The 6 Biggest Sports Nutrition Myths
In today’s post, we’re exposing six of the biggest sports nutrition myths out there. You’ve probably heard of them before and so, we’re going to look at them one by one. As you’ll see below, many may appear to be true but are nothing more than a myth.
1. Pasta makes you fat: sports nutrition myth
Pasta is a food commonly preferred by athletes thanks to its high carbohydrate content. People have always linked it to weight gain, but it’s not actually the case.
Pasta has little fat while being rich in carbs, minerals, and proteins. That makes it a perfect food for energizing the body while minimizing fat intake.
However, be wary of what you pair with pasta. Prepared sauces or fatty ingredients will turn pasta into an unhealthy dish.
2. Avoiding water while eating
The relationship between water and food has many athletes scratching their heads. Most people think that you should drink water before or after eating and never during.
Consider the fact that water is a drink that doesn’t have any calories, which means that it can’t be harmful. Just keep track of how much water you drink in a day.
3. Muscles disappear if you stop exercising
You won’t hear another sports nutrition myth as much as this one. It’s completely false and baseless. You’ll always have muscle in your body. Everyone has muscles, regardless of if a person has a sedentary or highly active lifestyle.
What’s true, however, is that if you stop training your muscles, they shrink in size. It’s completely normal and they’ll return to their original size.
4. Tuna makes your muscles grow
Tuna is one of the most popular foods among athletes. They seek out tuna because it contains a high amount of proteins and little fat.
But don’t think that your muscles will grow just by eating tuna. True, from a nutritional standpoint, tuna is great and is highly recommendable for athletes. However, you have to understand that building muscle mass requires effort and persistence. A food product can help you meet your goals, but your gym time is fundamental.
5. Food supplements in sports nutrition can be harmful
Many people believe that food supplements have side-effects, making them harmful to the human body. It’s absolutely a myth; if it were true, they wouldn’t be allowed.
Remember that everything you buy at a supermarket or specialized food stores pass regulations and testing to ensure the health of the consumer. In any case, we recommend talking about doses with a specialist as it’ll depend on the amount and intensity of your exercise habits.
6. Saturated fat is harmful to you
For a long time, people have believed that saturated fats are harmful to health and have blacklisted it. Many also linked it directly to cardiac diseases.
But these beliefs don’t actually have any scientific backing. Consuming a moderate amount of saturated fats won’t really have harmful effects on the body.
After busting these seven sports nutrition myths with us today, it looks like not everything we hear is actually true. Also, do your research to make sure that the information you receive is true. It’s the only way of securing the nutrition and exercise that your body needs and achieving the results that you want.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
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- Rosado, JL, Rivera, J., López, G., Solano, L., Rodríguez, G., Casanueva, E., García, A., Toussaint, G., & Maulen, I. (1999). Desarrollo y evaluación de suplementos alimenticios para el Programa de Educación, Salud y Alimentación. Salud Pública de México , 41 (3), 153-162.
