If you ever thought being a professional track and field athlete only involved speeding on a track or lifting weights to keep fit and strong, think again.

Athletes have to pay as much attention to their food and nutrition as they do to any other aspect of their training.

Just think about it, where do speedsters Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt get the energy to finish a 100-metre race in such blistering times of under 10 seconds?

Food and Nutrition Consultant, Dr Heather Little-White, says a combination of properly prepared foods from various food groups is essential.

"A range of foods as you can imagine and fuelled by carbohydrates definitely helps an athlete," the nutrition guru told THE STAR.

In explaining, Dr Little-White said that items from the carbohydrate food group such as yam and sweet potato are favoured by athletes.

These food items she says are 'complex carbs' and are very beneficial.

"Foods from the soil are very good, they are complex carbs, they take longer to digest but give more help to the athlete."

"Bolt is from yam country, plus we have the Manchester girls," she added, while pointing to a current debate about rural versus urban athletes.

She said that while some protein is needed to build a healthy athlete, too much meat should not be consumed.

Peas and beans are additional sources of protein and lots of fruits and vegetables for fibre, she said.

Dr Little-White also said that sticking to the principles of good nutrition is most important.

When THE STAR spoke to Wellesley Bolt, father of 21-year-old Usain, he confirmed that Bolt had consumed a lot of yam while growing up.

"Usain is from Trelawny and that is a yam parish, he eats a lot of yam," he said before also stating that his son drank a lot of Horlicks as a child.

According to him, though much attention was not paid to Usain's diet during his early years, as he developed as an athlete in high school his food and nutrition became almost first priority.

When asked about the foods that Usain is known to love, his father said, "He loves pork even though his mom is an Adventist," while laughing almost uncontrollably.

He then added "He loves chicken and he eats a lot of rice and peas."