How can diet fads harm BJJ athletes? - By: Ron Stallings

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athletes have a constant pressure to maintain their weight and stay fit. However, sometimes athletes fail to achieve desired results despite rigorous work-outs and balanced diets. Therefore, they tend to experiment with various diets and resort to diet fads for quick weight loss. However, these experiments can be detrimental to an athlete’s career.

Most Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athletes believe that a protein-intensive diet helps them build muscular mass. This is true; but an athlete must get only 12 to 15 percent of his daily calorie intake from protein. Excess consumption of protein can lead to higher calcium excretion and cause premature osteoporosis. Athletes could face a higher risk of bone injuries during practice or tournaments. In addition, high-protein diets also increase the risk of kidney failure.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athletes also resort to low-carbohydrate diets to lose weight fast. This could lead to Ketosis, which is a metabolic state in which the ketone bodies in blood rise abnormally. Due to this, the body burns fat and protein instead of glucose. In the long run, Ketosis can cause organ failure and dizziness and increase fatigue and headaches. These side-effects can hamper an athlete’s performance and prevent him from practicing the sport.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu athletes are also known to resort to crash dieting to lose weight. They skip meals, follow zero-fat diets or take supplements to aid weight-loss. However, these supplements cause weight-loss due to excessive water and muscle loss. These diets lower the metabolism and disturb the sleep pattern. This can have an adverse affect on the concentration level of the athlete. It can also cause fatigue and make him irritable. Dehydration is also a dangerous side effect of such diets. Dehydration has an adverse effect on the temperature regulation mechanism. Due to this, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athlete’s body fails to cool down fast, which results in exhaustion.

Irregular diet patterns can also cause nutritional deficiencies, which can weaken the immune system of a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athlete. This makes the athlete more vulnerable to different illnesses and can disrupt his training and diet.

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Ron Stallings offering special training for Mixed Martial Arts , Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu , Self defense, Muay Thai Boxing , Kids Karate Program in Harford County, Aberdeen Maryland. Just Join the Ron Team for free 30 days trail mma program.Call us 410-272-3799

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