I hope everyone had a great weekend. Congratulations to UConn for winning the Division 1 Field Hockey National Championship! With Thanksgiving right around the corner I couldn’t think of anything better to talk about but nutrition.
Everyday Nutrition
All kids need to eat a well balanced diet, and if your child is an athlete they need to focus on what they eat and drink each day. Sports take a lot of energy and in order to keep up the high intensity training each child needs to replenish energy through different food types. Vitamins and minerals are the most important things kids need to help their bones and muscles through this important time of growth.
Carbohydrates are a great way to replenish energy from a long workout. The best carbs to feed your children are whole grain foods, fruits and vegetables. While young kids are not lifting a lot of weights, they are still pushing their muscles to the limit in every work out. It is very important for kids to eat foods with protein in them in order to repair the muscles. At the same time you do not want them to eat too much protein, as it will cause the dehydration to the muscles.
It is very important to make sure your athlete is drinking plenty of fluids to stay hydrated. Dehydration can come on quickly and effect your child’s play, as well as how your daughter’s organs are functioning. Most kids enjoy drinking sports drinks, be careful as they tend to have too much sugar. It is better for an athlete to drink water during the activity and then follow up the activity with an electrolyte style of drink to replenish the body.
Game Day Meals
3 hours before the start of the game your child should have a meal that contains a high amount of carbs and some protein. This will give your child the ability to burn the carbs as energy to use during the game. You should avoid any food that are high fiber and fats. A lot of fiber may cause you to feel sick when performing exercise and the body takes longer to digest fats.
Fruits and vegetables are great to have about in between games during a long day of play. They give the body a quick replenish of carbohydrates to help give them energy back. Your child should also make sure to drink water during, in-between and after each game they play.
Feel free to take a glance at Koa’s snack policy, written by a licensed nutritionist- https://koasports.org/about/
