Potatoes as Fuel for Sports Performance
Dietician Orla Walsh has a postgraduate diploma in Sports and Exercise Nutrition. Orla has worked with some of the Irish athletes in the lead up to the Rio Olympics and Paralympics as part of her role as Performance Nutritionist with Athletics Ireland and Sport Ireland.
Here, she gives us her top reasons as to why potatoes make an excellent fuel for sports performance:
🥔 Carbohydrate is incredibly important for sports performance. Similar to petrol for a car, it’s the fuel we run on! And, similar to a car, our requirements depend on how fast, how far and how frequently we move as well as tank/muscle size.
🥔 Did you know that carbohydrate is the main fuel for our brain? It contributes to the maintenance of brain function. Your brain helps to keep movements coordinated and a person focused throughout the match as well as the speed and accuracy of thoughts sharp
🥔 Once the game or training is over, carbohydrates contribute to the recovery of muscle function which unless replenished can lead to muscle fatigue and the depletion of these all important skeletal muscle stores.
🥔 The fluids we drink help keep us hydrated, but so too does the water within our food. As potatoes are a plant pulled straight from the soil they naturally contain a lot of water - a boiled new potato is about 82% water!
🥔 There are other important elements to hydration including electrolytes. Potatoes are a source of potassium. Potassium also plays a central role in muscle and nerve function.
🥔 Spuds also contain vitamin B1 which contributes to the normal function of the heart, the organ that helps blood reach our muscles!
🥔 What’s more, potatoes are a source of vitamin C which contributes to maintain the normal function of the immune system during and after intense physical exercise. It also contributes to normal cartilage formation and helps to reduce tiredness and fatigue.
🥔 As potatoes are naturally fat-free and saturated fat-free, the quantity and quality of the fat added to the potato is left up to the athlete. As fats are an important food group with lots of different benefits, the athlete can focus on including a variety of fats in their diet, with a focus on unsaturated fats.
🥔 Finally, the energy (calorie) requirements of the athlete differ from day to day. Depending on the type of potato, 2 medium potatoes provides just 160 to 185 calories. If more calories are needed, more can be added as there are so many different ways to enjoy potatoes.