Eating right can be as vital to an athlete’s prowess as training properly and getting the right amount of sleep every night.
With another high school preseason kicking off Monday, athletes should be cautious as to what they eat throughout the season, and Bangor High School athletic trainer John Ryan has offered some valuable nutritional advice.
If there’s one big thing athletes should avoid, it’s indulging in meals that are high in cholesterol and trans fats.
“Just avoiding the high-fat types of food, and focus more on carbohydrates and proteins,” Ryan said. “The real big thing is just hydrating, try to cut back on the amount of soda.”
Junk food, such as candy bars and sugar products, should also be avoided.
“Candy, chips, you know, baked goods, any of the processed type of stuff,” Ryan said.
Going to practice or a game hungry is usually a bad idea as well, and the ideal option would be to have a low-calorie type snack, such as a protein bar, as a meal replacement.
“One of the things I tell the kids you really need to have something in your stomach just like with the cars, if you don’t have any gas in the tank, it makes it pretty tough to get done what you’re going to get done,” Ryan explained.
Fruits and vegtables are also vital, and certain flavors of Gatorade should also be avoided.
“It seems to be the fruit punch types of Gatorade tend to be a little higher in sugar,” Ryan said. “(They should) go with lemon lime or one of the other flavors.”
