Student-Athlete Sports Nutrition

 

            Nutrition is an important aspect of any athlete’s life. Much like training and practice, proper nutrition must be utilized often to ensure maximum performance, and if done right can be the key to athletic success.  On top of maintaining physical health, proper sports nutriton helps to increase alertness, keep energy up, and support a healthy immune system. Strenuous physical activity increases demand on an athlete’s body significantly more than on a non-athlete and thus the food and liquids consumed by athletes must be watched more closely.  Practicing proper nutrition is essential while competing in sports, especially in times of rapid physical growth*.

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            This website was designed to address the important components of proper sports nutrition; those being carbohydrates, protein, hydration, vitamins and minerals, and fats. On each page you will find information specific to each respective nutritional component, and how to combine it with the type of sport you participate in. Since high endurance sports such as running differ in their optimal nutritional requirements from high intensity sports such as basketball or lacrosse, there is information provided for both types of student-athlete. More recent sports nutrition research has shown that proper sports nutrition should not only be practiced before physical activity but after, and sometimes during, as well*.

 

Photo By David Burgess

 

Iowa State Sports Nutrition Overview

 

 

*Jeukendrup, Asker, and Michael Gleeson. Sport Nutrition. Champaign, IL: Human  
            Kinetics, 2004. Pages 1-45.

 

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