Athletes need more calories and fluid than non-athletes. THEREFORE:
More calories should come in the
form of carbohydrates (wheat/fruit/cereal)
More fluid should come in the form of water or Gatorade.
Our first topic is going to be hydration!
PowerAde has finally
put money into researching their product and has improved their brand
dramatically- it used to have a bad rap due to the little research and the high
percent of sugar, however, it has improved a LOT and is second to
Gatorade.
Sports
drinks rehydrate the body by replenishing it with electrolytes and sugars the
body uses to create energy with.
“Energy”
drinks should not be confused with sports drinks as they do nothing to rehydrate
the body but are designed to boost energy by using caffeine, sugars, and other
ingredients that are not considered safe to use when exercising.
The
American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that adolescents do not exceed 100 mg
of caffeine a day.
Instead of caffeine-
Make sure they are
getting 8 hours of sleep a day
Make sure they are
properly hydrated with 8 different servings of 8 ounces of water
Limit their sugar
and fatty food intake
Hydration is one of the most important nutritional concerns
for an athlete. More often than not,
people wait to drink until they are thirsty.
However, thirst is not an accurate indicator of how much fluid a person
has lost. Encourage your athlete to
drink water BEFORE he/she is actually thirsty.
When they drink enough only to quench their thirst, they most likely
will still be dehydrated. For best results:
Encourage
your athlete to drink water throughout the day
Make
sure they keep a bottle of fluid available when exercising
Do not
restrict fluids before, during, or after exercise
Do not
rely on thirst as an indicator.
If your athlete is exercising for 60 minutes or less WATER
is the BEST option, if they don’t like water and prefer a sports drink then you
should mix it half water/half sports drink.
Sports drinks contain too much sodium and sugar and that content is not
needed during or after light exercising.
For 60 minutes or more sports drinks are designed to replace sodium lost
through perspiration and the sugar is to maintain glucose levels at a time when
muscle glycogen stores are diminished.
AS ADULTS!
AS PARENTS! It’s our job to
educate and advocate for our athletes!
If you are seeing an athlete with an energy drink inform them, educate
them! If we are at a place that is
selling energy drinks to athletes, ask them about it! What place do these dangerous products have
at our children’s sporting events? What
message is this sending kids about temporary fixes to problems? Talk to your athlete about the difference in
sports and energy drinks. Article about Orange Juice- Orange juice is a great source of nutrients, HOWEVER, it should not exceed the daily limit, NOR should it be drinken before or during a race. It is too sugary and acidic to benefit an athlete.
http://www.usaswimming.org/ViewNewsArticle.aspx?TabId=1635&itemid=4489&mid=11541
My personal
opinion when it comes to hydration and athletes? Drink BEFORE DURING and AFTER-
Water or watered down Gatorade/PowerAde
before or during and chocolate milk after.
put: Water will replace fluid loss from sweat- chocolate milk will replace carbs loss in energy use. See article: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/healthy-eating/superfoods/chocolate-milk-after-workout/
******* Disclaimer- I am by no means stating I am an expert on any of this. I am only combining my research, classes I have taken, articles, and scientific studies to form my best opinion. **********
put: Water will replace fluid loss from sweat- chocolate milk will replace carbs loss in energy use. See article: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/healthy-eating/superfoods/chocolate-milk-after-workout/
