• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Click here to download the  free ebook of Alberto Juantorena’s  detailed training workouts leading up to the 1976 Montreal Olympics

SpeedEndurance.com

Success in Track & Field ... and Life

  • Home
    • About
    • Contact
  • Track & Field
    • 400 meters
    • 800m & Mile
    • 1/2 & Full Marathons
    • Long & Triple Jump
    • Hurdles
  • Training
    • Weight Training
    • Abs & Core
    • Injury Prevention
    • Shoes & Spikes
    • Masters
  • Coaching
    • Freelap Friday Five
    • Interviews
    • Sports Nutrition
    • Sport Psychology
  • Archives
  • Shop
    • My account
    • Checkout
    • Basket

Nutrition for Travel – IAAF Nutrition for Athletics

You are here: Home / Sports Nutrition / Nutrition for Travel – IAAF Nutrition for Athletics
0
SHARES
FacebookTwitter

January 29, 2008 by Jimson Lee 2 Comments

Last Updated on January 11, 2009 by Jimson Lee

This summary is from the IAAF 2nd International Consensus Conference on “Nutrition for Athletics“ held in Monaco from April 18-20, 2007. Copies of the CD and booklet are available from the IAAF website www.iaaf.org.

Nutrition for Travel
Presenter: Tom Reilly (GBR)

Travel across time zones and jet lag can have a profound effect on sleep, digestion, well-being and performance. It is easier to travel westbound than eastbound, since our biological rhythm in “free-running” conditions spans about 25 hours.

Pharmacological approaches for dealing with time changes are not recommended for athletes and emphasis should be laid on behavioral strategies. Athletes should strive to arrive in the new time zone well in advance of their event. Pre-adjustment to the new time zone can be commenced before departure by going to bed either early for eastbound flights or late for westbound flights. Light and exercise can have influence on the circadian rhythm.

The influence of diet remains equivocal. Adequate timing of meals, adjusted to the new time zone, can have an effect. At this time, timing seems much more important than macronutrient content of the meals.

Athletes are prone to dehydration because a lot of fluid is lost just by breathing the dry air in an airplane. An estimate fluid intake of 1520cl/hour should be acceptable. Habitual coffee consumers can take coffee in moderation. Alcohol should be avoided. Athletes should be encouraged to bring their own food supplies to compensate for the menu provided by the airline that is often low in volume and fibre.

See also  Fish Oils for Inflammation: How Much is Enough?

Exposure to light or avoidance of light can be a powerful tool for adjustment to the new time zone. Training can have an effect on adjustment, but it seems to be more powerful for phase delay (eastbound) than for phase advance (westbound).

Caffeine is often used, but the effects are ambivalent: it reduces daytime sleepiness, but also impairs recovery time. Sleeping agents are often advocated. Because the right timing of intake is difficult, the advantages are equivocal.

Athletes can face several challenges at the destination of travel. Changed environmental factors, like heat or altitude, reduced or enhanced (all you can eat buffets) access to foods, eating from fast food restaurants or other facilities not tailored to the needs of the athletes, reduced hygiene standards, all make it difficult for athletes to maintain a healthy diet. Meal plans and timing should be organised in advance. Portable and non-perishable foods can be taken along to replace important items that otherwise would be missing. A broad spectrum, low dose multivitamin/mineral supplement can be given to compensate for restricted intake of nutrient rich foods.

As many as 60% of athletes who travel internationally develop diarrhea. Performance may be affected during an attack and for some time afterwards. Athletes should avoid high risk foods and tap water, even for brushing teeth. Personal hygiene, especially washing hands before meals, is important to lower the risk. Treatment is symptomatic in most cases. Fluid and electrolyte should be replaced. A bland diet low in fat and avoiding dairy and alcohol is recommended. If the condition is severe or persists for more than 48 hours antibiotics may be required.

See also  NIKE and RED Unite to Leverage the Power of Sport to Fight HIV/AIDS in Africa

The above summary was written by Peter Res

If you wish to download this handy Grams and Calorie Calculator for Carbohydrate, Protein, and Fat, click here for the Excel spreadsheet.

This is part 13 of 14 in a series from the 2007 2nd IAAF International Consensus Conference “Nutrition for Athletics”

Category iconSports Nutrition Tag iconProtein,  speed,  Sports Nutrition

About Jimson Lee

I am a Masters Athlete and Coach currently based in London UK. My other projects include the Bud Winter Foundation, writer for the IAAF New Studies in Athletics Journal (NSA) and a member of the Track & Field Writers of America.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Roddy the Traveller says

    October 1, 2008 at 12:11 pm

    who penned several nutrition books including the 1973 best seller “The Supermarket Handbook,” like to avoid the fast food chains that
    dot the nation’s interstates whenever they drive from their Woodstock .

    Reply
  2. Jimson Lee says

    October 2, 2008 at 10:42 am

    @Roddy – Nikki Goldbeck.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Recommended

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xbs-aWxyLk

Shop Our Store

  • Bud Winter (9)
  • Championship Productions (6)
  • Clyde Hart (2)
  • Derek Hansen (1)
  • Electrical Muscle Stimulation (2)
  • Jim Hiserman (6)
  • Jimson Lee (4)
  • Uncategorised (0)

Articles by Category

Products

  • Jim Hiserman - Developing 800m Runners: Identifying, Categorizing and Developing 400m-800m Type Athletes $42.99 $39.99
  • Private Coaching - Monthly Plan $600.00 $525.00
  • Jim Hiserman-Developing-Distance-Runnersv2 Jim Hiserman - Developing Distance Runners Volume 2: A Systematic Approach to Developing Individual Success within a Dynamic Team Culture $34.95 $29.95
  • Feed-the-Cats-Clinic-3-Pack-701 'Feed the Cats' Clinic 3-Pack $64.99
  • Tony Holler's Feed the Cats": A Complete Sprint Training Program Tony Holler's "Feed the Cats" Complete Sprint Training Program $49.99
  • Bud Winter and Speed City presents Arthur Lydiard 509x716 Bud Winter & Arthur Lydiard MP3 [Download only] $9.99

RECENT POSTS

  • Oregon22 Coaches Club now Online
  • IFAC 2022: The Return of In-Person Conferences (with Virtual option)
  • Here is our 400m Discussion Recording… over 2 Hours Long
  • The Best Free Coaching Book – post Beijing 2022 Olympics
  • The Ultimate 400m Track Webinar for Coaches & Athletes
  • NACAC Athletics Coaching Science Series 2022
  • Top Six 400m Predictor Workouts (Number 4 is my Favourite)
  • Best 6 Podcasts for 2021 (and Beyond)
  • Why Karsten Warholm’s 45.94 400mH WR is my Highlight of 2021
  • Sprinting: 10 Research Articles for Effective Sprint Training [Part 23]

Copyright © 2023. SpeedEndurance.com is owned and operated by Aryta Ltd. Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}