Sports Nutrition
November 24, 2009
By Matt Gillis
Table of Contents
Water vs. Sports Drinks
Water vs. Sport Drinks
1
Negative Affects of Sports Drinks on Athletes
1
Unsafe Weight Loss in the Sport of Wrestling
2
Carbohydrate Loading
2
Vitamin Supplements
2
Healthy vs. Unhealthy Athletes
3
References/ Works Cited
4
Hydration is incredibly important to the body, especially during vigorous exercise of any kind. Our bodies are made up of 95% water, because of this fact proper hydration keeps our bodies at a healthy temperature, allows our internal organs to function well, and keeps us operating at our optimum levels. Dehydration can lead to heat many things that can negative affects on the body both in the short term and the long term. Because your body is not getting the water it needs in order to function at its best, it will begin to perform more and more poorly; this often ruins the purpose of exercise in the first place. Dehydration can also lead to heat exhaustion and heat stroke, because in order to conserve fluids your body will
stop sweating thus it will not be able to cool down naturally. Because hydration is so important it is also important to choose the right fluids to put into your body. Besides water, there is also a wide variety of sports drinks on the market that boast their benefits to be even better than those of water. Some of these claims are, in a way, correct. Sports drinks like Gatorade contain nutrient like salt that your body loses during exercise, water does not. It is recommended that if you are exercising for less ninety minutes to regularly drink water throughout the course of your exercise, if you are exercising for more than ninety minutes you should begin to drink a sports drink such as Gatorade.
Negative Affects of Energy Drinks on Athletes Energy drinks such as Red Bull, Monster, and Rock Star have the ability to give the drinker large boosts of energy in a very short period of time. This can be very helpful to athletes who are tired and do not have the energy required to perform well in
their activity. However, energy drinks boost the drinker’s energy due to large, unhealthy amounts of sugar, caffeine, and other unnatural chemicals. These ingrediants take affect very quickly, but they also stop working very quickly as well , often leaving
the drinker with even less energy than they started with. If an athlete were to consume an energy drink just before a game or practice, they would run the risk of “crashing” and losing all of their energy in the middle of their exercises.
Sports Nutrition
Page 2
Unsafe Weight Loss in the Sport of Wrestling
“Weight loss tactics often include starvation and dehydration, two things that not only make it impossible for athletes to perform at their best but t can lead to injury, illness, and in extreme cases death.”
Wrestlers at all levels including high school, college, and professional are divide into weight classes. Wrestlers only wrestle those in the same weight class as them in order to keep the sport fair and safe for the smaller, lighter wrestlers. What weight class a wrestler is put into is determined by a mandatory weigh in , once the wrestler has been weighed they are put into the corresponding weight class. It is common practice among athletes to attempt to lose weight, often in massive and unsafe amounts, just before weigh in. This makes it so that the
wrestler is able to place themselves at over ten pounds in just a few hours by dehydrating themthe very top of a weight class, giving selves. them the clear advantage over all of the other members of that class in terms of weight. This practice is both unhealthy and unsafe for the wrestlers who do it,. Weight loss tactics often include starvation and dehydration, two things that not only make it impossible for athletes to perform at their best but can lead to injury, illness, and in extreme cases death. In fact a few years ago there was an incident in which three college wrestlers died after attempting to lose
Carbohydrate Loading Carbohydrates are very important in the diets of athletes, especially those who compete in endurance sports. Carbohydrates are important for vigorous exercise because they allow for athletes to keep high levels of energy. Carbohydrate loading or “carbo– loading” is technique that can be used to get the maximum level of carbohy-
drates into ones body, it can double, or even triple how long your energy lasts. In order to properly “carbo;load” you must eat food that is rich in carbohydrates , such as pasta , bread, and cereal, several hours before the activity takes place. The high levels of carbohydrates caused by this act give extra energy that can be put to use in
Vitamin Supplements Vitamin supplements are a quick, easy, and inexpensive way for athletes to get their daily vitamins and minerals. However, vitamin supplements may not be as good as they seem. There are many athletes who take daily vitamin supplements even though their diet already contains enough vitamins and minerals. These athletes are both wasting money and putting themselves at an unnecessary rislk of
complications that may occur with the vitamin supplements. On the other hand, for athletes who for some reason are unable to obtain all of the recommended vitamins and minerals, vitamin supplements are a smart choice to maintain a healthy body and perform at their optimum level.
endurance sport such as running, biking, and swimming , that require energy over a long period of time.
