Sports Nutrition - A guide for young athletes

Judy Goffi MS, RD, CDE, L

No matter what type of sport you play or on what level you participate, your performance as an athlete is greatly affected by the food you eat.

There is an abundance of information readily available regarding the dietary needs of the "average" person. Athletes, by virtue of the metabolic demands placed on them, have different needs. Various authorities will disagree over the degree of difference, but no one denies that athletes need more than the average person.

Calories

To determine how much energy you expend, and therefore how many calories you need each day, please enter the following information:

Calculate Your Daily Caloric Requirements
Are you a: Girl    Boy	Weight  lbs	Height  inches	Age
Activity Level* Sedentary (Absolutely no, or very little exercise/sports) Lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) Moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) Very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) Extra active (very hard exercise/sports)
*If you exercise, but are otherwise sedentary throughout most of the day, you may need to select a lower activity level.

Calculation	Your Results
Daily Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) (BMR - how many calories you burn at rest)	kCal
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) (how many calories you need each day)	Calories

Applicable for soccer, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, football, tennis, cycling, jogging, swimming.

This is the estimated total amount of calories you would need to consume each day in order to have the most amount of fuel to play your sport. Now let's see how those calories break down into carbohydrates and protein:

Carbohydrates

An adequate diet for most sports is one in which 60-70% of the total calories come from carbohydrate, 15% from protein and the 30% or less from fat. Carbohydrate is the most important fuel for working muscles and it should make up the bulk of your diet.

Whereas low carbohydrate diets have become the latest fad once again (as it was briefly in the 1970s), there is no place for that among athletes! Studies have consistently shown that depriving an athlete of carbohydrates will always decrease performance (1-4, 6).

Your Carbohydrate Requirements (based on your weight and activity level)

40% of Diet = Carbs  kCal  grams 60% of Diet = Carbs  kCal  grams

Protein

Many athletes seem to think they need vast amounts of protein. This is just not true. Even during very intensive training, you need only slightly more protein than normal. A sedentary teen needs roughly 1 gram of protein per kilogram of bodyweight. An active teen who participates in sprint sports 2-3 hours per day 5-6 days per week would need between 1.2 and 1.5g / kg bodyweight.

Your Protein Requirements (based on your weight and activity level)

20% of Diet = Protein  kCal  grams 40% of Diet = Protein  kCal  grams

Timing of Food Consumption and Performance

Unfortunately, at this time, most of the data we have is on how much a young athlete needs for an entire day, as opposed to exactly how to time carbohydrate and protein consumption with practices or games. However, we can make some general recommendations based on other studies.

Generally, I recommend you eat one-third of your total carbs needed for the day, 2-3 hours before practice or a game. Studies have shown that players last significantly longer (20%) on the field if they have consumed a pre-event carbohydrate meal 2-3 hours before practice, as opposed to fasting (5,6).

Next, eat one-third within 30 minutes after the game or practice. Further studies show that you can replenish your depleted muscle glycogen stores much more quickly by eating a high-carb meal right after exercise (7,8).

Third, distribute the remainder of your carbs throughout the day in smaller meals.

Suggestions for Carbohydrates

Suggestions for Protein

Eat Cereal, bagels, toast, and English muffins for breakfast to jump-start your day. Snack on low-fat munchies such as pretzels, light popcorn, baked tortilla chips, crackers, and flavored rice cakes. Try new grains from time to time. Couscous, barley, and bulgur are tasty, quick-cooking alternatives to the usual potatoes or rice. Dig into a grain-rich salad, such as bulgur-based Middle Eastern tabbouleh or the Italian bread salad panzanella. Or, toss an extra handful of crunchy croutons or cooked wheat berries onto your tossed green salad. Boost your fiber intake by making at least three of your daily Bread Group servings whole grains, such as whole wheat bread, bran cereal, and brown rice. Enjoy starchy vegetables and legumes. Lightly dressed potato salad or pasta salad, corn on the cob with a squeeze of lime, and smoky baked beans are perfect ways to get your complex carbohydrates during summer get-togethers.

Milk products: Eat cheese on toast or with crackers. Add grated cheddar cheese to baked potatoes, vegetables, soups, noodles, meat, and fruit. Use milk for cooking in place of water for cereal and cream soups. Include cream sauces on vegetables and pasta. Add powdered milk to cream soups and mashed potatoes. Eggs: Keep hard-cooked eggs in the refrigerator. Chop and add to salads, casseroles, soups, and vegetables. Make a quick egg salad. All eggs should be well cooked to avoid the risk of harmful bacteria. Meats, poultry, & fish: Add leftover cooked meats to soups, casseroles, salads, and omelets. Mix diced and flaked meat with sour cream and spices to make dip. Beans, legumes, nuts, & seeds: Sprinkle seeds on desserts such as fruit, ice cream, pudding, and custard. Also serve on vegetables, salads, and pasta. Spread peanut butter on toast and fruit or blend in a milkshake.

