This has been an area of great study in recent years. Researchers are creating diets that provide athletes with the foods that contain high levels of the nutrients needed for each particular sport. For an athlete to have proper nutrition in sports, one must have knowledge of the six classes of nutrients and the four basic food groups. The six classes of nutrients are water, vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. Each class plays a different role in the energy cycle of the body.
Water is essential.
An adult male body weight is about 60 percent water. The average person needs two and a half liters of water a day. With these facts in mind, it is understandable why an athlete, who undergoes heavy physical exertion, has an extreme need for large quantities of water. This water comes from the intake of all fluids and food during a day. Vitamins are needed in small amounts.