Sports Nutrition
Page 3
Healthy vs. Unhealthy Athletes The skill level of an athlete can be drastically changed by his/ her health. Proper nutrition for sports can affects all aspects of athletics. Without proper hydration your muscles would weaken, you would become dizzy, and your body would overheat. Without eating the diverse and healthy foods that your diet need s you wouldn’t have enough energy to compete of practice sports, and you would lose strength in your muscles needed to perform at your optimum level. As you can see, the performance of every function in your body related to
athletics relies mostly if not solely on good nutrition.. A proper diet could make the difference between a professional athlete and an amature.
“Proper nutrition for sports can affect all aspects of athletics.”
References National– The National Association of Sports Nutrition Local– NutriFormance St. Louis School– Stacey Morgan, Health Instructor and Athletic Trainer Website– UDSA-CNPP– MyPyramid Tracke
http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/ Works Cited Ahrens, Richard A. “Carbohydrate.” World Book Student. World Book, 2009. Web 20 November 2009. Ahrens, Richard A. “Protein.” World Book Student. World Book, 2009. Web 20 November 2009. Anne, Mari. “Oral vitamin intake: Pros & Cons.” Steady Health. 20 August 2006. 19November 2009.http://www.steadyhealth.com/articles/Oral_vitamin_intake__Pros___Cons_a396.html bitzi. “addicted to love.” 28 January 2007. Online Image. Flickr. 18 November 2009. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bitzi/371825964/ “Carbo– Loading.” Health Journal. 2009. 19 November 2009. http://www.bodyandfitness.com/Information/Fitness/carb1.htm
funkgab. “Lemon Lime Karli Gatorade.” 15 February 2009. Online Image. Flickr. 19 November 2009. http://www.flickr.com/photos/24403933@N05/3282376197/ Louro, Payuta. “Always Coca– Cola, Levi’s forever.” 20 August 2006. Online Im age. Flickr. 18 November 2009. http://www.flickr.com/photos/louro/220138348/ shapelive. “lebron james 2006.” 8 May 2007. Online Image. Flickr. 19 November 2009. http://www.flickr.com/photos/shapelive/489707803/ Quinn, Elizabeth. “Proper Hydration for Exercise– Water or Sports Drinks.” About.com: Sports Medecine. 2009. 15 November 2009. http://www.bodyandfitness.com/Information/Fitness/carb1.htm
wrestlingpod. “Dustin Carter.” 2 March 2008. Online Image. Flickr. 18 November 2009. http://www.flickr.com/photos/wrestlingpod/2304825281/
Reference Summaries Matt Gillis November 24, 2009 Section 8 School Reference- Stacey Morgan Stacey Morgan serves both as a Health teacher for all ninth grade students, and as a certified athletic trainer at MICDS. Topics covered in her class include nutrition and how it is relatable to sports, and she could be helpful to athletes who wish to know what to put into their body in order to perform at their optimum level. She can be contacted at smorgan@micds.org Local Reference- NutriFormance St. Louis NutriFormance St. Louis is an organization that offers many services that are very helpful to athletes. Facilities to exercise and workout are available, as well as professional nutrition counseling from experts in that field. Nutrition Counseling can be helpful to athletes because they can learn from experts, exactly what to eat and drink in order to perform at their optimum levels in their specific sports. Email- info@nutriformance.com Phone- 314-432-6103 They have convenient locations in both Frontenac and Chesterfield. National Reference- The National Association of Sports Nutrition The National Association of Sports Nutrition was started in 1996 in order to train people to become professional in the field of sports nutrition. It also works to raise awareness about sports nutrition and the incredible impacts it can have on your body, and in turn you’re over all athletic performance. Email- webmaster@nasnutrition.com