Side Bets
IT’S IN THE (DONUT) HOLE: While your waistline might argue otherwise, eating the right kinds of chocolate can be beneficial for golfers making the rounds.
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Golf on the Dark (Chocolate) Side Fitness experts say it’s OK to enjoy Colorado’s fine bean-to-bar dark chocolate. By John Lehndorff CHOCOLATE IS probably not the first food you think about when choosing a healthy snack to consume at the 9th hole. Reasonable people might wonder: “Is chocolate good for golfers?” When asked, two noted Colorado sports nutrition and fitness experts admitted that nobody had ever asked them that question, nor had they ever recommended that any athlete or golfer consume chocolate. That said, Laura Anderson of the University of Colorado’s Performance Nutrition Department and golf fitness guru Dee Tidwell both grudgingly admit that chocolate is not always just candy; it can be a vitamin- and nutrient-packed superfood. However, when you belly up to the chocolate bar, much depends on the kind of chocolate you choose as well as the quantity. JUST DESSERTS FOR A COLLEGIATE GOLFER “I can confidently say that none of our CU golfers would be carrying dark chocolate bars with them on the course,” says Laura Anderson. As Associate coloradoavidgolfer.com
Athletic Director in the Performance Nutrition Department at the University of Colorado Boulder, she oversees feeding nearly 400 CU Buffs in sports ranging from football to track. She is a former sports dietitian with the United States Olympic Committee. “A big thing you have to think about is large fluctuations in blood sugar. The good thing about dark chocolate with a high cacao percentage is you get less sugar. The cocoa butter is a good fat. So, it doesn’t tend to spike blood sugar,” she says. Dark chocolate also includes some good flavanols—also found in tea and red wine—that lower blood pressure and improve blood flow, along with nitrates that produce nitric oxide. Important minerals like magnesium, selenium, zinc, potassium and phosphorus, as well as Vitamin E, are also plentiful in dark chocolate. “I could see dark chocolate with nuts and dried fruit in a reasonable quantity as a great snack for golfers,” Anderson says. However, not just any chocolate can fill the nutritional bill. It has to be dark chocolate with
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a high percentage of cacao—at least 70% or higher. That means no milk chocolate. “You need to look at the ingredients: there shouldn’t be more than three or four ingredients including cacao,” she says. GOLF: THE ONLY SPORT THAT COMES WITH CATERING Golf presents a fitness challenge because it is the only major participatory sport that offers extensive snacking opportunities while you are playing, not to mention mobile cocktail service. The most famous Colorado golf course dish is the super-rich chocolate ice cream shake served at the turn and elsewhere at Castle Pines Golf Club. That’s not a surprise since the designer of Castle Pines, Jack Nicklaus, is a famous fan of ice cream. “Most golfers grab something easy—a hot dog, grilled cheese or beer. They don’t tend to think about good food choices,” says Dee Tidwell, owner of Colorado Golf Fitness in Greenwood Village. He has twice been voted among the Top May 2021 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER
