Nutrition Guide for College Aged Athletes Practical Tips and Hints A review of literature and exploration of nutritional concepts and recommendations for college athletes age 18 to 25. This manual contains nutritional helps and hints, while reinforcing practical nutritional choices with the goal of maximizing athletic performance.

2010

Erik J. Gaspar Department of Kinesiology

Saint Marys College of California Spring 2010

Nutrition Guide for College Aged Athletes

Page 1

A Nutritional Guide for College Aged Athletes

Practical Tips and Hints;

Table of Contents 1

Introduction 2

Basic Nutrition 2

Carbohydrates 2

Proteins 2

Fats 3

Other Key Nutrients 3

Functional Foods 4

Eating for Competition 4

Helpful Hint 5

Fast Food: Better Choices for Athletes 6

High Protein Diets 5

Portions 5

Steps to Gaining/ Losing Weight 7

Helpful Hints 7

Web MD Portion Size Guide 8

Hydration 9

Eating after Athletics 10

Citations 11

Nutrition Guide for College Aged Athletes

Page 2

Introduction

For coaches and athletes nutrition is often a complicated struggle. To instruct athletes on how to properly fuel themselves can be difficult. The aim of this exploration/ manual is to pass along knowledge in an athlete friendly format while incorporating hints and practical real life solutions to nutritional problems faced by collegiate athletes in their first couple of years of college. During this time in an athletes life, many variable can complicate eating healthy; financial constraints, time demands, and misinformation can all play large roles in nutritional decision that effect an athletes performance. Hopefully, at the conclusion of this exploration, the necessary knowledge and practical tips can be used by athletes in a very important time in their athletic careers allowing them to be successful.

Quick Facts... Athletes achieve peak performance by training and eating a variety of foods. Athletes gain most from the amount of carbohydrates stored in the body. Fat also provides body fuel; use of fat as fuel depends on the duration of the exercise. Exercise may increase the athlete's need for protein. Water is a critical for athletes. Dehydration can cause muscle cramping and fatigue.

Becoming an elite athlete requires good genes, good training and conditioning and a sensible diet. Optimal nutrition is essential for peak performance. Nutritional misinformation can do as much harm to the ambitious athlete as good nutrition can help.

Basic Nutrition

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are what provide the muscle with energy. Sugars and starches in the form of glycogen provide that energy. Not only do carbohydrates provide energy, but the fiber in these foods control fat and cholesterol along with aiding digestion.

Carbohydrates are organic compounds that contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in various combinations. They can be split into two categories: simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates can also be split into two categories: disaccharides and monosaccharide. These are known as sugars and are found in many foods. Sugars can be found in common foods such as fruits and milk. Complex carbohydrates, also known as starches include foods like potatoes cereals and pastas.

Categories and groupings are often debated by nutritionist, especially when discussing complex carbohydrates. The bottom line is that carbohydrates are a basic form of energy and have and always will continue to fuel athletes during their activities. Throughout time we have seen carbohydrates labeled as either good or bad; we have seen trends such as low carbohydrate diets, low carbohydrate marketing infiltrate food culture. Most would agree that recent publicity have put carbohydrates in a negative light, but the truth remains that

Nutrition Guide for College Aged Athletes

Page 3

carbohydrates in preparation to activities along with refueling post performances are crucial to being a healthy athlete.

Protein

Protein is very important in the maintenance and development of muscle tissue. Proteins are crucial in the production of key enzymes, antibodies, and hormones. Proteins also regulate the water levels of cells

Protein is on the most important nutrients and has a wide variety of physiological functions that are imperative to physical performance. Muscle tissue is crucial to athletic ability and proteins are important in the development of that muscle tissue. There are 20 amino acids which can be combined to make up all the different types of protein needed for building and structure of the body. There are two types of amino acids; essential amino acids, that cannot be manufactured in the body and nonessential amino acids, those that can. Those foods that contain adequate amount of the nine essential amino acids used to support life and growth are known as complete proteins. The second, incomplete proteins have a deficiency in one or more amino acid and are unable to support life or growth. Animal protein is generally of a higher quality than that found in plants. For example 2 ounces of fish contains about 14 grams of protein where as 2 ounces of beans contain about 5 grams of protein.

Common sources of protein include animal foods in the milk and meat groups which generally have good sources of high quality protein. One glass of milk or 1ounce of meat poultry or fish contains about 7-8 grams of protein. One egg contains about 6 grams of high quality protein. Legumes, such as dry beans (black, garbanzo, kidney, lima) are also relatively good sources of protein. They are also high in carbohydrates, thus classified as a starch food.

Fats

Fat is the primary source of stored energy when the body is at rest and when the body is participating in long term aerobic activities. Fats from foods like butter and meat and other animals are usually saturated. Theses saturated fats contribute to cardiovascular disease and cancers. On the other hand fats from plants like olive oil, canola oil and corn oil are unsaturated and much healthier

One of the key functions of fat is to provide energy. Although fat may not be the first choice during high intensity aerobic or anaerobic, it is important to provide energy for low to moderate intensity exercises.

Other Key Nutrients

Minerals are elements that help to maintain structures in the body and regulate certain body processes. Examples of minerals at work are calcium and magnesium help keep bones strong while iron is important in oxygen transportation. Other minerals like sodium and potassium are crucial in blood volume. Vitamins act as nutrients that regulate metabolic reactions (life sustaining reactions) in the body. Some examples of crucial vitamins contributing

Nutrition Guide for College Aged Athletes

Page 4

to body processes Vitamins A and C are needed to assist the immune system. B vitamins aid the nervous system, and help with the cells burn energy. Water is very important in temperature regulation through sweating. Water is so important in that it constitutes 60 to 70 percent of body weight

What are functional foods?

According to Melvin H. Williams, the author of Nutrition for Health Fitness and Sport, the functional foods are food products designed to provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition, the benefits being attributed mostly to vitamins, minerals, phyto chemicals, and herbals. In many cases these are foods that can add various positives to an athletes diet. These foods offer many key nutrients and even more vitamins and minerals. Choosing functional food is really about quality not quantity.

Eating for Competition

When it comes to pre-event eating, it is important to understand that you are fueling and re- fueling your muscles. The goal is for your muscles to be fully loaded with glycogen and the body be hydrated. There is not one way to do this, but it is important that as an athlete you shy away from creating an upset stomach. Remember, everybody has a different tolerance of what they can and cannot eat prior to an athletic event. The following are some guidelines to keep you on track: when exercising more than an hour, be sure to choose enough carbohydrates throughout the day to fuel your body. Limit the high fat protein in-take; these are foods such as cheese, steak, hamburgers, and peanut butter. Be sure to eat foods that you are familiar with and comfortable digesting and use precaution when digesting foods with lots of sugars that can send you up, but will most definitely bring you right back down. It is important to allow your body time to digest, and depending on how close you are to your exercise will determine how much your body can handle. If you are one hour away from exercise your body can probably only handle a small snack, if you are one to two hours before exercise, maybe a blended meal or smoothie. Small meals are a good choice two to three hours before exercise and lastly for a large meal, allow for three to four hours digesting the food before exercise. A few things to remember about intense exercise is to allow yourself a little more time to digest. Moreover, if you are somebody that has a sensitive stomach or tends to get nervous prior to an athletic event or competition, take that into consideration. Do not pack your stomach full of food; try to rely on the night before for major intake and four to five hours before the event for a snack. Each athlete is different, so their food and the response to those foods will be different, so if it works for you dont stop, if you are having trouble digesting before an event, review the guidelines above and make sure that you are following them properly.

