The PhD by F tima Ruiz Litago, lecturer in the Physiology Department at the University of the Basque Country, entitled, "Nutritional study amongst football players: implications for oxidative stress and muscle tear". However, according to the study, even young sportspersons do not have good eating habits.

The research was undertaken with 60 footballers between 14 and 21 and from a number of different categories at Arenas Club de Getxo (FC). Their diet was analysed, evaluating excesses and lacunas “ as laid down in the Recommended Daily Consumption (RDC) and. Moreover, on a sample group thereof, and these analytical data correlated with those of diet.

The results obtained reveal that, in general, the eating habits amongst these sportspersons were unsuitable given that, on the one hand, there is an insufficient ingestion of carbohydrates and, on the other, there is a low ingestion of nutrients that have a role that is protective against muscle tear, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamin A, folic acid, vitamin E and manganese. These deficiencies are due to the fact that little fruit and fresh vegetables are eaten and too much bakery products. Moreover, it is significant that, when they eat in school canteens, they have good nutrition but, on growing up and abandoning the school meals, their diet deteriorates. At dinner, normally eaten at home, the diet deteriorates in all cases.

Muscle tear after playing football, moreover, can be relatively serious and chronic. This could be due to the fact that a series of matches and training sessions prevents he total repair of the injured tissue. The results of the research suggest that nutrition could be related to a longer-term protection, given that the greater the deficit in certain vitamins and minerals, the greater the muscle tear.

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Research has also revealed that people who follow a vegetarian diet usually eat fewer calories and less fat and have lower body weight relative to their heights than non-vegetarians; but becoming vegetarian is not a guarantee of weight loss, especially if high-fat, high-calorie foods with little or no nutritional value form a part of your daily meal choices.

Herbal weight loss products have not been tested scientifically to prove that they are safe or that they work.

Also, some products may be unsafe if used with other medication or may be risky in people with certain medical conditions.

Dieting alone can help you lose weight but if you add exercise to dieting, you can double your rate of weight loss.

Experts recommend at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, if not all, days of the week.

There are some diet drugs that have been approved by health authorities to help people lose weight, but they are specifically aimed at those who are medically obese or have obesity related diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure and should only be used under medical supervision, because they cause side-effects.

There is no evidence that diets proclaiming to reduce fat in particular body areas actually work and only exercise combined with a diet will help tone up in specific areas.

Many meal replacements shakes or bars lack fibre and phytochemicals that aid in disease prevention and should only be used for a short time and balanced meals that which provide sufficient calories, protein, fibre and phytochemicals should be eaten for the rest of the day.

The diet Eat Right 4 Your Type refers to blood type and the claim that each blood type has its own unique antigen marker that reacts negatively to certain foods, has no scientific basis.

Eliminating whole food groups, may cause certain nutrient deficiencies, excluding dairy products for example may result in calcium deficiency.

In conclusion the researchers found that all the studies completed so far have found that diets do not help individuals to change their long-term eating habits, and so most commonly, weight is re-gained once old eating habits resume.

Most experts agree that a healthy diet is one with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and fish, lean meat and pulses, and low on salt and saturated fats.