- During the 90 minutes of a match, Spaniards consume between 300 and 1,000 kcal.
- The best foods we can consume during matches to reduce the caloric impact: pickles, vegetable chips, crudités, mussels or cockles in natural…
Barcelona, June 19, 2018.- Entering the sixth day of matches, millions of people continue to alter their daily meals and menus to sit down for lunch or dinner while watching the World Cup. Alone, with friends, family or co-workers, at home or at the bar, but always around a screen and with an “easy” snack in hand. The nerves and emotions experienced during the match make us eat in an uncontrolled way, improvising, without paying attention to what we eat, how we eat it and in what quantity.
During the 90 minutes of a soccer match, spectators can consume between 300 and 2,500 calories. Something that can lead us to gain between 1 and 5kg between now and the end of the World Cup. So say the experts at Top Doctors.es®, an online platform to find and contact the best medical specialists in private healthcare, audited and certified by the most rigorous selection process of doctors in the world. Just take a look at the star foods during celebrations:
- Beer: 150 kcal per 350ml
- Soft drinks: 130kcal per 330 ml
- Drinks: 300kcal
- French fries: 30gr are about 160 kcal
- Olives: 20 gr are about 23kcal
- Nuts: 100gr are 500 kcal
- Hamburger: about 650 kcal
- Pizza: about 550 kcal
- Spring roll and 3-delicious rice: up to 700 kcal.
Specialists warn. “Fast food is characterized by its low fiber intake that causes slowing of intestinal transit, heavy digestion and even constipation”. Dr. Mar Fernández Nafría, nutritionist at Salud 10, Nutrition and Quality of Life and member of Top Doctors, assures. “In addition, the salt that this type of food tends to contain increases fluid retention. All of this causes us to feel bloated and heavier the next day, and we may even rest worse that night”.
Eating high-calorie foods from time to time is not harmful. However, the frequency of games during the World Cup is very high. “The problem comes when you eat large meals of around 1,000 calories each two or three times a week,” continues the doctor. “It is there where the significant weight gain is perceived”. Therefore, during the 14 days of the World Cup, we could gain between 1 and 5kg of weight.
Pickles, vegetable chips, or crudités with yogurt sauce or hummus or mussels and cockles … the star snack during the 2018 World Cup.
In order to enjoy a match, it is advisable to create a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere and avoid snacking too much. In addition, you can design a healthy menu as advised by Dr. Isabel Jimeno, nutritionist at the Felicidad Carrera clinic and member of Top Doctors. The foods she recommends are:
- Pickles: it is advisable to substitute olives for pickles, which have a lower caloric intake. 100 grams of pickles in vinegar are equivalent to 25 kcal, so it can be a good appetizer.
- Vegetable chips: this dish is ideal because it simulates French fries, but they have nothing in common. Baked in the oven and without a drop of oil, the sliced vegetables become satiating and light chips to eat during soccer matches.
- Crudités with yogurt sauce or hummus: vegetable crudités with yogurt sauce provide a significant amount of vitamins and very few calories.
- Mussels and cockles with lemon juice: they are a perfect appetizer both for their exquisite flavor and their low fat content, which also provide us with protein and iron as well as vitamins A and B.
- Tomato salad with burgos cheese seasoned with spices such as oregano, cumin and extra virgin olive oil: salads are always a perfect dish and tomato salad with burgos cheese is a perfect combination for being low in calories. In addition, tomatoes contain fiber and minerals such as potassium as well as a large supply of vitamins.
Experts assure that all dishes have a healthy version if we cook them ourselves with a little eye.