Sports Digest by LASA Ezine

Sports Digest Benefits of Sports 7

How Diets Affect Sports 15

Energy Drinks in Sports 21

Fall 2021

Sports Supplements 27

Table of Contents 4

s t i a r t r o P t n e d u St Benefits o

f Sports

s e i r u j n Sports I

How Diet

Effects Sp

orts

High

s d o o F -Energy

Energy

s t r o p S n Drinks i

Nutrients

26 The Scoop

in Energy

Drinks

s t n e m e l rts Supp

Spo

on Protein

Cover photo by Ved Matai

Powder

Meet the Editors Ved Matai is a sports player and a freshman at LASA. He plays soccer and tennis, and does rowing and martial arts. He wrote about the Diet in Sports part in the magazine. He has 2 sibling, one which is younger and one that is his twin. He like to play video games and sports during his free time, and enjoys backpacking and hanging out with his friends. In LASA, he has taken a liking to Math and Science and had a great time in his Ezine class.

Harrison Meckel 14 years old, and a freshman at LASA. He wrote his feature story on supplements used for sports benefits. He plays basketball, tennis, track, and cross country, but doesn’t use sports supplements so he was interested in learning more about them. He has 2 siblings, and 2 dogs named Roux and Schneffles (shh-neffles). His favorite subjects in school are math, and science. In his free time he hangs out with friends, and plays the sports he loves.

LASA freshman Jette Campbell was born and raised in Austin Texas, and has a passion for sports. From a young age he was always involved in athletic activities like soccer. Jette is the oldest of two siblings, three dogs, and two guinea pigs that all cause chaos in his house. He has always embraced academics, and his favorite subjects are science and especially math. His hobbies also include video games, reading, making things, and sleeping.

Erick is a freshman at LASA HS. He was born on September 21st, 2006 in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. He has 7 siblings and most of his family lives in mexico. He is the second youngest of his siblings. He also has two dogs, xochilt, a pitbull, and chula, a german shepherd . He enjoys writing, talking and playing sports. He likes all types of music and enjoys representing his Mexican culture. Have a wonderful day and hope you enjoy this magazine.

Courtesy of Geremy Garza

A Letter From the Editors Dear Readers, After months of practice and work we’re happy to bring you “Sports Digest” the magazine. We all play sports, so the topic of sports nutrition is something we all have interest in and wanted to write about the topics that we really enjoy. We tackled things like diets for sports, sports supplements, energy drinks for sports performance, and the overall benefits of sports. We each interviewed 3 people to get the information we needed and used it to write our story . Once we were trained in Adobe softwares, we put our skills to work and developed 6 pages of content for each member. We put a lot of hard work and effort to create this finalized product and bring this magazine you are about to read. We hope you enjoy our creation, Harrison Meckel, Jette Campbell, Ved Matai, and Erick Obregon

BENEFITS of

PLAYING

SPORTS

Physical activities is a keystone for health

Photo courtesy of David Morris

6 | Obregon

-Mental and physical health are very importnt to the human body. Both mantal and physcial health can lead to serious problems. Stress, un healthyness, and even death. There are many factors that could lead to these problems, but playing sports can prevent them.

ental and physical health are very important to the human body. Both can lead to serious problems when handled incorrectly, so keeping track of them is very important. Not handling your mental and physical health can lead to stress, unhealthy habits, and many other death causing issues. A main way people avoid these issues is playing sports. Sports help with physical health. The United States has one of the highest obesity rates in the world, but playing sports can help, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.

Demoses Odems, a former college coach now head football coach at LBJ High School in Austin, agrees. He believes playing sports can improve everybody’s health. “Kids that are active in sports,” Odems said. “I think they have a considerable amount of better health, they have better health than the general population of students that leave from a health standpoint”

People enjoying sports and having a all around good time

Photo courtesy of Ashwin Vaswani

Obregon | 7

Wendy Hurd, an employee at Austin Physical Therapy, added that there are other benefits of playing sports.

common goal, and all headed in the same direction as a coastal. We have an opportunity to build a situation like that where you build and put this thing together,” Odems said.

