RATIONAL NUTRITION AS A PART OF RECOVERY MEASURES FOR INCREASED PHYSICAL LOADS
Authors: Salavelis A. , Pavlovsky S. 
Published: September 2021

The article is devoted to the problem of organizing a balanced diet of student youth who are engaged in active sports. The authors of the article conducted a general analysis of problematic aspects of the organization of these types of nutrition of young athletes, considered current trends in demand for certain types of sports functional foods and recommendations of domestic and foreign experts to address relevant issues.The study of modern experience in the organization of diets of professional athletes allowed to determine the basic principles of building an adequate diet of modern athletes and formulate practical recommendations with certain sets of quantitative and qualitative characteristics of certain types of food that are most suitable for athletes engaged in various active sports. During the formulation of the relevant recommendations, the peculiarities of the course of physiological processes in the body of a person who experiences different types of sports load were taken into account. These loads impose additional requirements on the human body, the observance of which depends on the general state of health and well-being of athletes both during training and during the performance of daily activities related to human life. Based on the understanding of these factors, during the study a questionnaire survey of young athletes was conducted to determine: the general eating habits of modern youth; used diets both during training and during rest; the most popular foods and favorite dishes made from them.Statistical processing of the results of the survey showed a high degree of awareness of students about the importance of balanced diets and the most important food components, the consumption of which affects the likelihood of achieving sports results. It was found that most young people prefer specialized functional products of targeted action, in particular, a variety of protein shakes and gainers, as well as so-called "sports" chocolate bars with different recipes. They are based on carbohydrate- protein mixtures with a certain ratio of simple and complex carbohydrates, which are further enriched with certain types of amino acids, vitamins, as well as creatine, trace elements and unsaturated fatty acids. At the same time, the analysis of the results of the survey of young athletes and the relationship of these data with modern experience in the organization of diets of professional athletes revealed a number of issues that require additional research. Addressing these issues will contribute to more efficient consumption by athletes not only of specialized foods, but also of the simplest, most common components of the human diet. Their combined consumption together with specialized foods will help to achieve the most optimal state of the body with a variety of sports activities and, if necessary, will significantly reduce the degree of consumption by athletes of specialized sports products. That is why the authors analyzed modern sports carbohydrate-protein mixtures and identified the most optimal ratio of simple and complex carbohydrates in them, determined the rational ratio of amino acids, vitamins, creatine, trace elements and unsaturated fatty acids in appropriate mixtures designed to optimize the course of physiological processes before and after sports activities of the body. Based on the modern experience of organizing the diets of professional athletes, recommendations were formulated for the use of both specialized and conventional foods in the diet of young athletes and recommendations were given to adjust the overall diet of young people who lead an active lifestyle.