You Need Fats Too!

Many people make the mistake of thinking that they shouldn't eat fats. Your body needs fats just as much as it needs carbohydrates and protein. You just shouldn't get it from junk food like candy, chips, commercially prepared baked goods, margarines, processed foods. You should also avoid French fries and other fried foods from fast food restaurants. These have very high amounts of the unhealthy saturated fats and trans fats.

The healthy way of getting your dietary fats is from unsaturated fats. These are found in found in fish and foods from plants, such as vegetable oils, nuts and seeds. There are two types of unsaturated fats:

1. Monounsaturated fats: found in canola, peanut and olive oils; avocados; nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts and pecans; and seeds such as pumpkin and sesame seeds.
2. Polyunsaturated fats: found in sunflower, corn, soybean and flaxseed oils as well as in such foods as walnuts, flax seeds and fish. Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats are important polyunsaturated fats that play a major role in brain function as well as normal growth and development. Omega-6 fats also stimulate skin and hair growth, maintain bone health, regulate metabolism and maintain the reproductive system. Your body can't make Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats. The only way you can get these essential fats is from eating certain foods.
   
   Good sources of Omega-3 fats include fish and foods like chia seeds (sold as Salvia), flax seeds, walnuts and oils such as flaxseed, canola and soybean as well as some dark leafy green vegetables (kale, spinach, purslane, mustard greens, collards, etc.). Good sources of Omega-6 fats can be found in such foods as flaxseed oil, flaxseeds, flaxseed meal, hempseed oil, hempseeds, grapeseed oil, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, pistachio nuts, sunflower seeds (raw), olive oil, olives, borage oil, evening primrose oil, black currant seed oil, chestnut oil and chicken (without the skin).

Your Dietary Fat Requirements (based on your weight and activity level)

20% of Diet = Fat  kCal  grams 30% of Diet = Fat  kCal  grams

Overall, it is important to remember the following points:

1. Young athletes should eat a variety of foods that provide 12-15% of total calories from protein, 55-70% from carbohydrate, and up to 30% from fat.
2. The key nutrients needed to assure healthy nutrition in physically active youths are carbohydrate (including fiber), B6, vitamin D, iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and chromium. A balanced meal plan that does not exclude any food groups will maximize the child's chances of obtaining all the nutrients in amounts needed for growth and training demands.
3. Fluid intake should be encouraged before, during and after activity and sports to prevent dehydration. Carbohydrate supplement drinks are recommended. Click HERE to learn more.
4. With a balanced diet, dietary supplements are unnecessary.

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References:

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1. Cheuvront SN. The zone diet and athletic performance. Sports Med. 1999 Apr;27(4):213-28.

2. Balsom PD, Wood K, Olsson P, Ekblom B: Carbohydrate intake and multiple sprint sports: with special reference to football (soccer). Int J Sports Med 1999 Jan;20(1):48-52.

3. Langfort J, Zarzeczny R, Pilis W, et al: The effect of a low-carbohydrate diet on performance, hormonal and metabolic responses to a 30-s bout of supramaximal exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol 1997;76(2):128-33.

4. Maughan RJ, Greenhaff PL, Leiper JB, et al: Diet composition and the performance of high-intensity exercise. J Sports Sci 1997 Jun;15(3):265-75

5. Schabort EJ, Bosch AN, Weltan SM, Noakes TD: The effect of a preexercise meal on time to fatigue during prolonged cycling exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1999 Mar;31(3):464-71.

6. Balsom PD, Wood K, Olsson P, Ekblom B: Carbohydrate intake and multiple sprint sports: with special reference to football (soccer). Int J Sports Med 1999 Jan;20(1):48-52.

7. Ivy JL: Dietary strategies to promote glycogen synthesis after exercise. Can J Appl Physiol 2001;26 Suppl:S236-45.

8. Pascoe DD, Gladden LB: Muscle glycogen resynthesis after short term, high intensity exercise and resistance exercise. Sports Med 1996 Feb;21(2):98-118.

9. Harris, James Arthur & Benedict, Francis Gano (1919) "A biometric study of basal metabolism in man", Carnegie institution of Washington, Washington DC. pp266

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