A new pair of boots may enhance performance on the field, but it all depends on the player who’s wearing them. Playing a great game starts not with your equipment, but with your health and nutrition, and while the science behind the advice can get complicated, the advice itself is straightforward and easy to follow.

Eating for General Health and Performance

All food provides calories, but bodies don’t run efficiently on junk. All of the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that you need as a player are already important to your body simply to maintain good health, so the basic advice is the same for everyone, whether or not they’re an athlete, and no matter what sport they play. Eat foods that are minimally processed, eat a wide range of fruits and vegetables, choose lean protein, and eat healthy unsaturated fats. Make this your baseline to ensure your body gets the basic building blocks it needs to build muscle and strength, and keep every part of your body working effectively. You don’t need to bulk up on protein or carbohydrates the way endurance athletes or bodybuilders do, but it’s important to maintain a consistently healthy well-balanced diet. Eating for good health and physical fitness means improved muscle function, more energy, and increased endurance, giving you more energy to operate at peak performance till the end of every game.

According to US men’s team coach Jurgen Klinsmann, it’s also important to spread your calories throughout the day, eating four to six small meals and snacks, so that you’re refueling your body every three hours or so. Staying hydrated is essential too, and Klinsmann recommends drinking at least three liters a day of non-caloric beverages such as water or green tea.

After a workout or training session, it’s important to replace fluids over the following hours, and to eat a good post-workout meal that contains both carbohydrates and protein, along with a little healthy fat.

Eating on Game Day

When it comes to eating on the day of a game, it’s vitally important to carefully count the calories you eat, and when you eat them. Eating a nutrient-rich meal of 300-500 calories, three to five hours before a training session or game, gives you the energy you need and means you’re less likely to have problems with muscle fatigue or cramping. On the other hand, if you were to eat that meal two hours beforehand it’s more likely to have a negative effect on the way you play, because your body needs a good amount of time to digest the meal. In general, 100 calories per hour before the game or training session is a good rule to follow—and if you’re eating in the one to two hours before a game, it’s often better to go with a liquid snack rather than solid food. Avoid anything that’s high in sugar, especially if it’s in liquid form, as this will be metabolized too quickly to provide long-lasting energy, and can leave you feeling fatigued and light-headed once you start playing.

During a game, it’s crucial to keep yourself properly hydrated. This isn’t always easy, but remember that by the time you feel thirsty, you’re already dehydrated—so drink a little water during every break, and go for a sports drink during halftime, to replace carbohydrates and electrolytes.

After the game, another sports drink is the easiest and fastest way to replace the fluid and carbohydrates lost during the second half, followed by plenty of water throughout the remainder of the day. For meals, choose foods that are fairly high in carbohydrates, such as bread, pasta, and fruit.

Medications and Supplements

The use of performance-enhancing drugs, commonly referred to as doping, has never been as big a problem in soccer as it has been in weightlifting, and in endurance sports such as cycling and swimming. Even so, it’s still worthwhile to emphasize the importance of avoiding these substances, as well as recreational drugs, not only because of the ethical implications, but because of the possible health consequences. Long term steroid use, for example, can lead to hair loss, impotency, and impaired liver function, and stimulants such as ephedrine can cause circulatory problems and heatstroke. In recent years, some athletes have turned to erectile dysfunction medications for their circulation-boosting effects. Erectile dysfunction medications are safe when used as prescribed, but, as noted in the June 29 issue of the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, misuse of these drugs can have dangerous consequences. One reason for this is that erectile dysfunction medications are prescribed for use only when specifically required, but when used for doping they are typically taken much more frequently than is safe.

Supplements, on the other hand, can be an effective addition—but it’s important to remember that they can’t take the place of a healthy diet. On the other hand, if there are certain vitamins or minerals that you’re missing, adding targeted supplements, or a multivitamin, is the best way to address this problem.

This article was written for World Football Daily by a guest author Lisa Holden, who holds a degree in Food and Nutritional Sciences.