We asked Jenny Fridlund, nutrition counselor for the Swedish Olympic Committee, cross-country skiing team, sailing team and the swimming team, as well as owner of the “Alla Tiders Matlagare” restaurant company in Stockholm, questions and advice on nutrition to support performance in sport.
1. Jenny, in your experience as a nutrition counselor, how do swimmers’ diets differ from that of skiers and sailors?
Swimmers’ diets do not differ significantly from other athletes: there are only a few variables to be taken into consideration, which possibly may have some influence on diet, i.e. if you prefer to swim early in the morning or late at night.
Having said this, diet depends very much on how hard your training schedule is and how much energy you need for it. For every single athlete, the diet has to be varied and complete, that means enough carbs, proteins and fat in order to get the right vitamins, mineral and antioxidants.
2. What, in your opinion, is the right and wrong approach to food & drink?
That’s a difficult question. Diet can be very personal: something that works for one person, does not necessarily work for the next. But a keynote is to match the body’s energy need, in order to have an efficient body which is able to…
