Scots Hockey Association

Sports nutrition is an important part of an athletes' training regiment. Unfortunately most athletes, especially young athletes, think quantity is the answer to improving performance. Many athletes invest in their training by increasing calories (many unhealthy) while mortgaging their performance and long-term health (increasing their fat mass).

True, when an athlete trains there is a possible need for extra calories to help promote the affects from training. However, most athletes go well beyond their caloric need and consume too many calories. More times than not, athletes consume foods from unhealthy sources like fast-food or take in large quantities of calories from protein supplements through shakes, pills or bars.

Athletes consume these extra calories, thinking the added consumptions will increase strength and produce productive weight gains. Most of these extra calories converting to fat - fat weight is not productive. Regardless of the form of food intake, if the calories go beyond needs, those calories convert to triglycerides in the liver and stored as fat. This storage of nonproductive mass takes away from athletic performance (especially in hockey, basketball, volleyball, track, and many positions in football) by causing premature fatigue and decreased acceleration and explosiveness.

There has been controversy over the years in the sports community on how much nutritional supplementation needs exist to improve athletic performance. Overwhelmingly, the answer keeps coming back as NOT MUCH, IF ANY.

Because sport's nutrition is such a comprehensive and complex area of study, and because it goes way beyond the scope of this book, I am just going to layout some simple nutritional guidelines. These recommendations will be more than, satisfactory in complimenting your conditioning program.

Since most of my career has been working in cardiology as a therapist and lifestyle management counselor, I will recommend eating for your health!!!

Heart disease is a condition that starts in early childhood, mainly because children learn sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits. Getting young people into sports is positive. The last recommendation a parent should do is teach and reinforce poor eating habits simply because they are under the false impression that a high calorie diet, usually coming from higher levels of fat, will help improve athletic performance.

The peak of human performance is athletic competition. Remember, when you eat for ideal health you'll achieve ideal human performance for the hockey season and the REST OF YOUR LIFE.

Food Parts

Dietary breakdown comes in three general categories; macronutrients carbohydrate, protein and fats; micronutrients - vitamins and minerals and water.

Macronutrients Carbohydrate, Protein and Fat

Carbohydrates divide into three categories: monosaccharide, oligosaccharides and polysaccharides. Carbohydrates make up most of our diet and are the main energy fuel used by the body.

Besides being the main energy sources, carbohydrates also work as a protein sparer, metabolic primer and provide fuel for the central nervous system. Carbohydrates stores in the body in the form of blood glucose (15-30g), liver (90-100g) and muscle glycogen (325g).

In sports like hockey where an athlete works in short durations at a high intensity, almost 100 percent of his and her energy drawing from carbohydrates and 30-40% from blood glucose.

Most of our diet should come in the fonn of carbohydrates (60%) with the majority coming in the complex variety. In the complex form, the fibrous portion remains, providing many health benefits and better control of blood sugars.

For an athlete, consuming simple sugars (candy, juice, soda) 30 minutes before an event can hinder athletic performance by dramatically lowering blood sugars and draining glycogen stores. Water is the preferred in take just before the start of the event.

During a game, water is the most needed supplement. Dehydration will quickly dissolve performance and place an athlete at risk for a heat related injury. Certain carbohydrate drinks are useful for athletic competition that is intensive (hockey, soccer or football) or long duration (marathon).

Controversy exists about sugar concentration. Higher concentration can lead to a lower osmolality (the rate of water absorption), resulting in dehydration, cramping, and diarrhea. The timing of taking in and concentrate solution are keys for any benefit. Following the first 30 minutes concentrations up to 50% is tolerable (70g/140ml) then 5% solution (24g/8 oz) over 30 minutes intervals.

For younger children playing in games less than or up to one-hour time, cold water is best.

Following practice or game, an athlete should consume a more simple, yet healthy, carbohydrate within 2 hours of completion. A drink like orange juice will provide replenishment of glycogen stores, electrolytes (potassium and calcium) and fluids.

