Nutrition for Sports Athletes

Sports nutrition has a new face compared to what it looked like approximately 10-15 years ago.  With more nutritional options, pre-work supplements, and vitamin enriched foods it is easier to maintain a healthy diet with less consumption.  I remember seeing athletes  on television talking about the massive amounts of food they ate per day: a dozen raw eggs, 2 chickens, a gallon of milk, and the list went on. 

According to Clark, there are several things we need to know about healthy choices for sports athletes: 

• Female athletes that aren’t getting enough nutrients may experience missed menstruation.  This is usually because they are not giving their bodies enough nutrients to perform all the normal body functions.  They may have endurance for the game, but the body is compensating by neglecting other functions of the body.

• All fat is not bad!  So, stop frowning every time you hear the word FAT!  There are lots of good fats such as olive oil, nuts,  and avocados.   Fats help the body to absorb vital vitamins and fuel muscles.  According to Clark, fat will help you have more endurance if you have it in moderation.

• Diets don’t work if you want to lose weight. What works best is lifestyle changes.  It is better to substitute poor eating habits for healthier ones.  Instead of eating fast foods and processed foods it is better to have fresh fruits and vegetables.  Dried fruits will work just as well as fresh fruits.  Also, inadequate amounts of sleep will cause your body not to perform at its peak level.  Lack of sleep also contributes to weight gain according to Clark. 

• Don’t overdo the protein!  Athletes have a tendency to think they need to increase their protein due to being more active.  This is not true.  You need the same amount of protein under all circumstances.  The recommended daily allowance for protein is .8g/kg; but for athletes the recommended amount is 1.2 to 1.8g/kg.  The most beneficial thing to do is distribute your protein equally throughout the day so it can be most efficiently used by the body.

• Eat proper amounts of protein.  The body can’t utilize more than about 20grams of protein at a time.  Therefore, consuming massive doses at one time is useless.  It is better as stated above, to distribute protein evenly throughout the day in smaller portions.  Healthy carbohydrates help your muscles to grow. 

• Drinking a cup of coffee before a workout may be beneficial.  Coffee or the caffeine in it, will help boost endurance and alertness. 

• Energy drinks don’t have any magical benefits that help you work out longer and harder.  What they do have in them is caffeine and sugar to give you that boost. 

• It’s important to fuel your body before, during and after exercising.   A small snack such as a banana, granola bar, or fruit like orange slices would be great to help you keep endurance during the work out.

 According to Shiver and Belts, colleges are experiencing an increase in female athletes.  They conducted a study of 52 female athletes to determine if they were getting the proper amount of nutrients needed to maintain endurance while playing sports.   

Unfortunately, the findings were that females do not get the proper nutrients and they need intervention to help them monitor the foods and nutrients they are getting in their diet.  The majority of the participants only had three (3) meals per day.  Only 9% were getting the proper nutrients to maintain their energy levels during peak performance.  The worse thing of all is that the participants thought they had good nutritional habits.  Athletes, like all people, that are concerned about meeting the daily recommended allowance of nutrients dislike tracking food consumption and believe capturing the quantity and time of meal is just too time consuming.

However, “sports nutrition guidelines have been established for meal/snack frequency, breakfast consumption, hydration, and other nutrition=related behaviors.” 

These guidelines are in place for a reason and are designed to protect the physical and mental health of the athletes.  The body needs to always have the fuel available to supply to the muscles that are being called to action.  

This topic is valuable for my research because it is important to know the truth about what works and what doesn't work for the masses when helping clients establish steps towards a healthier nutritional lifestyle. Also, since more women are playing professional sports it is important that we know how to address their individual concerns.