“you oftentimes have a higher level of fitness and body awareness to help you recover from injury and it also will give you a goal of something to get back to,” Hurd said

He believes sports can help build relationships which can contribute to mental health.

Sports can also help with mental health. It can improve your mindset , motivation, dedication, help build strong relationships, and can distract anyone from problems going on in their life. Its a great way to escape those problems. All according to Odems and Hurd “One thing I like about sports is the camaraderie of deals, you know, different cultures, backgrounds and races and creeds all come together for one common goal, you get to see people work together for that

“Sports is about relationships, the coach can go in and coach X’s and O’s all they want, but until you give a kid some trust, you’re not gonna get a lot out of it,” Odems said. Building relationships could then have a positive impact on mood, according to Hurd. “When you’re very active for a period of time or at a high intensity, it can release hormones that enhance your mood,” Hurd said. “Being around other people or enhancing your mood.”

People having a good time building a relationship because of sports

8 | Obregon

Photo courtesy of Pexels

Sports doesnt just help you build relationships, it also helps you escape problems one has. “your kids have to deal with so much, you know at home and in the streets, and you know in their daily life. So sports is kind of a getaway for those guys for those girls and guys.” Demoses said. “You have to have what I call the active focus mind on getting better at what you need to get better. You need to get better at speeds for instance, you have to work on speed, you know think is good and high school, you know, with multiple sports have a kid need to work on the speed, they can go work and go run track, you know, those type of things so actively working on something that you’re deficient in. I think that’s the key to getting better at anything in life,”

Kids play sports for fun and a way to get away from problems while their coach guides them

Odems said when asked about advice he would give to athletes who want to maintain their physical and mental health. Wendy Hurd added on to Odems claim, She thinks It can help with mood. “We need to have a foundation of strength and mobility. But it’s also about your mindset, your nutrition, your sleep and recovery. So focusing on what you eat, getting sleep, stretching, meditating, all these things can make you a complete athlete,” said Hurd.

Photo courtesy of KeithJJ

Obregon | 9

Playing Sports also helps anyone’s health by having goals. Many popular athletes have worked hard for their goals. Odems explained, “To work hard and especially in your deficiencies, you know a lot of people, you know a lot of kids get upset if you call them out on something they’re not good at. Whereas, the great kids, they take that and they run with it and get better than if you take the Michael Jordan store you know when he got cut in his ninth grade year, you know, he didn’t go quit. I’m gonna go play soccer. He wouldn’t quit. He would work,” said Odems Not only do athletes have to work hard. They have to have a good mentality that can help them with achieving their

10 | Obregon

goals. “Take constructive criticism on your weaknesses and build your weaknesses,” said Odems. “ “I can go coach a kid who’s great at catching the ball all I want to, but if he won’t block, he plays receiver and won’t block for a running back that’s running. He’s not making our team better so I want to get the kid better at blocking, you know, I know he can catch the ball but I want to get better at blocking so really working on those restrictions is something I think is important.”

Sports doesnt just enchance athletes moods but also the fans

Photo courtesy of Pexels

Odems ties this up with his coach experiences. Yeah, mentally and maturness and the game was a little bit vague. I coach football so the game is a lot faster. At the College level than it is at the high school level. You know, i’m more explosive a lot faster because again the kids are a little more mature, from a body standpoint, mental standpoint”. Sports have proved to help both physical and mental health. Helps anyone to build relationships, work hard for a goal, improves mentality, dedication, distracts you from problems, and helps one become healthy.

“You get to build camaraderie with other people, get to share their thoughts with other people and teammates that they spend a lot of time with, and they have an opportunity to, to kind of release and let go of the daily stresses that they go through, through sports,”

-Demoses Odems, Coach Obregon | 11

Graphics By Erick Obregon

= pain

12 | Obregon

Whats the most common injury in sports? INFO

Basketball most common injury is a ankle sprain. A ankle sprain is the stretch or tear the tough bands of ligaments that help hold the ankle bones together. They cause swelling and are painful but they last a week or three. Baseball most common injury is the pitchers elbow. The pitchers elbow results from excessive throwing motions used in sports. It most frequently occurs in baseball. It takes 6 to 9 weeks to recover from. Football most common injury is a concussion. A concussion is a brain injury caused by a blow to the head or a violent shaking of the head and body. It takes seven to 14 days to heal. Soccers most common injury is a knee sprain. A knee sprain is stretching or tearing of the fibrous tissues connecting the leg bones at the knee. They are very painful and recovery could last about 2 to 4 weeks

RECOVERY

- Compression helps stabilize the injured joint and may reduce swelling - Using an ice pack may reduce blood flow to the injury and help the pain.

