India needs to come clean on its diet plan for top athletes

It's national "heartbreak" month. One hundred and nineteen athletes to Rio and not a single medal so far. We are all talking about it: why? Whose fault is it? Are we really so bad at sport (as a BBC piece claimed recently)?

What is it that we don't do right (and others do)? Our sense of being destiny's special child, especially in August, has got a severe beating: how can this happen to us?

Mary has something to say

MC Mary Kom, five-time world boxing champion, now member of Rajya Sabha, says there's something wrong with the diet provided to our elite athletes.

She calls for "quality diet" and the need to provide it to athletes on time ("sometimes the food arrives just when players are about to go for a match.")

Those sneaky suspicions

That leaves one with a host of unanswered questions (and a sneaky suspicion that slipshod arrangements are escaping notice): can the sports ministry please publish the data on the diet of our athletes?

Are scientifically-proven nutritional concepts, that experts believe help improve performance and health, being included? Are diets being tailored systematically to the customised needs of athletes, according to sport and body system?

Diet for elite athletes

It's not training and mental toughness, nutrition plays a key role in developing speed, muscle density and endurance of world's top athletes.

No wonder, months (and even years) before the Olympics start, the biggest buzz grows around the "secret" diet plans of athletes: who is eating what to stay on top of their game. According to USDA, an elite athlete eats about 2,000-8,000 calories daily while training, spread over five-seven meals, depending on the sport. How many calories and meals are our men and women taking?

Does desi work?

This year, Indian athletes are getting desi food at Rio Olympic village. The sports ministry is going by some research that says athletes perform better when they are fed familiar food.

What sort of "familiar food"? Dal makhni, vegetable pulao, gulab jamun, egg bhurji, tandoori roti and raita. That sounds like more a (semi) veg thali one orders in a north-Indian restaurant.

It certainly won't be "familiar" for Dipa Karmakar, India's star athlete at Rio in artistic gymnastics. As a Bengali, she would be more used to a fish and rice diet.

Also read - 7 smart rules to snacking right

Where's the protein?

Of the various foods Olympic athletes never touch, one is a meal without protein apart from white bread (is the tandoori roti made of whole wheat flour or maida?) and sugary foods daily (why not fruits instead of gulab jamun?) that can spike up insulin, leading to more fat.

Scrambled eggs contain about six grams of high quality protein. But they are also high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Scrambled eggs need to be beaten thoroughly with low or non-fat milk before cooking, to amp up its protein content: scrambled with added milk contains 14gm of protein, or 25 per cent of a (normal) man's daily protein needs and 30 per cent of a (normal) woman's. What about athletes whose protein needs are greater than normal people?

Wake up, sponsors

On June 29, Amul, India's largest milk producer and food brand, announced its sponsorship of the Indian contingent at Rio. Just a month before Rio.

In contrast, milk processors and yogurt producers are among the most prominent supporters of Team USA this year, with large and small dairies supporting the team or individual athletes.

Milk Life is signing a five-year partnership with the United States Olympic Committee for Team USA in January.

Also read - The real losers at Rio Olympics 2016

The US Olympic Training Center at Colorado Springs, where athletes train at the highest level, uses results of scientific studies on performance and recovery to create meal plans for athletes.

The dining room, open for nearly 14 hours a day, offers a choice of menu that is heavy on foods with high nutritional value: lean meat, fish and flaxseed, whole wheat, variety in grains, especially quinoa, fresh fruits and gallons of milk.

And dieticians advise athletes on nutrition all the time: why they need to consume carbohydrates, protein and fluids within 30-60 minutes post-workout to rebuild tissues; when to avoid fried food; how saturated fats increase inflammation in muscles; why a meal should have less than 30 per cent total fat; why they should eat a combination of complex and simple carbohydrates.

Athletes are encouraged to bring in their favourite recipe from home, which is then tweaked into "high performance fuel".

It's no dream

Every country that takes its elite athletes seriously knows that the difference between gold, silver or no medal lies in the diet.

When will India wake up to the reality that nothing worth having comes without hard work and concrete effort?