Minerals, Vitamins and Supplements

For example, consumption of 4-8 oz of 7% CHO drink (level of most commercial beverages) every 15 minutes (19), would supply 34-50 g CHO/h.(7% solution). Solid CHO supplements are found to work equally as well providing they are ingested with water.
Post-Exercise Nutrition. (61)Glycogen and fluid replacement are the immediate concern after prolonged or strenuous exercise. This is particularly important during heavy training. To facilitate rapid muscle glycogen synthesis, research has found that athletes should consume CHO immediately after and at frequent intervals following exercise(62). glycogen storage after exercise by stimulating greater insulin secretion. In the latter study, however, it is difficult to tell whether greater insulin secretion resulted from increased protein or increased energy intake. Current recommendations for post-exercise fluid requirements are to consume at least a pint of fluid for every pound of body weight deficit (63). Consuming water with the recovery meal should be sufficient providing the meal contains adequate sodium and potassium.. When sodium is provided in fluids or foods, the osmotic drive to drink is maintained and urine production is decreased.

Of Special Concern For the Female Athlete.
The prevalence of amenorrhea among exercising women is reported to be between 3.4 and 66 % (64) with higher prevalence in runners as opposed to cyclists and swimmers (65) The cause of this secondary hypothalamic amenorrhea is unknown, but may be related to training level, nutritional status, body composition changes, stress, and hormone changes with exercise (66). While some studies have noted higher prevalence of secondary amenorrhea among "vegetarians" (83,84), other have not come to the same conclusions (67). By definition, however, "vegetarians" in these studies consumed low-meat and not necessarily vegetarian diets.This may suggest that nutrient composition of some vegetarian diets may be predisposing to amenorrhea. In athletes, several studies have generally found lower intakes of energy, protein, fat, and zinc, and higher intakes of fiber and vitamin A in amenorrheic compared to eumenorrheic athletes .
Given the high prevalence of amenorrhea among athletic women, nutritionists should take a menstrual cycle history as part of screening procedure and if appropriate refer the athlete for medical evaluation and treatment. Nutritional evaluation and education of vegetarian athletes needs to focus on adequacy of energy, protein, fat, zinc and fiber intakes. If appropriate, eumenorrheic athletes can increase energy intake and decrease fiber by consuming 1/3 to 1/2 of their cereal/grain servings from refined rather than whole grain sources and by replacing some high fiber fruit/vegetable servings with fruit/vegetable juices.
Conclusion
Nutritionists can play an essential role optimizing the health and athletic performance of vegetarian athletes of all ages and abilities. Sports nutritionists who work with vegetarian athletes and their coaches and trainers, however, need to be sensitive to and knowledgeable about vegetarian issues. In this setting, the role of the nutritionist is to work with the athlete to ensure adequate nutritional status given his/her vegetarian beliefs, income and lifestyle. While athletes should be encouraged to eat a wide variety of plant foods, this does not mean convincing the vegetarian athlete that they need poultry, fish or dairy products in the diet. The American Dietetic Association's position on vegetarian diets states that "vegetarian diets are healthy and nutritionally adequate when appropriately planned".