TRAINING TABLE DEBRA WEIN, MS, RD, LDN, NSCA-CPT,*D AND ABBY CALCUTT, MS, MPH, RD
DO ATHLETES NEED BREAKFAST?
TRENDS IN BREAKFAST CONSUMPTION
For years, health and nutrition experts have reported the benefits of breakfast. Also, breakfast earned the title as the “most important meal of the day.” A growing body of evidence supports eating breakfast to boost academic performance including improved test scores, cognition, and behavior (1,2,6,7). Limited studies have investigated the benefits of breakfast on the larger U.S. population. However, for athletes and individuals striving to reach optimal physical performance, an adequate breakfast can provide many advantages. Despite the evidence-supported benefits, the trend for the general U.S. population to skip breakfast has increased over the last four decades. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), since 1971 breakfast consumption has decreased from nearly 90% to 84% for adults, and more drastically for the 20-29 year-old age group (9). anabolism. Simple and complex sources of carbohydrates can provide energy in two ways. Foods such as fruit, fruit juice, milk, and ready-to-eat cereal with optimal fiber content to increase the level of glucose—the sugar that circulates in the blood to provide immediate energy to cells and the brain (8). The second metabolic process utilizes carbohydrates to replenish glycogen stores—the packaged carbohydrate synthesized in the liver and stored in the liver and muscles. In addition to providing energy, complex carbohydrates contain fiber that slows digestion to sustain energy for a longer time, which is beneficial for a lengthy training session. The typical rate of digestion to restore muscle and liver glycogen levels varies, but it usually takes 3 – 4 hr for the body to digest and store carbohydrates as liver and muscle glycogen. Ideally, a meal should be ingested with enough time for Y?\?[??Y??H^\??\?H
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