mess with a person’s hormones, causing side effects like testicular(双丸状的) shrinkage and baldness in guys and facial hair growth in girls. Steroids can cause mental health problems, including depression and serious mood swings. Some over-the-counter supplements contain hormones that are related to testosterone (睾丸激素) (such as dehydroepi- androsterone, or DHEA for short). These supplements have similar side effects to anabolic steroids. These and other sports supplements (like creatine, for example) have not been tested in people younger than 18. So the risks of taking them are not yet known.
    Salt tablets are another supplement to watch out for. People take them to avoid dehydration, but salt tablets can actually lead a person to become dehydrated. In large amounts, salt can cause nausea, vomiting, cramps, and diarrhea and may damage the lining of the stomach. In general, you are better off drinking fluids in order to maintain hydration. Any salt you lose in sweat can usually be made up in one normal meal after exercise.
    Ditch Dehydration
    Speaking of dehydration, water is just as important to unlocking your game power as food. When you sweat during exercise, it’s easy to become overheated, headachy, and worn out—especially in hot or humid weather. Even mild dehydration can affect an athlete’s physical and mental performance.
    There’s no one-size-fits-all formula for how much water to drink. How much fluid each person needs depends on the individual’s age, size, level of physical activity, and environmental temperature.
    Experts recommend that athletes drink before and after exercise as well as every 15 to 20 minutes during exercise. In general, most athletes need 1 ~ 2 cups prior to exercise and 1/2 to 1 cup every 15 to 20 minutes throughout exercise. Don’t wait until you feel thirsty, because thirst is a sign that your body has needed liquids for a while. But don’t force yourself to drink more fluids than you may need either. It’s hard to run when there’s a lot of water sloshing around in your stomach !
    Caffeine
    Drinks that contain caffeine, including some soft drinks, tea, and coffee, may contribute to dehydration.  Although some studies have found that caffeine may help with endurance sports performance, it’s good to weigh any benefits against potential problems. Too much caffeine can leave an athlete feeling anxious or jittery. It can also cause trouble sleeping. All of these can drag down a person’s sports performance.  Plus, taking certain medications — including supplements — can make caffeine’s side effects seem even worse.
    Game-Day Eats
    Most of your body’s energy on game day will come from the foods you’ve eaten over the past several days. But you can boost your performance even more by paying attention to the food you eat on game day. Strive for a game-day diet rich in carbohydrates, moderate in protein, and low in fat. Here are some guidelines on what to eat and when:
    Eat a meal 2 to 4 hours before the game or event: Combine a serving of low-fiber fruit or vegetable  (such as juice, plums, melons, cherries, or peaches) with a protein and carbohydrate meal (like a turkey or chicken sandwich, cereal and milk, or chicken noodle soup and yogurt).
    Eat a snack less than 2 hours before the game: If you haven’t had time to have a pre-game meal, be sure to have a light snack such as crackers, a bagel, or low-fat yogurt.
    It’s a good idea to avoid eating anything for the hour before you compote or have practice because digestion  requires energy I energy that you want to use to win. Also, eating too soon before any kind of activity can leave food in the stomach, making you feel full, bloated, cramp, and sick. Everyone is different, so get to know what works best for you. You may want to experiment with meal timing and how much to eat on practice days so that you are better prepared for game day.
The individual’s age, size, ______and environmental temper will influence the amount of fluid one person needs each day.

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答案level of physical activity

解析 本题答案来自于文章第16段第2句:“How much fluid each person needs depends on the individual’s age,size,level of physical activity,and environmental temperature”。
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