A balanced and healthy diet provides the right amount of foods and meals that are safe and free from harmful bacteria and substances (Martin, 2015). Moreover, when eating well means eating a variety of foods that contains nutrients that the body needs. Not one single food contains enough nutrients that will suffice the body. In addition, eating a variety of various foods will supply the body the nutrients that are important. Nutrition is the most important factor so that muscle growth will be able to occur and without the proper hydration, supplementation and nutrition, there will be little or no gains at all (Mielgo, 2015). Poor nutrition can cause a lot of issues such as obesity, health problems and also being overweight. Moreover, proper nutrition provides the building blocks of muscle, therefore when there are foods that contain protein they are broken down as amino acids in the body. Amino acids inside the body are used to repair and build any muscle tissue. With proper nutrition being good for everyone, it is vital for athletes in particular because of their athletic performance (Webber, …show more content…
For most athletes the number of intake on calories ranges from 1,000 to 1,500 a day (Martin, 2015). Nonetheless, calories come in different type of forms such as fats, carbohydrates and proteins. On the hand, carbohydrates originate in everything and is the body’s best source of calories (Miran, 2013). While there are two forms of carbohydrates, simple and complex, simple carbohydrates can provide the body with a fast burst of energy because the body breaks down simple carbohydrates easier. In addition, complex carbohydrates are a better source of energy overtime because they take longer to break down and if complex carbohydrates are found in whole grains such as potatoes, oatmeal and brown rice they are considered most beneficial to the body. A question to be answered is that do the nutritional needs of athletes differ from non-athletes? Even though sedentary individuals, athletes and people who just exercise for health and fitness reasons all need the same basic nutrients, athletes with a precise health condition may need additional supplementation. Being that an athlete is always physically active