what's safe to eat/drink after/during a game?

Discussion in 'Techniques / Training' started by SmashingPower, May 1, 2004.

  1. SmashingPower

    SmashingPower Regular Member

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    ok, this have been on my mind for a long long long time and I want to get it straight.

    human body uses sugar(glucose) as energy, so when I play a game I'm burning lots of sugar that came from glycogen stored in my muscles etc.... After a hour or two I get tired.
    Is it right to drink or eat sweet stuff during the game. like a can of coke, or a chocolate bar?? Personally I find it helpful for a 3 hour long club practice, but there's one thing that I concern about the most - diabetes. If we put alot of glucose in our blood stream when we are using it, the pancreas is getting worked up making insulin trying to get those sugar where they are needed - muscles. I also learned from a pretty recent newspaper article that proves that when athletes are worked up, it is the best for them to refill the blood sugar level right after the game, since that's when the muscles are the best at refill and increase the potential of storing glycogen. so, the article is recommending to eat/drink sugary stuff after a game, because it's the best way to grow muscles. but, wouldnt then all the athletes get type 2 diabetes? :confused:

    I'm extremely worried about getting diabetes, but I still want to have suffecient energy during badminton games. so...should I, not should I NOT eat/drink sugary stuff during/after a game? :confused:
     
  2. Aleik

    Aleik Regular Member

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    I've been thinking about this too...not so much during and after, but beforehand. During a game, food isn't really on my mind. If there's a big tournament on, I might take a banana or two, but even then I feel bloated and turgid when I start playing again. I think I'd rather go hungry.

    After a match I eat as much energy-restoring food as possible, and drink lots of water. As I abstain from empty foods like chocolate, chips and cheese, it's usually a banana, with cornflakes and full-fat milk. Maybe some more fruit along with. There's a fair amount of sugar there, but the main things are for me to take in starch and vitamins to make sure I keep sharp.

    Although I do the most I can to keep my energy levels up, it's not a case of relying on food for this (I think getting plenty of sleep is more important). I rely on my Vit-C based diet because it keeps me alert and responsive, which is especially important in doubles. As far as proteins go, I try to only eat fish. It's much lighter on the stomach than red meats, is better for you and has just the same protein content.

    Before a match, I don't really know how much, how long before, what food...etc. Can anyone enlighten me about this after answering the original question?

    Aleik
     
  3. Phil

    Phil Regular Member

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    My team would have sandwhiches made of white bread and one slice of deli turkey after matches. Whole wheat bread can't be broken down in time, and the slice of turkey helps repair muscles. Prepacked meat isn't as good for this.

    We also had bananas, oranges, rice cakes, peanut butter (with rice cakes is yum), and plenty of water.

    For breakfast, have something with complex carbs like oatmeal or Shreddies, so it helps you all day.

    Phil
     
  4. herovc

    herovc Regular Member

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    I think one muffin of your choice should do the work and I think banana will do the work too (i dun like banana though :p ). For me, I usually eat it half hour b4 the game bcoz you need some time to get your sugar kick in. Same as when I'm going for an exam or an interview, it will help get your blood sugar up but won't coz diabetes.

    vc
     
  5. JChen99

    JChen99 Regular Member

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    I find that when I have slurpee during my games... I become super endurable :D
    The only reason I slow down during a game is when my body heats up internally. Today I experimented with slurpee during games. and OMG it worked like a wonder! :D
     
  6. Woven

    Woven Regular Member

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    fruits such as bananas and oranges are always good to prevent me from getting hungry between games. I always keep away from milk before games because i was told by my coach that its not good for the respiratory system.
     
  7. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    Don't be silly :p People don't get diabetes from eating lots of sugary food - that is a myth. See this page for details: http://www.diabetes.org.uk/diabetes/myths.htm

    Honestly, we live in a hypochondriac society these days :rolleyes:
     
  8. other

    other Regular Member

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    Type I diabetes is some sort of auto-immuye problem where the Insulin secreting cells in the pancreas are destroyed. Type II is when the cells in the body don't respond to insulin anymore, even when it is being produced normally. or some otoher weird cases.

