nutrition

Provided your diet is basically good you won't need to supplement with vitamins. Aim for 3 or 4 small meals a day rather than fewer large meals.

You need to ensure that most of your energy comes from foods such as pasta, rice, bread, breakfast cereals and potatoes. Some carbohydrate will come from sugar, honey & jams. Sugar is in fruit, milk, soft drinks and sports drinks.

Fruit and vegetables:- a minimum of 5 portions daily. I portion is equal to ½ cup of cooked vegetables or 1 cup of raw. A glass of fruit juice counts as one fruit portion, but only one as there are extra nutrients in 'whole' fruits . You don’t have to worry about always having fresh vegetables, frozen vegetables have a higher vitamin content than fresh which have been hanging around for a few days. Fruit can be fresh, tinned or dried.

Dairy products:- 2-3 portions of low fat varieties daily Low fat milks, yoghurts, cheeses, fromage frais etc provide protein, essential calcium and vitamins.

Meat and alternative protein sources:- 2 helpings daily. Lean meat, fish, eggs, tofu, Quorn (mycoprotein), beans, lentils and nuts. Meat is a valuable source of complete proteins, omitting meat means protein and vitamin requirements need careful consideration, plus meat contains iron in a form that is more accessible to the body than the type found in plants.

Sports drinks:- If endurance riding for more than 5 hours electrolytes must be replaced either using foods or sports drinks. Bananas & other fruits/juices are a good source of potassium. Bread, pretzels and marmite contain plenty of sodium, or hypotonic or isotonic sports drinks are formulated to give low carbohydrate together with a good balance of minerals. Hypotonic are absorbed into the body fastest. e.g. Extran Thirst Quencher or PSP Go. For races lasting more than one hour attention needs to be paid to both fluid and energy requirements.

If any group of foods is eliminated from the diet, e.g dairy products or a vegetarian diet then the person really needs to consult either a sports dietician or nutritionist.