Sports drinks are not necessary and soda provides almost no benefit. Remember caffeine is a diuretic and found in most soft drink. This will increase dehydration and contribute to premature fatigue. This is important during weekend tournaments when there are many games in a short time span - even two games in one day.

Fat classification falls into two major groups, saturated and unsaturated. Unsaturated fats subdivide into monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Fats serve many important roles in the body. Like carbohydrates, fats are a protein sparer. Fat also protects organs, helps with vitamin absorption, vitamin D synthesis, production of adrenal gland hormones like estrogen, androgen, progesterone - which are responsible for male and female secondary sex characteristics.

Fats also play a role in bile formation for fat breakdown, thermal control in the cold, nerve sheath and other cellular membrane development and blood clotting. Beside Linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid (meaning it must be in the diet because it is not producible in the body) we can produce all the fat needed for cellular work.

A typical American's diet consists of 45% fat, most in the form of saturated fat. This unfortunately leads to obesity, type II diabetes; high blood pressure, high cholesterol, certain cancers, coronary heart disease and decreased human and athletic performance.

The American Heart Association recommends no more than 30% of daily calories coming from fat; but for athletes like hockey players, who want a lean body, 20% is ideal.

Protein

• Low fat choices only
• Small portions are essential on game days
• Protein takes a long time to digest
  • 1 - 2oz (1/3 - ½ a serving)
  • Drained tuna (no mayo), salmon, lean-grilled steak, skinless chicken, lean turkey or chicken lunch meat, skim milk, yogurt, egg whites, cheese, beans, and nuts

Fat

• Takes longer to digest
• Keep it to a minimum
• Protein takes a long time to digest
  • Low fat ice cream and pastries, low-fat cheese, cake, parfait, sorbet and sherbet

Caffeine

• NO caffeine after a game
• Caffeine is a stimulant appetite suppressant and diuretic
  • Dehydration, lack of nutrients and lack of sleep are NOT keys to recovery

Protein is a chains of amino acids. They are well-known for their role of muscle builders and tissue repair.

Proteins also work as enzymes to help speed up chemical reactions, plasma protein for blood clotting, and hemoglobin for oxygen transport. Protein in the form of actin and myosin is what makes movement possible through muscle contraction.

Protein can supply energy, especially in the absences of enough carbohydrate and in moderate to intensive exercise. Most, if not all, people get more than enough protein in their diet. Therefore, supplementing protein is not always necessary.

Not only is consuming more protein not necessary jf you are not an adolescent who is working out or playing a high intensity sport, consuming the extra calories will result in increase fat mass. Most forms of high quality protein come in the form of animal products. These products contain high quantities of saturated fat.

The proteins you choose should be a selection from various plant sources. Normally men should consume about .8 grams/kg of body weight. (Simply divide your weight in pounds by 2.2 to get kg), women need .9g/kg. Some research suggested protein in certain athletes, especially those involved with high intensity sport like weight lifting, could increase the recommended amount up to 1.2 to 2.0 g/kg of body weight.

However, because most American's already consume more than the RDA suggest, the need for supplements still slightly exist. If extra protein is necessary, egg whites sit on top of the list for a high quality, low fat supplement A recent Canadian research paper discovered the body can only synthesize 20g of protein an hour and that this rate of synthesis could only be upheld for up to 4 hours. The source of protein showing the best results was skim milk. So I recommend my athletes' drink 4, 120z glasses of milk over four hours.

Summary of Macronutrients

When glycogen stores become exhausted, fatigue sets in and technique and performance suffer. Through a wert-balanced diet and training, glycogen stores can increase threefold.

Even with this increase, muscles do not have the luxury of borrowing glycogen from nonparticipating muscles. Only the liver can sacrifice its glycogen stores, which also has only limited storage. This too can exhaust quickly and limit an athlete in times of great intensity or extended duration. However, stored fat in the body has more than twice the caloric value as stored carbohydrate and will mobilize from other areas.

