NUTRITION FOR THE NEW WAVE OF ATHLETES

Professional athletes aren’t simply born. They’re trained, coached, nurtured and built into the athletes they become over a number of years. That training often starts early for most athletes. At the hands of ambitious parents and, when the athlete’s talent is identified, schools and training academies. In addition to functional weight training and skill development, nutrition plays a major role in deciding whether the youth athlete makes it professionally. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition identified nutrition as one of the building blocks and key factors in the growth and development of adolescents, especially those engaged in high levels of physical activity.

More athletes are turning to supplements to advance their development, aid their performance and bolster their chances of dominating amateur sport or moving on to professional sport. Especially because the rigorous demands of training often result in the athlete having no time to fit healthy eating into a schedule packed with practice. That’s double trouble, because as the athlete trains more they need more nutrients, calories (the right ones) to keep training. Instead, they load up with the wrong ones because of the convenience.