Sports Nutrition And Kids

Sports for kids are supposed to be fun right? It's how you played the game not if you won or lost. Today kids are told that no one remembers second place and that the must win! One saying that still sticks is "2nd place is nothing but the first loser". No wonder over the last 20 years there has been a significant rise in performance enhancing drug use amongst teens.
The Big Picture
In a world that only the winners count how can kids get the edge on the competition? The teenage years are a very tough time because kids want to be liked, respected and admired. Athletes many times are elevated too high for their accomplishments, but kids see it and they want to be in the spotlight! When I get a kid asking about product X,Y, or Z? I generally respond with lets look at the big picture. The big picture is how are you training, eating, sleeping, and generally dealing with stress? Obviously going over the entire big picture is beyond the scope of this article so I will focus upon the basics of nutrition only.
As a teenager your performance at your next game dependent upon your nutrition. How you recover between plays and events is directly effected by how you have eaten before and after the sporting event. Most teens eat about whatever they want, but by eating better you will have better performance.
If you are serious about performance you should be eating 5-7 meals daily. When eating to enhance performance you should concentrate on low fat protein, clean (starchy, fibrous and fruit) carbohydrates, and limiting fat intake.
Protein
When selecting protein foods, drop the heavier meats such as: sausage, bacon, hamburger, (unless it is 92% lean). These meats are very slow to digest because of the massive amounts of fat are naturally occurring in the meats. Choose meats such as lean steak, lean pork, chicken, turkey, fish, egg whites, lowfat milk products and high quality supplemental protein. I personally cut out my steak at least 3 days from an event. Protein should make up 20-30% of total calories.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates (carbs) are the bodies preferred fuel source. Most kids I know run out of gas quickly because they just don't eat enough. I eat a plethora of different carb sources; breads, pasta, rice, oatmeal, cream of wheat, yams, any fruit or vegetable. You should eat 3-5 fruits and veggies a day just for health reasons, the phytochemicals in them help prevent certain cancers! Carbs should make up 50-60% of total calories.
Fat
A certain amount of fat (10-20% of total calories) is needed in the diet just for basic health concerns such as; fat (cholesterol) donates the back bone for all steroid-hormones, fat is needed for joint health, and brain function just to name a few. To explain the needs for proper fat would require a whole article so I will tell you what you need. Most Americans do not get enough good fat so I suggest getting some flax seed oil or an "efa"(essential fatty acid) oil to make sure you are getting enough of the right fats.
I take 1-2 tablespoons of Total EFA (Health From The Sun) or a blend called Udo's Choice. I add this to my foods. Some may ask about the other fat-well by choosing leaner meats you will limit the other fat, but also grilling, baking, broiling or boiling your meats will also limit the unneeded fats.
Water
Water is the most over looked nutrient. Remember both protein and fat metabolism are dependent upon water. Without adequate water carbs can't be stored properly. Most doctors recommend 8-10 eight ounces glasses of water a day-this is too little for a hard training athlete. I would suggest at least 1 gallon a day if not more. During exercise/competition stick only with water. A few hours before the event or after you can drink stuff that contains electrolytes, but during the event stick with plan old "cold" water. The water will replenish fluid and the "cold" will keep the bodies core temperature down, which will help prevent overheating!
In a nutshell once a young athlete has a good working knowledge of the basics of the big picture then and only then will I even discuss the use of sports nutrition with them. There are a few that are a must and they are a multi vit/min and some type of essential fatty acid supplement. There are a few supplements that I will never suggest that they use and they are any type of pro-hormone, herbal testosterone booster, or thermogenic aid. Teen athletes don't need higher testosterone so anything that may enhance hormone levels is off limits.
Thermogenics not only aid in fat loss, but the also have the potential of increasing performance, but with the downside of dehydration. Any possible benefits of thermogenics are generally negated by the cramping that most of the time follows their use. When dealing with young athletes I stick with the use of MRP's, protein, carbohydrate type supplements, weight gainers bars and occasionally creatine and glutamine.
The bars and various types of protein powders come in handy between classes. Getting 5-7 meals a day takes timing and for kids in school it is tough to have time to eat a meal between classes, but it would be easy to eat a bar or slam a shake. In an ideal world they would just eat real food.
A weight gain drink could be used by those that need to put on weight in the off season or those that have a problem maintaining weight during the event season. If I have a kid that is Spartan like with his meals I will consider them using creatine and or glutamine. I generally don't let any of my young athletes use these two because they still have not rasped the whole of the big picture, but the ones that have with their parents and Doctors permission I will allow them to use them.
I know, I know but they are kids they shouldn't use these things! I see them as a better alternative to steroids, which like I said before are being used at an alarming rate!