Sports Nutriton

Sports Nutrition by Naomi McBride, RHN

Athletes require a significant amount of nutrient dense calories in order to perform at an elite optimal level. It seems common sense enough however many athletes are able to consume any type of food as the demands of regular training and vigorous workouts allows it.  When athletes adopt a healthy nutrient dense diet meeting the daily calorie demands they perform better. Athletes are much like race cars; they both need high octane fuel, the right set of equipment and rest.  Combined all these factors will greatly improve the speed, agility, performance and psychological attitude of the athlete.

Different sports require different specialized dietary habits; an endurance marathon runner will have different needs than a professional football player who is a defensive lineman. Saying that, all athletes require premuim fuel, gas up those engines nutrient dense complex carbohydrates, build and repair the muscles, tissues with quality lean protein, lubricate the tendons, joints, ligaments with quality fats and hydrate the cells with vegetables, fruits and water.  Dietary requirements for athletes in different sports change days before game day or competition day as well as day of event.  The demands of the sport the athlete participates in needs to be taken into consideration long before the day of the event. Athletes require consistent daily hydration routines to ensure adequate consumption of minerals to prevent muscle cramping, dizziness and injury.

The primary basics of any good sports nutrition program are to assess to specific energy requirements of the sport along with knowing the health status of the athlete and when the sport is in peak season. Each athlete has specific metabolic factors determining daily calorie requirements.  The general rule of thumb to follow a balanced healthy diet for athletes is to consume 50-60 percent of calories from complex and simple carbohydrates; whole grains, starchy vegetables, legumes, fibrous vegetables and fruits. 15-25 percent of calories in protein such as vegetable proteins nuts, seeds, legumes as well as animal protein such as fish, poultry, meats, eggs and dairy. 20-30 percent of calories for fat such as unsaturated fats nuts, seeds, vegetable oils, avocado and remaining in limited saturated fats such as coconut oil, dairy products, meats and eggs.

A well planned nutritional program to support the demands of the sport need to be integrated into the training program of every athlete. Athletes place great demands on their body’s and often take for granted the talent they have and will eat anything they want as their bodies are constantly using energy. This places additional stress on the body and when proper nutrition is not followed the body will use complex systems to get the nutrients it needs from the muscles or bones of the athlete to order to fulfill the demands of the sport. This can and will make the difference between winning and losing.

Performance Recovery Drink by Naomi McBride, RHN

Ingredients:                                                            

1/3 cup of a ripe avocado                                                                                                

1 organic banana

1/2 cup frozen pineapple                                                 

2 tbsp. of Liberte Kefir

1 scoop of Vega Whole Food Meal replacement or 1 scoop Natural Whey

1 tbsp. of raw honey with bee pollen (optional)

2 cups of water

Blend.