-Resting the ankle is key for healing, and wearing a brace can help stabilize the injured area -Take anti-inflammatory medication, such as ibuprofen, as directed -ice the elbow or shoulder 3-4 times a day for 15-20 minutes at a time. -Rest from pitching or throwing for about 6 weeks -Avoid unnecessary movement of your head and neck. -Stay hydrated

-Reduce screen time -Limit exposure to bright lights and loud sounds -Wear a knee brace to stabilize the knee and protect it from further injury. -Ice your knee for 20 to 30 minutes

-Rest -Raise your knee on a pillow when you’re sitting or lying down -Compress your knee

Obregon | 13

Head Chef prepares a dish for his restaurant customers.

Photo courtersy of IB Photography

What is the Best one? By Ved Matai

iet is key when it comes to sports. Based on what we eat, certain nutrients can boost our performance, while some build muscle. Playing sports consumes a huge amount of energy, and recharging it is important. Replenishing that energy comes in the form of food and drinks. Eating the wrong foods can do more harm than good.

14 | Matai

No matter if an athlete is in off-season or on-season, food is a major part of their performance. Linda Steinhardt is an athlete and sports dietician in Austin Texas. She has worked with many athletes to figure out what diet is best for them. “A pretty common question I get asked is, What is the best diet for me?” Steinhardt said. “However, I need to know

the intention behind the question.” Athletes work on many things. Some work on increasing their speed and agility, while others improve their strength or concentration. Linda believes that diets are mainly focused towards what people want to improve on. “The most important thing for athletes is just getting enough to eat

and eating consistently. We live in a world where the diet culture is to under-fuel and also athletes can be very busy and may not have enough time to get the required amount of nutrients. That is always the first thing we look at when helping an athlete,” said Linda. Athletes have high-energy needs and have to eat constantly to replenish what they are using. Food is a good main source of energy for athletes, but there are many other nutrients that could benefit them. “carbohydrates are our body’s main source of energy. For speed and running, carbohydrates are going to be used up very quickly, and if we are not eating enough carbs, we aren’t getting the speed we want” said Linda.

four.” Athletes also need to eat a variety of foods to sustain themselves. When working out, or practicing and playing, we use a lot of different types of nutrients. “We should try to aim to get multiple food groups at each meal, and two to

happens if we don’t do that.” Steinhart said, “If we aren’t eating enough nutrients, our body has to make compensations. So if we don’t get enough to eat certain parts of our body can be dimmed out. If you have a broken bone or torn muscle, the healing of that part can be dimmed out.” Essentially foods allow us to use all of our body’s energy for athletics as they can replenish the energy we are using.

“We live in a diet culture that often tells us to under-fuel.” Linda Steinhardt, Dietician

Even though carbs are seen as fatty nutrients that are unhealthy by the general population. For athletes they are a necessity to get energy quicker. Carbohydrates are mostly found in grain products such as bread, rice, and cereals. “Another extremely important nutrient is protein. Its main use is to help us build muscle.” Steinhardt said, “Protein is meant to be eaten together with resistance and strength training, and if done properly instead of one plus one equals two instead it is

three food groups at snacks. So those food groups are carbohydrates, fats, protein, maybe dairy, and color which is just fruits and vegetables,” Steinhardt said. But why are these foods so important? “I’ll answer that by saying what

Bowl of fish salad is recommeneded for sports players and atheletes after a hard work out.

Jeremy Robinson, a health and fitness coach and has experience in helping athletes, and he approaches food in a different way.

