SPORTS NUTRITION

Preoccupation with the "winning" aspect of sports competition makes the athlete, coach, or trainer fall prey to nutritional misinformation. Athlete’s train and practice long and hard to achieve peak performance. It requires great dedication. When performance gains are not coming as quickly as expected the temptation to try something new is great. Many athletes today are trying to find that magical potion that adds muscle mass or enhances physical performance. Many athletes are influenced by convincing advertisements or personal testimonials in muscle and fitness magazines that the misconception that ginseng, spirulina, amino acids, and lots of other nutritional "wonder drugs" will enhance performance. This would not be a problem if these "wonder drugs" were cheap and safe. Too often it is neither, and in some cases life threatening. Some individuals have indulged in drastic measures such as fluid restriction, saunas, and use of anabolics, laxatives, and fasting. It is unfortunate that these manipulations are many times given credit for an athlete’s success, when in fact, the athlete won in spite of these practices.

Dedication, creative training techniques, and genetics are still an athlete’s most effective means of developing natural abilities. However, poor nutrition can be a limiting factor in athletic performance by limiting the benefits of training and by reducing an athlete's ability to perform to his or her conditioned ability. Without good general eating habits, no pre-game meal and during-competition nourishment can do enough to make a difference. Optimal nutrition is attained with sound dietary practices, like physical conditioning, that is applied on a continuing bases, not just a few hours before or during competition.