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Sports Nutrition Basics

Safe Weight Loss and Gain For Youth Athletes

Young athletes attempting to lose weight and body fat or gain weight and muscle mass may resort to unhealthy weight-control practices.  Gradual weight loss or gain is best.

 

Anti-Doping Agency Supplement Safety Program Gains Support

NSF International, a non-profit firm that tests and certifies dietary supplements and sports nutritional products to ensure they are free of banned substances such as steroids, has announced full support for the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) "Supplement Safety Now" campaign.  The campaign will create increased awareness around this important public health issue and help safeguard consumers from taking steroids and other illegal or controlled substances in products that are marketed as "safe and legal" dietary supplements.

International Soccer Boarding School Secrets: Pre-Game Tactics Pt. 1

A good pre-game routine is vital to playing a good soccer game. Unfortunately, many players don't know what they need to do, or they neglect to develop a good routine. Both mental and physical pre-game rituals are necessary to help you play your best.

Here are some of the tips and tactics our technical coaches use to keep soccer boarding school students in top shape.

Soccer boarding school tip: The night before

Early Morning Games: What and When To Eat

If your child has an early morning practice, it is important to eat a nutritious meal the night before, a bedtime snack, and a small snack/mini-breakfast that morning for peak performance.

Pre-Game Meal Ideas

Here are some pre-game meal ideas for breakfast, lunch and dinner before your child's big game.

Pre-Game Meal: Fuel for Sports

If your child goes to a game or scrimmage without having eaten, he or she will not have the energy to play at his/her full potential.  A  meal 2 to 3 hours before the game made up mostly of carbohydrate-rich foods provides the fuel for sports.

Is Low-Fat/No-Fat The Way To Go?

Cutting out all fats isn't a good idea because the body needs some fats to function.  The key is for your child to eat food with healthful fats and avoid unhealthy fats like saturated fats, trans fats and hydrogenated oils.

Pre-Game Carb Loading

When you eat a starchy food, like a banana, the carbohydrates are changed into blood sugar or glucose, which muscles burn for energy.  Any glucose that's not immediately used gets stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen- which can be used for energy later.  Glycogen is the preferred fuel for muscles.

Nutrient Dense Whole Foods Are Best for Sports

Nutrient dense whole foods are best for sports. To figure out whether a food is a whole food or not, you just have to ask yourself if it was manufactured in a factory or grown in a field.  Or better yet, read the label. If it's a whole food, you should be able to recognize every ingredient as something that grows in nature.

Pre-Game Meals: The Basics

What should your child eat before training and competition? Here's some advice on what to eat and not eat, drink and not drink, and when, before sports.
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