“The diet is specific for each individual sport,” Robinson said. “People are going to be eating differently based on their sports, if they are in season or off-season or what phase they are in.” Robinson explained that each Photo Courtesy of Marco Verch

Matai | 15

different sport has a certain percentage of nutrients that athletes need to consume. For example, soccer players during on-season should eat 60% carbohydrates, 20% protein, and 20% fat because they need a carbohydrate-based diet. During the off-season, however, soccer players need to build muscle, so their diets according to Jeremy should have 40% carbohydrates, 40% protein, and 20% fat.

“After a workout, our muscles are like a sponge, and they’re ready to accept nutrients to start that - Jeremy recovery process and start that adaptation process,” said Robinson

“The diet is specific for each individual sport and that’s called sports specificity.” Robinson, Dietician

A soccer after sufficient meal and good warm-ups performs exceptionally at his game.

This meal has everything for a post-workout. Meat and eggs for protein and tomatos for extra nutrients.

16 | Matai

Photo coutersy of Keith Johnston

Photo Courtesy of Eduardo Roda Lopes

Matai | 17

High - Energy Foods

Graphics by Ved Matai

Sweet Potatos have Betacarotone. Which convers to vitamin A in the body and used to improve eyesight. Sweet Potatos have anthocyanin. Which has been shown to improve learning and memory.

Brown rice is found to have positive effects on lactating women. The results show lower mood disturbances, reduced depression, and less fatigue.

Brown rice is rich in melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that induces sleep. It allows us to go into deep sleep which is the most restful.

18 | Matai

Hea Foo

althy ods

Bananas greatly improve our digestive health. They contain about 3 grams of fiber. Unripe Bananas also have resistant starch which is food for benefical bacteria in your gut. Bananas are a great source of Potassium. There are about 422 mg of Potassium in a banana.

K Potassium

Salmon is rich is Omega-3 fatty acids about 4-5 grams in a 7 gram portion. Omega-3 is used to build cell walls and are a great source of energy.

Se Selenium

49%

Yogurt contains a substantial amount of protein. About 12 grams per 7 ounces.

Selenium is a minor mineral, but still something that our body needs. Salmon provides most of it.

Just one Cup of raw yogurt has 49% of calcium for our daily dietary needs.

Prottein Pro

Matai | 19

Energy Drinks in Sports

By Jette Campbell 20 | Campbell

Photo courtesy of Alexas_Fotos

nergy drinks have been called unhealthy, and are said to have no benefits. Although excessive consumption could lead to health problems, sports and energy drinks are an easy way to stay in the game while playing sports and working out, according to energy drink makers. Nutritional drinks can be used for a large variety of reasons. Many athletes use energy drinks for sports or exercising. These are meant to benefit one’s health or boost performance, but sometimes excessive use may be unhealthy.

Man drinks a sports drink to stay hydrated. Sports drinks can also have various other nutrients. Photo courtesy of Ketut Subiyanto

your blood vessels to dilate. different athletic exercises. And there’s nootropics to in“Coffee by itself is a great crease your focus and some drink because it has caffeine, things like that.” right, it’s got a natural source Lofland explained his of caffeine, which coffee or coffee is made as a pre-work- tea are the major sources of

Devin Lofland owns NVR out drink, and how other Rest, a coffee business that specializes in boosting perThere’s drinks formance in various activities, said the specialized coffor right fee contains many various types of supplements meant you work out, and for athletes.

“

before

there’s drinks for

when

“It’s loaded with caffeine, you and what we’re currently workout working on,” Lofland said. - Devin Lofland “It’s got a lot of different performance enhancers, like citrulline alanine. Beetroot products are made for difextract, which produces nitric ferent activities. Even normal oxide in the blood and allows coffee can be beneficial for

”

caffeine for everything in the world,” Lofland said. The right amount of caffeine is a good stimulant to have before a workout in order to maintain energy throughout activities. NVR Rest also includes many other nutrients and supplements in their coffee. “You’ve got another major component which is polypheCampbell | 21 nols,” Lo

fland said. “Polyphenols are like a group of compounds that have all kinds of different qualities like antioxidants, and then the compounds also help with blood flow and increase insulin sensitivity which will help prevent diabetes like all these things that are naturally from coffee itself.” While some nutrition drinks aim for something that gives high output and energy, others go for something that will make itself last. One product that effectively does this is Soylent, a nutrition shake that claims to serve an entire meal in a single bottle,