    I guess you are suggesting that you might tired out the pancreas, needing to produce too much insulin? Or that sincce you are producing so much insulin, your cells become gradually desensitized to it?

    Hopefully our bodies won't mess up:)
     
  9. SmashingPower

    SmashingPower Regular Member

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    i was more thinking that too much sugar content food during or after a hefty exercise might exceed the capacity of the insulin producing pancreas cells, and thus killing their ability to make insulin anymore.
     
  10. other

    other Regular Member

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    should be ok, currently it seems that the body destroys the insulin producing cells for some reason or other, instead of them being overloaded and "frying" like computer chips.

    like gollum posted, there may be a link between sugar foods-->fat people-->type II diabetes

    the emphasis on them being fat, rather than due to increased insulin activity
     
    #10 other, May 2, 2004
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  11. SmashingPower

    SmashingPower Regular Member

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    ahhh!!!! :eek: FAT, that's why..I see now.

    thank god i'm not fat:D 140lb 5'11" ;)
    yea, now i can feel safe to have a Powerade during a game.
    maybe starchy food after/before a game isnt a bad idea.
    Personally I think whole grain is much better than white bread. white bread gets digested too fast, and gives too much of a spike in blood sugar level.
    whole grain contains more cellulose - fibre, so it's harder to break down.

    turkey is good stuff.
     
  12. other

    other Regular Member

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    hehe....turkey....i prefer crispy aromatic duck, or maybe beijing duck with nice wraps.....hehe....too bad no chinese restaurant near my badminton venues :)

    lucozade etc is fine....or like you said all the athletes would have problems
     
  13. cappy75

    cappy75 Regular Member

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    Turkey?! Ugh! No way for me! Turkey just makes me sleepy and lethargic. Not good if I have to drive home after a club session:(.

     
  14. jkusmanto

    jkusmanto Regular Member

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    I don't think too much over diabetes.
    Ussually I eat a bowl of noodle or pasta, or a hamburger 2-3 hours before practice/play.

    During play, I drink water and sportdrink. If I play more than 3 hour, usually I bring 1 banana. 1 bite between sets/game will be help to generate energy.
     
  15. Baddie

    Baddie Regular Member

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    I usually have a banana or a small sandwich (peanut butter) with any type of bread (white, whole wheat) or crackers 2 hours before playing. I also noticed that having 1 to 2 tablespoon of honey helps in my endurance (meaning, I dont feel that tired). During breaks, I just drink plenty of water (no gatorade stuffs) and after playing, I would have either another sandwich (ham and egg or just plain ham) or a bowl of soup. If these are not available, I would have either an apple or another banana - btw, I play mostly in the evenings so I dont eat dinner anymore after playing :)
     
  16. woop.

    woop. Regular Member

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    Was talking to my coach about this yesterday. She reckons (this surprised me) that jaffa cakes and jelly babies are quite good shortly before or inbetween matches (say if you are playing an all day tournament) to get some energy quickly into the system.
     
  17. bigredlemon

    bigredlemon Regular Member

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    fruit juice is high in sugar and can be quickly abosorbed. Soft drinks (including slurpees) aren't as good because they contain mostly fructose sugar, which doesn't get sent to the muscles as well as others like sucrose.
     
  18. jamesd20

    jamesd20 Moderator

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  19. SmashingPower

    SmashingPower Regular Member

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    jaffa cakes and jelly babies?? what in the WORLD are those things???:confused:
    eat babies?? u cannibal!! lol :p

    so what did your coach say about the chance of getting diabetes?
     
  20. SmashingPower

    SmashingPower Regular Member

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    wow, MANGOs are really that good?? but they are really hard to eat(all that skin and messy nut)..and very expensive too.
     

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