Nutrition Guide for College Aged Athletes

Page 5

Helpful Hints

Fast Food: Better Choices for Athletes

When it comes down to it, fast food restaurant for college athletes are very convenient. Most fast food restaurants are open late, allow for fast, inexpensive service, and generally provide food that tastes good. All of these characteristics are important to college aged athletes. The unfortunate part is that most fast food restaurants and chains specialize in high fat, high sodium products that contain very little lean protein or high quality protein and when you think about what is needed for an athlete to perform at his or her highest level, these fast food chains are not even close to satisfying the bodies nutritional needs. In many cases fast food restaurants can have negative effects on an athletes performance. Considering the information above, it would be unrealistic to think that college athletes arent going to find themselves ordering off of fast food menus. That being said, it is important to understand what some of the better choices might be when ordering from fast food menu.

The following page offers some healthier alternatives when eating at, or driving through a fast food restaurant.

High Protein diets

High Protein diets are used by many athletes for varies reason such as weight training to gain weight or in strenuous exercise to maintain or increase protein balance. To achieve this, many athletes use both protein supplements. These supplements can be a convenient source of protein and many of these products contain high quality protein. The major drawback of commercial supplements is that they do not contain the natural nutrients such as those found in milk or eggs. Research on this topic discusses many different types of proteins and the advantages in regards to the uses previously discussed above. For those athletes interested in using protein supplementation, most research recommends that the supplement not be used in place of natural protein, but along with natural sources of proteins. Its key to understand that dietary deficiencies and excess will have an effect on the bodies performance and efficient.

Portions and Calorie Intake

When discussing nutrition and health for athlete the center of the discussion must be placed on energy balance and calorie intake and expenditure. There are a couple of key components that affect the way in which energy balance is achieved. Body composition or the bodys make up and build are a byproduct of body fat and lean mass or muscle. Remember muscle weighs more than fat and uses more energy at resting rates.

Caloric balance is not only affected by the amount of calories consumed but also by the proportion of carbohydrates, fats, proteins vitamins and minerals.

Nutrition Guide for College Aged Athletes

Page 6

Steps towards gaining weight, losing weight

Nutrition Guide for College Aged Athletes

Page 7

For many athletes, weight gain and weight loss can be an important component to their athletic success. Depending on the sport and level of play the athlete wants to compete in may require weight gain or weight loss. When discussing weight loss it is very important that steps are taken for the right reasons and in the right way. Especially in western society weight loss for women can be a sensitive issue and pressure to attain or loss weight can lead to negative circumstances. There are a couple of ways to achieve weight loss. The first is to reduce the calories consumed. An example of this is that if you are currently taking in 3000 calories a day, and then reduce the calorie intake to 2500 a day. It is important to note that you should not lose more than 2 pounds per week for that it can be un-healthy. The second way is to increase the calories expended can be a good way of losing weight, simply, more physical activity is a good way to use up more calories. When it comes to the body it is a simple equation: Calorie intake versus calories used. The third is to eat a lower fat, higher carbohydrate diet, which will increase the amount of energy, while lower the amount of fat stored in the body. It is important to understand that for many people, diet change is the most difficult of the three to achieve. Factors such as environment, finances, and time all add to the difficulty of changing ones diet.

For the general population, gaining weight is much easier than losing it, however, for many athletes, this is not the case. Especially in college where practice, studies, and lack of food may be contributing to an intense caloric demand on the body. There are a couple of important factors to keep in mind while trying to gain weight. First, set realistic goals about gaining weight. An example of this would be to increase your daily calories by 500, which would add about a pound a week to your body weight, so 4 pounds per month. Second, shifting your diet towards carbohydrates and lean proteins and away from fats, coupled with resistance training may be a good plan of action in weight gain. Lastly, the use of sports supplement drinks and bars throughout the day may help to increase calorie intake and in turn help with weight gain.

Helpful Hints

Web MD Portion Size Guide

The following page is simple organizational chart illustrating different example of everyday items in relation to food portions.

