Recent Nutrition Trends for Sports and Health Enthusiasts

It is important to eat healthily no matter who you are, but when you are a professional athlete, it’s crucial. The world we live in is saturated with sugary, salty, and fatty foods, and it can be difficult to keep track of your health, but following food trends can be a guide to understanding what is good for you and what foods you should probably avoid.

For some years, sports players were allowed to consume fizzy drinks and fried food along with their fans in the stands, but in recent years, as food technology has developed, there has been more of an emphasis placed on keeping players in top condition, taking new approaches to nutrition. And a few trends have been consistently cropping up:

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Almond Milk

A global increase in veganism and vegetarianism has led to the availability of ‘niche’ foods sky-rocketing. There are now many non-dairy milk options available for those who can’t have it or who are simply looking to lead a healthier lifestyle. Per cup, almond milk has fewer calories than cow’s milk and gives you up to 25% of your daily requirements for vitamin D, so this has become a popular option for athletes looking to stay trim.

Corn Fritters

Everyone loves a cooked breakfast in the morning, and if you are planning on putting your body through a considerable amount of stress through exercise, it is advisable to make sure you give yourself enough fuel at the start of the day. Corn fritters have become a popular replacement for the tasty breakfast staple that is hash browns. With various healthy options to suit your needs and lots of restaurants to get the best of the best, these are seriously worth considering when you next plan your first meal of the day.

Non-alcoholic Drinks

It’s not exactly a secret that consuming alcohol has many negative effects on your internal health, but it is a temptation that many of us often cannot resist. But it is definitely worth considering cutting the number of pints/glasses that you drink a week if you spend a lot of your time playing sports – and with alcohol consumption by young people decreasing in the last few decades (mainly put down to health-conscious millennials preferring smoothies to stout), there are more and more non-alcoholic beverages that provide equal amounts of enjoyment as intoxicants.

Plant-based Proteins

Again, this can be put down to an increase in the population of non-meat-eaters, but animal lovers and fitness fanatics alike are choosing plant proteins such as tofu, tempeh and chickpeas over red meat. This is because they tend to have less fat, more vitamins and the food doesn’t sit as heavily in your stomach during digestion, which is a pro for anyone who exercises as much as they eat.

There are sure to be more developments in the future, with the gastro-tech improving every day and sports-science gaining research to fuel change, but these few trends are set to be popular in 2018, and will hopefully improve your game, whatever it may be.

(Image via: pexels.com)