Sports Nutrition Guide

Athletes who want a winning edge need the right nutrition. When you give your body the right fuel by drinking enough water and eating a balanced diet, you will make the most of your athletic talents and gain more strength, power, and endurance when you train.

Sports Nutrition Guide

This article contains some general sports nutrition guidelines. To achieve top performance, your diet should be based on a variety of factors including your age, weight, physical condition, and the type of exercise you are doing. Consult your doctor for individualized sports nutrition advice.

Drinking cool water is the best way to keep hydrated during workouts or events that last an hour or less. Sports drinks made up of 6% to 10% carbohydrates can help you stay hydrated during longer events. Most sports drinks should be diluted with approximately 50% water.

What you eat several days before an endurance activity affects performance. The food you eat on the morning of a sports competition can ward off hunger, keep blood sugar levels adequate, and aid hydration. Try to avoid eating high-protein or high-fat foods on the day of an event.

Protein powder is one of the most popular sports supplements for athletes and people who want to gain muscle mass. They can be a convenient option when on the go, or if you struggle with appetite after training. However, if you eat enough protein-rich foods at meals and snacks, you likely do not need a protein supplement. If I do use protein powders what should I look for on the label?

Some sports bars can be a good choice if you need some energy before you train or play a sport, and can also help you repair your muscles after.However, it is not necessary to use sports bars. You can get the energy you need from food before you play a sport.

A dietitian will consider your unique factors to give you personalized advice on what and how much to eat to optimize your exercise and sports training while getting all the nutrients your body needs. They will also give you advice on whether you would benefit from a sports supplement. Connect with a dietitian today!

Athletic performance and recovery for college athletes is enhanced by attention to nutrient intake. Developing an ideal nutrition plan for health and performance includes identifying the right quantity, quality and proper timing of food and fluids needed to support regular training and peak performance. As training demands shift during the year, student-athletes also need to adjust their intake and distribution of essential nutrients while maintaining a properly balanced diet that supports their academic, training and competition needs.

Located on this page are links to resources related to the nutrition of college athletes that have been developed in partnership with the Collegiate & Professional Sports Dietitians Association and Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutrition.

You can now purchase and download specific nutrition guides for young athletes. Each guide contains specific guidance and food suggestions written by a registered nutritionist and member of the Sports Exercise nutrition register (SENr). Now available to download as PDFs to support your youth athlete.

It is the mission of Cal Sports Nutrition to provide every student athlete with top tier sports nutrition services utilizing current, evidence based resources to promote academic and athletic success at the University of California, Berkeley. Our program is dedicated to ensuring optimal energy intake, nutrient timing, and fluid balance while sustaining the overall well being of each athlete.It is our purpose and goal to educate student athletes on the foundations of proper nutrition not only for athletic performance, but for success in the classroom and for life. It is the intent of this program to enhance health and performance of Cal Athletics and to provide these individuals with the best care possible.

Janelle Labiaga is a Registered Dietitian (RD) who joined Cal Athletics as the Assistant Director of Performance Nutrition in December of 2020 after serving for the last two years as a Sports Dietitian at Virginia Tech. She works closely with student athletes to empower them with nutrition knowledge that helps fuel their performance and academic success, while promoting a body positive culture.Education: Labiaga holds a BS in Nutrition and a minor in Food Science from California State University, Long Beach in 2017, where she also held a role at UCLA and discovered a passion for sports nutrition. She completed a dietetic internship at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN in 2018. Labiaga received a Masters of Science in Applied Nutrition and Physical Activity at Virginia Tech in 2020 while serving as the sports dietitian for the Women's Soccer, Men's Wrestling, Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving, Cheer, and Dance teams.

The total amount of fat (in grams per kg body weight each day) you need depends on your total energy requirements, body composition goals and sport. Athletes should follow healthy eating guidelines which focus on consuming moderate amounts of mono-unsaturated and omega-3 fats and a reduction in intake of saturated fats. The richest sources of monounsaturated fats include olive, rapeseed, groundnut and almond oils, avocados, olives, nuts and seed, choose these.

In general, a balanced diet will provide the nutrients and energy necessary for sport. However, there are some sports where it may be beneficial to take a supplement (e.g. strength athletes may choose to take creatine). Athletes interested in using a supplement should consult an accredited sports dietitian to ensure they use the supplements safely and appropriately.

This clear and highly applied overview of exercise nutrition illustrates difficult concepts using real-world examples and case studies that allow students to put learning into practice. Well-known author Dan Benardot draws on his vast experience as an instructor, scientist, and practitioner to craft an engaging and factual resource that makes the nutrition of exercise science accessible. Written at a level appropriate for both exercise science majors and non-majors, this practical book is packed with helpful in-text learning aids and stunning visuals that bring sports nutrition concepts to life.Learn More

This comprehensive toolkit provides sports nutritionists with introductory materials covering fundamental sports nutrition topics, including athlete consultations and dietary analysis, nutrition monitoring, nutrition interventions and individualized meal planning.Practitioners will find checklists, decision trees, assessment worksheets and questionnaires, templates, nutritional breakdowns and a wealth of supporting research to help modify and adapt each tool to meet the unique needs of their athletes.

An Athletic Trainer's Guide to Sports Nutrition gives athletic training clinicians and students the information and tools necessary to aid athletes in maintaining peak performance in nutrition, and fills the void left in the current athletic training curriculum.

"Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook will help you make the right food choices in grocery stores, restaurants, drive-throughs, and your own kitchen. Whether you're preparing for competition or simply eating on the go, let sport's leading nutritionist show you how to get maximum benefit from the foods you choose and the meals you make. You'll learn how to eat before exercise and events as well as how to refuel afterward for optimal recovery." "Updated and on the cutting edge, the fourth edition includes the latest sports nutrition research on hydration and fluid intake, vitamins, supplements, energy drinks, organic foods, and the role of carbohydrate and protein during exercise. You'll also learn about the new food pyramid and the American Heart Association's latest dietary guidelines."--BOOK JACKET.

Certified Sports Nutritionist from the International Society of Sports Nutrition. The CISSN is the premier certification in the field of sports nutrition and supplementation.

The CISSN is a collaborative effort from dozens of research scientists (PhDs) who have both research and practical experience in the field of sports nutrition. There are other certifications in the marketplace; however, none were devised by dozens of scientists who have done the actual research in our field. We are constantly updating the exam to reflect new findings in the field. So if you want to get certified by the individuals who have done the actual research, then the CISSN is your clear choice.

It is critical for all health/fitness/medical professionals who work with athletes or active individuals to have a fundamental understanding of the adaptive response to exercise and the role that nutrition plays in the acute and chronic response to exercise. Think of the bicycle analogy.The two wheels on a bicycle represent exercise training and nutrition. If one is faulty or inadequate, then you will end up with a dysfunctional bicycle. Sports nutrition and exercise training are intimately related. You can not provide good information on one aspect without knowing the other. Furthermore, sports nutrition is not the sole purview of exercise physiologists or dietitians. Sports nutrition is its own unique field that requires academic and real-world specialization and training.

The CISSN is recognized by the leaders of applied exercise nutrition (not sports dietetics, but rather sports nutrition). In addition, the CISSN has been coordinated by leading professors, professionals, health educators and researchers. The exam which is often given in concert with ISSN conferences. Our conferences are available for continuing education credits by such associations as the AND, NSCA, ACSM, NASM, ACE, IDEA and others. Sports nutrition is not medical nutrition therapy; however the CISSN is solely responsible for making sure that his or her practice of sports nutrition is within any state or Federal guidelines. 041b061a72