Nutrition Guide for College Aged Athletes

Page 8

Nutrition Guide for College Aged Athletes

Page 9

1

4

2

3

5

6

7

Hydration

Hydrating is important to athletes for many reasons. Hydrating aids in bodily process before, during and after a sporting activity. When the body fails to get enough fluids this is called dehydration. Dehydration hurts performance in many ways. It can increase the risk of injury, lack of performance, and increase the risk of heat illness. When athletes are dehydrated the flow of blood to the skin is reduced, this limits the ability for the body to cool itself. When athletes exercise, their body can generate up to 20 more times of heat then when resting. Our bodies use sweating as a form to regulate body temperature during a sporting activity. As body temperatures rise warning signs of heat illness will occur in an athlete that is dehydrated. Some symptoms of dehydration are flushed skin, dizziness, nausea or vomiting, and as simple as thirst, dry lips and mouth, and or dark urine.

Some helpful hints for hydration are drinking 16 ounces two hours before exercise. Drink 4-8 ounces ten minutes before the start of exercises. Drink 4-8 ounces every twenty

minutes during exercise. After exercise drink 16 ounces of water for every pound of body weight lost. And lastly throughout your day drink 32 ounces of water for every 1,000 calories expended daily.

Preventing dehydration is important for athletes but the body doesnt do the best job of letting one know when its time to rehydrate. When athletes sweat during exercise they lose water from their blood making the blood thicker while raising sodium levels. When this occurs the body feels thirsty, the only problem is that by this time the skin has already secreted 1.5 liters of water (3/4 of a 2liter soda bottle) thus why it is so important to drink even when youre not thirsty. Keeping track of the color of your urine can be an easy and helpful tool when staying hydrated. The color chart can give you a better picture of properly

hydrated urine color. If you urine is colors 1, 2, 3 the athlete in question is most likely well hydrated. If the color of the urine falls between 4,5,6 the athlete should drink water as soon as possible because beginning sign of dehydration are. And finally if the urine color is 7 or darker the athlete should begin to drink as they are dehydrated.

Recommendations for hydration.

Day before Drink fluids frequently

Pre-event meal 2-3 cups water

2 hours before 2-2 1/2 cups water

1/2 hour before 2 cups water

Every 10-15 minutes during the

event

1/2 cup cool (45-55 degrees) water

After event 2 cups fluid for each pound lost

Next day Drink fluids frequently (it may take 36 hours to rehydrate

completely).

Nutrition Guide for College Aged Athletes

Page 10

Life after Athletics

As athletes it can be difficult to think of a time after sport where your bodys activity levels do not require the nutritional consideration above. For many athletes the healthy foundation serves as a tool in a long healthy active life. But for some athletes who needed to dramatically increase caloric intake to maintain a high level of performance cutting calories post retirement can be difficult. It is important to remember that the adequate caloric consumption is based on your activity level and as activity decline so must the food intake to proper levels.

Nutrition Guide for College Aged Athletes

Page 11

Citations

Anderson, J, Colorado State University Extension foods and nutrition specialist and professor; L.

Young, M.S., former, graduate student, food science and human nutrition; and S. Prior,

former graduate intern, food science and human nutrition. 12/96. Revised 5/07.

www.ext.colostate.edu.

Fahey, Thomas D., Insel, Paul M., Roth Walton T. Fit & Well: Core Concepts and Labs in

Physical Fitness and Wellness. 7th

ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2007.

Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, LD, Director of Nutrition for WebMD. November 26, 2008.

healthyeating.webmd.com

Martens, Rainer. Successful Coaching. 3rd

ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2004.

Palmen Sports. Fast Food Choices. http://www.palmensports.com/Portals/0/Fast_Food_

Choices.pdf

Williams, Melvin H. Nutrition for Health, Fitness, & Sport. 8th

ed. New York, NY: McGraw

Hill, 2007.