Recreational adventurers and competitive athletes can enhance their performance by eating correctly. But what does that mean? Do you eat carbs or protein to recover from a workout? What foods will give you the most energy before you exercise? There are a few books that I recommend that spell it out in detail. Both books are very reader friendly and don't dive too far into the technical scientific jargon of human nutrition.
Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook by Nancy Clark :
The author has a Master's in Science and is a Registered Dietician. At 454 pages, this comprehensive nutrition book is broken into four parts--The Training Table, Sports Nutrition for Success, Weight Management, and Recipes for Health and Fitness.
It has the feel of a textbook, but is easy to read. This book does a good job at de-mystifying nutrition. There are lots of tips and tables.
The training section discusses strategies, goods that will keep the doctor away, eating a healthy breakfast, snacking, salads, and eating in a rush.
The part on nutrition for success talks about carbs, protein, keeping hydrated what to eat before, during and after exercise, and supplements.
The weight management section will probably be a hit with the ladies. It goes over fat, losing weight while staying energized, eating disorders, and energy-rich foods.
Lastly, there are loads of quick, easy, healthful recipes to choose from with tips on cooking, freezing and keeping foods safe.
This book also has illustrations that make the "heavy" subject of food science light and fun. Easy to read. A must-have for athletes interested in nutrition.
Ultimate Sports Nutrition by Ellen Coleman and Suzanne Nelson :
The authors are both Registered Dieticians, as well as having various other credentials.
While not quite as in-depth, this book is an overall good guide for general sports nutrition.
It is very cut-and-dry (no cartoons here), with lots of valuable tables and charts.
The book discusses the following topics: nutrients, training diets, energy, eating for your sport, carbs, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals, hydration, body composition, losing fat while gaining muscle, ergogenic acids, eating on the road, eating disorders, and nutrition for young athletes.
At 205 pages long, this is a great reference book, with short chapters and lots of facts and figures.
It covers things like food sources for vitamins and minerals, the Food Guide Pyramid, serving sizes, dietary guidelines, how to read food labels (very important), meal plans, food content, vegetarian diet, cholesterol, alcohol and caffeine, sugar, and fast food. This book does not provide a recipe section.
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