Do Muay Thai fighters eat sugar?

It’s just never a huge deal for Thai fighters to avoid things like too many carbs, to stay away from processed food, and to cut down on sugar intake. You’ll see Nak Muay drinking a couple of liters of coca-cola because of the energy created from the huge amounts of sugar. Sugar that we consume is digested and diluted in our stomach, and is converted into two types of molecules; glucose and fructose. The sugar converted from complex carbohydrates are necessary for us to perform during Muay Thai training and during a Muay Thai fight. However, added sugars found in a lot of the food and drinks that we consume on a daily basis is unnecessary and extremely harmful to our body. Sugar causes a massive amount of dopamine to be released into our systems, which means that over time, we become addicted to sugar and its effects. The bottom line is that sugar and added sugars in our food are unnecessary for Muay Thai training and it’s absolutely imperative to stop consuming too much of it. Lowering your sugar intake will help you achieve your weight loss results, and actually balance your hormones, allowing you to perform better during training. If you can’t go without sugar, don’t exceed the American Heart Association’s recommended sugar levels, which are 5 teaspoons for women (20 grams); 9 teaspoons for men (36 grams); and 3 teaspoons (12 grams) for children. Because of sugar’s unique effect on the brain and our hormone production, over time it promotes fat to be stored in our body much easier than normal.

Some argue that the sugar in carbonated beverages can assist them during training. While this is true in cases where all of your carbohydrates have been depleted, the negative side effects such as giving you gas, making you feel bloated, and the intake of sugar (which is never good), are enough for us to say, “Stay away from them.” Think of it like this; sugar is a simple carbohydrate, eating anything that has sugar added to it is a no-no for a ton of health reasons. Having a fruit or two 30 minutes to an hour before training will also help you perform better.

A diet high in trans-fats, vegetable oils, saturated fat, white bread, white rice, and foods high in sugar is a diet that will cause inflammation in the body. You can help manage inflammation by swapping bad fats for healthy fats like olive oil or polyunsaturated fats, and especially omega-3 fats from fish. Swap your white bread and white rice for wholegrain versions which will help reduce inflammation production. Other anti-inflammatory foods are fruits, vegetables and nuts – It’s a good idea to increase these foods in your diet for at least 2 weeks after a fight. My philosophy for a fighter’s diet is simple: Plenty of fresh, whole foods. Clean air and clean water, combined with hard training and genuine rest. Eat higher nutrient density foods Each time you sit down and eat a meal is an opportunity to do something good for your body. This is why when choosing foods it’s important to select high nutrient density foods. What do I mean by nutrient density foods? It means the ratio of nutrients (vitamins, minerals, fibre, etc) relative to the total calorie intake. For example foods with high nutrient density would be things like fruits & vegetables, high fibre unprocessed grains and lean meats.