Every day you are bombarded with images of food, facts about food and outright lies about food, and this constant barrage has to compete with what you already think you know about food. Sometimes you just want a few simple questions answered. So

bones more quickly. So in addition to sound medical advice, choose the right combinations of foods to speed recovery and get back on track. Follow our slideshow to find out where to aim your trolley when you shop.Picture credit: Sue Tallon

the simplest actions, such as standing up, and challenging activities, such as, well, triathlons. But it also needs nutrients to keep it in the best shape possible. So you need to be eating good food, not any food. The right amounts of vitamins and minerals

be at risk of nutritional deficiencies as well as poor physical performance.General healthy-eating guidelines as well as specialist requirements for athletes apply to meat-eaters and vegetarians. You daily aim should be to base your meals and snacks

to the bowl of pasta you were planning for lunch. You don't need a nutritionist to tell you that refined, processed foods such as cakes, biscuits and pastries have little nutritional value, but many complex carbohydrates are also refined, which complicates

per kilogramme of body weight immediately after exercise in the first hour, and repeat each hour until normal eating patterns return. 4. Select carbohydrate-rich foods with a moderate or high GI, such as boiled potatoes or white rice. 5. Include

One of the long-enduring and rarely questioned traditions associated with triathlon events of all kinds is the substantial pasta dinner the evening before race day. After all, who doesn't believe in the hearty, turbo-fuelling advantages of eating a

. "Training rides are prime opportunities to practise race-time eating and drinking strategies," says Eberle. Once you discover a winning formula, you'll approach your next triathlon with a foolproof plan.Change it: Test new foods on shorter rides before

morning meal: the fat-phobic suggest skipping it until after your session; those planning a long session fuel up like builders; and those close to a race search for the perfect winning fuel.Whatever you're doing the idea is to keep your muscles

With three disciplines to consider, it's easy to make mistakes when you're eating and drinking during training and racing. That's the bad news. The good news is that it's easy to avoid triathlon's common nutritional pitfalls if you plan ahead