When an athlete trains specifically for their sport, their body learns to become more efficient at preserving glycogen by tapping into the caloric dense fat stores. The more the athlete trains the faster and more efficient this changeover occurs.

Not to seem contradicting to my earlier statement about fat, extra fat is unnecessary. One pound of fat can provide enough energy for a 35 mile walk. Fat-stores a lean athlete already haves are satisfactory to continue him and her in times of great energy demands.

Mlcronutrients

Vitamins and minerals is not an energy source. Vitamins serve as an essential link in metabolic reactions, promote energy release, and are important in bone and teeth synthesis. Vitamins are repeatedly useful in the body so the need for supplement doesn't exist.

Minerals- 22 mostly metallic minerals (about 4% body weight). Minerals regulate many roles in the body: Metabolism, anabolism, catabolism, structural (bones and teeth) and cellular activity and nerve impulses (sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium)

Under normal conditions a well-balanced diet will provide the RDA for minerals.

During prolonged or high intensity, athletes can lose anywhere from 1 to 5 kg (312 pounds) of water because of sweating. This can lead to the loss of mineral salts, mostly sodium and some potassium chloride. This loss of water and electrolytes weakens heat tolerance and hinders exercise performance and can lead to severe dysfunction in the form of heat cramps, heat exhaustion or heatstroke.

Water makes up 40-60% of a person's body weight. Water makes up 65-75% of the weight of muscle and less than 25% of the weight in fat Even though water does not contribute to nutritional value of foods, it is the way all nutrients, vitamins and minerals transport in the body. The two main water compartments in the body are intracellular and extra cellular fluids.

These fluids serve as the body's transport and active medium by bringing essential nutrient and gases to the cell while carrying away all waste by-products for elimination. Each day a sedentary person will need 2.5 liters of water. This water need is achievable through drinking liquids, foods and during metabolism.

For athletes during an event, water's main purpose is to replace the water lost in sweat. Water replacement allows the body's thermal regulator to continue functioning normally. By preserving hydration, athletes will be better able to perform and avoid the dangerous effects from increased core body temperature, which can lead to premature fatigue. The body will redirect blood to the skin surface and away from the working muscles - these results in dramatic drop in an athlete’s performance.

Recommendation for water drinking 10 to 20 minutes before an athletic event should equal 400 to 600 ml. During the event, 250 ml at 10 t015 minute intervals is adequate. Athletes can lose up to 2 liters of water per hour in sweat, while only absorbing 800 ml per hour. Watching an athlete for symptoms during an event in hot, humid weather is important. Young athletes have an immature thermal regulator and thus do not tolerate heat well. Keeping children well hydrated and under constant supervision and surveillance is a must.

Most nutritional needs can be met through a well-balanced diet. Even with all the sports nutrition research, athletes still buy into the fast cash schemes claiming that athletic perfection is unattainable unless he or she consumes this product.

It's simply not true and not supported by current research.

Pregame or practice meals are as important as any other topic I have discussed. But again, no special plan or dietary foods are useful. Hockey players feel physical challenges every lime they go on the ice; and because of this, a healthy carbohydrate laden diet needs to be the everyday staple.

On the day of a game, the heavy meal should come about 3 to 6 hours before game time. This should include foods like whole grain pastas, vegetables, skim milk, whole grain breads, and fruit or fruit juice. If a heavy meal is eaten greater than 4 hours before the game, a lighter snack, like fruit juice or yogurt, 2-3 hours before game time is adequate. Remember, no simple carbohydrates 30 minutes • 1-hour before a game - only water!!

High fat and protein meals hinder performance (steak and other meats, and fast foods). These foods digest more slowly, need more energy to digest. This takes away from energy that could be available during the game. It also increase metabolic heat and runs down water stores that can lead to heat stress.

On the road Snacks