As the Zambian Female National Team also known as the Copper Queens begin their world cup campaign this Saturday, it is important that they keep themselves healthy and in good shape.
It is no question that when it comes to such strenuous physical activities a healthy body is key, hence the importance of a well-balanced and nutritious diet cannot be overemphasised.
Doctor Dominic Kampolo is a professional dietician under the Tele-doctor platform of professionally trained and qualified doctors in the country. He spoke to the Zambian Business Times ZBT about an ideal sports diet for football players.
Dr. Kampolo said that for athletes to build up nutrition, there is a preparatory phase which has different requirements from the activity stage. He notes that every sports activity has different requirements based on the target. He said that for soccer players, it is important to look out for nutrients that will replenish the muscles such as proteins which can be found in meat products and nuts, Amino Acids, and vitamins.
Dr. Kampolo also spoke on the intake of energy drinks noting that energy drinks that are taken in a way that one wants to output a lot energy at a goal are very harmful due to the metabolic changes that tend to occur when the muscle is overworked, He explained that most of these energy drinks have phosphocreatine, and possess enzymes that break down the energy currency in the body in form of adenosine triphosphate ATP which blocks the breaking down of cycle germs which is a second messenger in the activities that involve muscles to contract and to perform more readily.
“For us to prepare a candidate for such high energy spending activities, we are required to give nutrients that are going to promote blood flow, that are going to promote storage of energy, that are going to promote clearance of toxic substances. It also depends on the level at which you want to approach a candidate from” said Kampolo.
He added that the best foods are non-refined foods, and that the carbohydrates to be taken should be those that are able to produce sugar in a slow manner as opposed to those that produce sugar quickly. “The very sweet sources of carbohydrates release energy very fast. For instance table spoon sugar. But you need the body to be releasing energy slowly which will be able to make the body endure, so you are feeding for endurance” said Kampolo. He mentioned that good sources of carbohydrates that are good for endurance include, potatoes (sweet potatoes, and Irish potatoes), and rice. He also mentioned that Nshima is part of the good carbohydrates, but noted that it has a very high caloric value and produces a lot of glucose.
And when asked about supplements, Dr. Kampolo said that supplements that are given as a boost are not good. He explains that they are the same as the hormones that are given in order to stimulate someone to perform. “What is best is for us to do what we call preparatory feeding for endurance purposes. So we feed the person so that we plan them for endurance, not for us to overfeed them, because when we over feed them, the body will not handle those products well. So you require to dose in the right amounts for a certain period of time to prepare the body” said Kampolo. He notes that over inducing the body causes problems such as heart failure which is very common for sports persons to experience due to the use of such substances.
Dr. Kampolo further noted that a carbohydrate meal is key for players before they can go for their exercises, and that during the time that they are not exercising, they are recommended to have a high protein meal. Dr. Kampolo highlighted that if anything is to be ingested before a game, a fruit drink that is high in carbohydrates would be ideal. He said other drinks behave like drugs and are not encouraged as they have long term side effects.
He also noted that taking in anything that is too solid during the game (half time) is not as encouraged as digestion reduces during strenuous activates which also leads to reduced absorption. He however noted that a snack of a protein and carbohydrates such as groundnuts and cashew nuts would work fine.
Dr. Kampolo has therefore advised the Copper Queens team dieticians to feed the team more on protein snacks with a lot of zinc and calcium. He also noted that the team is female hence it should be well considered that they go through hormonal changes. “They have hormonal changes per individual, so it depends whether someone is undergoing ovulation the hormones change, if they are undergoing menstruation the hormones change. So those things should be taken care of because that is what makes sports ladies to have more injuries as compared to males” said Dr. Kampolo.
He further disclosed that when women are to undergo such strenuous exercises, their hormonal cycles are disturbed, their menstruation is stopped, and their ovulation can be interfered with in order to keep them from having injuries of the tendons, especially the ACL. He notes that the ACLs are the most common injuries that sports ladies go through when they have hormonal changes. He said it is important to consider hormonal changes when feeding women, hence the need to look at diets that are friendly with regard to their cycles.
Dr. Kampolo has wished the Copper Queens well in their campaign, and further advised that synthetic products be avoided to prevent any long term side effects.
