When you think of gamers, you probably imagine a group of guys hooked up to their computer screens for hours munching on junk food like pizza and Cheezels and washing it down with mountain dew or V energy drinks. While many of these clichés have been disproved in recent years due to a growing health-conscious Australian gaming community, many high-performance gamers are still sticking to the old ways and affecting their health and overall lifestyles.
In this post, we’ll talk about Esports nutrition for high-performance gaming and share a list of healthy food and beverage choices for gamers.
The Link Between Proper Nutrition and Esports Performance
If you’re wondering what makes this topic interesting, several surveys show that nearly 80% of gamers eat and drink while playing games, and nearly all of them eat passively. The problem here is that most professional gamers are primarily oriented towards unhealthy eating habits and generally opt for easily-handled dry dishes like pizza, rolls, fries, and stir-fry, etc. When it comes to beverages, water is often second to soda, energy drinks, and beer. As a result, gamers consume more unhealthy foods and beverages on average and often exceed their daily sugar and carbs intake limits. Unhealthy snacks also contain high saturated fat, which leads to cognitive deterioration.
Switching to healthy, low glycemic index foods has improved memory, reflex, attention, and functional capacity. They also increase serotonin levels that boost learning and mental reasoning. As you can see, these are all vital skills for gamers and can improve Esports performance, such as reduced reaction times, improved accuracy, and better tracking of objects on the screen. This proves that proper nutrition and hydration are critical for enhanced cognitive performance, which can differentiate between winning and losing.
What High-Performance Gamers in Australia Should Eat and Drink?
High-performance gamers have certain requirements when it comes to foods and beverages. Here are some of them:
- Finger food items should not drip with grease on the mouse or keyboard, which is why pizza became so popular.
- Food must not drip any liquids as they can damage keyboards or screens. E.g. pickles or sausages.
- Food with crumbs, such as cookies and pastries, are usually avoided as the little bits can easily enter their systems.
- Most gamers avoid hot beverages, such as coffee or tea, since they require active consumption.
Esports nutrition is becoming more prevalent around the country, with professional teams hiring nutritionists and investing in performance-based products to improve health. The idea is to replace unhealthy snacks and beverages with healthy ones that can improve mental health, energy levels, and concentration, such as:
Food
1. Avocado or Guacamole
Avocado is one of the healthiest fruits you can buy as it is rich in monosaturated fats and vitamin B. You can mash them into guacamole and eat them with grain-free tortilla or carrot sticks. Or, you could put them in a sandwich with eggs and your favourite meats. This will keep your insulin under control as nutrients in avocado will balance them out.
2. Blueberries
You don’t always need to have a savoury snack when playing high-intensity games. Blueberries are a superfood for modern gamers and are loaded with antioxidants and gallic acid, which protect the brain from stress. Switching from a bag of chips to a bowl of blueberries can help you play longer while keeping your memory sharp.
3. Peanut Butter
If you’re going to have a sandwich while gaming, you should opt for PB&J. Peanut butter is low in calories and sugar, which makes it an excellent choice for gamers with a sweet tooth. You can have it with celery or carrots instead of bread or crackers to make it even healthier. If you don’t like this option, you can always go for good old-fashioned peanuts unless you’re allergic.
4. Meat and Veggies
If you don’t mind cold food, you can make a simple salad with your favourite greens, such as lentils, lettuce, kale, and spinach. If you like meat, you should stick with pan roast poultry or lean fish like salmon, preferably cooked in olive oil. While this isn’t exactly a snack, it’s ideal for high-performance gamers who like to take breaks in between sessions.
Beverage
Hydration is just as important as eating healthy snacks. Being dehydrated will negatively affect performance by wearing you down and making you more sluggish. Ideally, you should stick to water and consume at least 8-10 glasses every day. Suppose you’re used to energy drinks and soda. In that case, you can switch to healthier performance-enhancing drinks from G fuel Australia that are available in either ready-to-drink cans or energy formula tubs.
Final Thoughts
And there you have it – a brief guide to Esports nutrition for high-performance gaming. It’ll be premature to assume that a salad and water will replace pizza, soda, energy drinks, and other popular snacks. However, you can use healthier snacks to break from unhealthy eating and improve your overall performance by keeping your eating habits balanced.