A specialized coffee maker is shown with other ingridients used to maker coffee for NVR Rest. Photo by Jette Campbell

also gluten free, vegan, and many types of drinks for each stage of an activity, all boostaccording to Jamie Sullivan, a nut free!” ing certain nutrients. Soylent representative. Soylent drinks are very “Soylent is a complete nutrition shake - meaning it has all the essential nutrients, nutrients your body doesn’t make and that you need to consume to be healthy, in addition to healthy protein, fat, and carbs,” Sullivan said. “Each bottle is actually a complete meal. It is 22 | Campbell

versatile and athletes and It depends on your sport, nonathletes use them for your goals in that sport, and many reasons. the time of day you are playing that sport,” Lofland said “Lots of athletes use when asked about what ensoylent as a pre and post ergy drinks to use, “There workout,” Sullivan said. ”Beare different drinks for just cause it has protein, healthy staying hydrated like Gatofats, and carbs it can be used rade, right. There’s drinks for to fuel a workout as well as right before you workout, for for recovery.” when you workout, and after Not all sports and energy you workout. I’d recommend drinks are just for before a our’s specifically for leading a workout though. There are workout.”

A variety of flavors of Soylent drinks from the sampler pack. Photo by Jette Campbell

Lofland explained different supplemental ingredients in his product help in different ways. These ingredients include all sorts of things such as caffeine, nootropics, and beetroot. “I’ll say that I think the biggest thing with fitness supplements is caffeine,” Lofland said, “so you’re gonna have sports related supplements, which are primarily for hydration and increase endurance, and that could be endurance and like long term sports or long distance

sports. But, more often than not, it’s endurance in power based sports. So you’re playing football, you’re playing rugby, you’re playing, you’re like boxing, things like that. People are taking their supplements to be able to increase their power output to increase their speed, like everything that’s anaerobic and NVR Rest founder Devin Lofland prepares a cup of coffee. short term.” Photo courtesy of Devin Lofland

Campbell | 23

Graphics by Jette Campbell

Nutrients of Energy Drinks Polyphenols Polyphenols are commonly found in many sports and energy drinks. They possess antioxident qualities which help prevent against diseases. Polyphenols also help prevent against conditions such as blood clots and type two diabetes. Some rich foods in polyphenols include cherries, wine, and broccoli.

Electrolytes

Potassium

24 | Campbell

Data from healthline.com

Do Students Drink Energy Drinks? Yes Sometimes No

Most Popular Energy Drinks Among Students

Gatorade (64)

Bodyarmor (30)

Red Bull (63)

Rockstar Energy (29) NOS (7)

Monster Energy (61)

Of 67 responses from Texas high school students

Bang Energy (43)

Campbell | 25

Photo by Harrison Meckel

Sports Supplements

The In’s and Out’s of Protein Powder and Other Supplements By Harrison Meckel

Sports are very important to our day to day lives, but for professional athletes they are a job. If they don’t train enough or don’t eat well, they will fall behind their competition. Supplements can give a small boost for players to get up back on their feet, 26 | Meckel and

perform better. Chris Bilbrew, a track coach for a Texan high school, recommends supplements for his runners. He not only competes and race, but also to lead a team into meets, and lead them to victory. “I got recovery protein,” Bilbrew said. “I got vitamins, I got fish oil, which is omega, I got probiotic, I got all types of stuff.” He recommends these products for his runners, but understands that there are downsides to almost all sports supplements.

