Eating 5 fruits and vegetables a day helps maintain food hygiene, the goal of which is to limit the risk of developing chronic disease and to control your “healthy” weight.
Thus in athletes, if they contribute to general food hygiene, they are directly involved in the performance objective for which food plays an important part.

Nutritional qualities
Fruits and vegetables have a relatively low caloric value, mainly made up of carbohydrates (about the equivalent of 2 to 3 sugars per fruit), combined with non-caloric elements such as fiber, vitamins and trace elements. These represent the essential nutritional value of fresh fruits and vegetables, in particular for athletes.

This richness in minerals and vitamins is constant in all fruits and vegetables, although some peculiarities can be observed. We can thus find in some of them the predominance of a trace element, such as calcium (cabbage, parsley, watercress, etc.), potassium (potato, banana, etc.), or iron (potato, parsley). …). These particularities will obviously be of interest to take into consideration in order to adjust a diet in an athlete, according to individual criteria.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are effective agents in the prevention of osteoporosis (calcium intake, alkalizing effect), cardiovascular diseases (high blood pressure, etc.), obesity and lipid disorders (hypercholesterolemia, triglycerides).

They contribute to good weight regulation. They regulate the appetite by inducing a “filling” of the stomach, source of satiety, this for low energy value. Fruits eaten outside of meals are also a great alternative to snacking.

Advice from our sports doctors
SPECIFIC PROPERTIES IN ATHLETES
The low energy value of fresh fruits and vegetables is an interesting element for weight regulation in weight class sports, or the “sharpening” periods which are very popular in certain endurance sports. Their consumption avoids having to resort to severe and poorly tolerated diets, a source of food frustration.
In addition to their low energy value, they help cover the nutritional intake of vitamins and minerals. These are increased in the athlete due to the increase in metabolism in relation to physical activity. Fresh fruits and vegetables, associated with a balanced diet will meet specific nutritional needs, will have a beneficial effect on performance, without resorting to supplementation.

THE SEARCH FOR PERFORMANCE
Fruits and vegetables are rightly included in the specific diet of athletes, with the aim of seeking performance. Vitamins and minerals are directly involved in the storage and use of glycogen, and allow better efficiency of cellular respiration (some vitamins are indeed involved in the cellular respiratory chain, as a cofactor).

Fruits and vegetables will help facilitate recovery, on the one hand because of their high antioxidant power, which is based on different substances, such as polyphenols, vitamin C. The effectiveness of these antioxidant elements is now known, by taking care to respect a balance between the needs of the organism, and the contributions. It will be necessary to avoid falling into excess which could be deleterious, which leads to many reservations about the effectiveness of supplements.

On the other hand, certain plants will also accentuate the faculties of recovery, by fighting against the acidity produced by exertion. This alkalizing property is more or less marked, which leads the athlete to orient his diet, or at least not to neglect the fruits and vegetables in his ration. The presence of bananas, apples, dried apricots on the end-of-competition refreshments is partly justified here. It is the same for the raw vegetables and salad of the post-competitive meal.

CONCLUSION
The consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables thus represents a factor of health and an element of effective prevention of certain diseases.

In athletes, if they contribute to general food hygiene, they are directly involved in the performance objective for which food plays an important part. Orienting the athlete’s diet according to certain individual criteria will enhance his level of performance, which justifies personalized nutritional monitoring.