Bilbrew said that he used different brands, and didn’t keep track of what was inside them, but said athletes still need to monitor their health.. “I stopped using it (ATP supplements) because I ended up getting a heart murmur,” Bilbrew said. Bilbrew moved to a brand called Klean Athlete through a sponsorship deal, and has been with them since. He said that Klean Athlete tests every batch of ingredients, and makes sure they don’t have any unhealthy or banned substances. On the other hand, high school lacrosse player and weight lifter, Sam Ramberg, only uses protein powder, and in moderation. “The downsides are not knowing what will happen in the future, Ramberg said. ” He said many of his teammates and opponents use all different types of performance-boosters, but he doesn’t trust big companies with his health, and has heard many stories about people developing conditions from these products. When another player is scooping protein powder, or eating vitamins, he feels like he may be missing out, but he values his overall

“I do not use any type of protein powder. I myself take a calcium supplement and a Vitamin D supplement in addition to a multivitamin.” -Allison Gruber, Dietician Meckel | 27

Unknown supplement pills being spilled. Photo Credit: Pixabay

health more than running a little faster, or supplements for sports players are less having more endurance. about performance, and more about health, A fan favorite among high school and keeping up a good diet even when athletes is caffeine pills or powders, but sports causes your diet to change. Ramberg does not think they are a good “I think they can be very beneficial, idea. He warned athletes especially for If someone is allergic to peanut to be careful what they individuals that use, as he believes don’t always have butter, and a company makes supplements can be great eating habits,” supplements and peanut butter, dangerous. Gruber said. they can cross contaminate their “They are kinda crazy, and products together, and still mass- Gruber doesn’t use I think it’s pretty bad for supplements because produce it.” you,” Ramberg said. her job keeps her Ramberg doesn’t see a eating habits -Chris Bilbrew, Coach future when he would use healthy and caffeine supplements, balanced. even though his sports, and school leave him “My take on other supplements worn out, and tired. He sees many players is that the consumer has to be consuming too much of unhealthy sports a little careful with them,” targeted medications regularly, but he Gruber said. “A lot of maintains restraint, and works out without supplements on the bonus energy or recovery powders. market are actually Dietician, Allison Gruber, thinks unregulated

28 | Meckel

by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). This means they can make claims that haven’t been verified by the FDA as being accurate.” She said high school males are the main users of sports supplements, and she thinks for most users supplements are not worth the price, but since most high school athletes can charge their parents, they may think supplements are worth it, and very beneficial. High school athletes may spend less time than an adult looking into ingredients and making sure they are all healthy and work well with their diet. Younger consumers may disregard the ingredients, and focus on the benefits, real or fake, which can end up with young athletes ruining their diets or health using different supplements. She recommends multivitamins to clients who do not have enough fruit or vegetable consumption, because they can receive the nutrients they are missing from their regular diets. 40% of U.S. citizens are Vitamin deficient, so a dietician may recommend vitamins or pills that can give a person the nutrients they’re missing, and they can go on living a healthy life. Overall there are many mixed opinions on sports supplements. Many players live by the idea that supplements will increase performance for them, and think that using them is beneficial, when many other players perform better without using these supplements. Some people think that the supplement market is trustworthy and reliable, while other athletes completely disagree, and think that the leading brands in the industry care more about money, and manufacturing their products cheaper, than making a FDA-approved product that everyone can benefit from. “The improvements (of using sports supplements) I’ve seen are better performance, less fatigue, better recovery, and less injury. If you take supplements properly, you will have less injuries,” Bilbrew said. “Depends on what supplement you’re taking.”

Protein powder shakes are a popular way to consume protein. Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Meckel | 29

The Scoop On Prote

der Facts w o P n i e ot

Protein powder is the most-consumed nutritional supplement in gyms.

The United States protein powder market was worth $4.14 billion in 2018

The protein powder market is expected to grow 8% between 2020 and 2027.

5 O

Source: supplements101.net

SDorts U on p

lli bal S n and ket i B 45 lo io ar

16.ze of GNutritent m Si

Source: statista.com

29 | Meckel

d m an ple p Su

ein Powder

Percentage of Protein Powder sales

59.5% Online Sales

“When you are doing sports or you exert yourself a lot, you need to replenish the nutrients that your body uses” - Chris Bilbrew, Track Coach

67.9% Animal Based Powders 50.9% Revenue from North America

Source: statista.com

The most common forms of protein powder are when, soy, and casein protein.

Reasons For Supplement Use

More Energy 24% Other 1%

Heart Aging 18%

Nutrition 19%

Heart Health 18%

Immune Health 20%

Source: supplements101.net

Meckel | 30