Multiple research studies have shown that when taken in doses of approximately 1. Pro Tip — Caffeine can cause GI issues in some individuals. ANSWER: TRUE. Sports Performance. Need Workout Advice? Contact our Sports Performance program.

Should Athletes Take Supplements? What to Eat When You're a Vegetarian or Vegan Athlete. Snack Fuel: Eating for Performance. Follow UW Health Sports on Facebook.

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Make a donation. Find a class or support group. Priority OrthoCare. Myth 1: Chocolate helps your athletic performance. ANSWER: FALSE Myth 3: You should carb load the night before a race.

fluid to hydrate your body—and likely more if you drink coffee regularly. Athletes who regularly consume caffeine habituate and experience less of a diuretic effect. In general, most caffeinated beverages contribute to a positive fluid balance; avoiding them on the basis of their caffeine content is not justified.

Creatine is sometimes used by athletes who want to bulk up. It allows muscles to recover faster from, let's say, lifting weights, so the athlete can do more reps and gain strength.

A review of 21 studies that assessed kidney function with creatine doses ranging from two to 30 grams a day for up to five and a half years indicates creatine is safe for young healthy athletes as well as for elderly people. Even the most recent studies using sophisticated methods to assess renal function support creatine supplements as being well tolerated and not related to kidney dysfunction.

Without a doubt, vegan athletes can —and do—excel in sport. Just Google vegan athletes ; you'll find an impressive list that includes Olympians and professional athletes from many sports including football, basketball, tennis, rowing, snow boarding, running, soccer, plus more.

The key to consuming an effective vegan sports diet is to include adequate leucine, the essential amino acid that triggers muscles to grow.

The richest sources of leucine are found in animal foods, such as eggs, dairy, fish, and meats. If you swap animal proteins for plant proteins, you reduce your leucine intake by about 50 percent. For athletes, consuming 2. This means vegan athletes need to eat adequate nuts, soy foods, lentils, beans and other plant proteins regularly at every meal and snack.

Most athletes can consume adequate leucine, but some don't because they skip meals and fail to plan a balanced vegan menu. Vegan athletes who are restricting food intake to lose undesired body fat need to be particularly vigilant to consume an effective sports diet.

Plan ahead! Nancy Clark, MS, RD, FACSM, counsels both casual and competitive athletes at her office in Newton, MA. She is the author of many books as well as articles and resources available on nancyclarkrd. This blog post originally appeared on her website on June 6, In This Section:.

The Athlete's Kitchen: Sports Nutrition Myths BUSTED! Nancy Clark, MS, RD, FACSM June 18, MYTH: Protein supplements build bigger muscles. MYTH: Eating just before bedtime makes an athlete fat. MYTH: A gluten-free diet cures athletes' gut problems.

MYTH: Athletes should avoid caffeine because of its diuretic effect With caffeinated beverages, the diuretic effect might be 1. MYTH: Athletes should be wary of creatine because it is bad for kidneys.

MYTH: The vegan diet fails to support optimal performance in athletes. Access Member Benefits Shop Careers Exercise is Medicine.

While more specific recommendations can be given to runners based on body weight, the general recommendation is to consume 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrates and 15 to 20 grams of protein.

This story originally appeared in our sister publication, Trail Runner. Search Search. Photo: Alexander Spatari. Health Nutrition We Busted 5 Running Nutrition Myths Put down that hydration mix and pick up some carbs.

Alexander Spatari. Kylee Van Horn Published Sep 30, btn, a. Myth 2: Carbs are bad This myth might have hatched more recently from the trendy, though scientifically inconclusive, ketogenic diet, or from more old-school Atkins-era diet myths. Myth 3: I need to be fueling with food and hydration mix on every run You do not need to be eating and drinking your calories on every run if you are eating enough throughout the day.

The same goes for fasting, juice diets, and other types of extreme restrictions. Stretch whenever you can, of course, or when a coach wants players to get ready. Spot reduction is an exercise designed to reduce fat and increase muscle in specific areas. Such as trying to develop a six-pack using abdominal exercises.

The idea is that this increases your metabolic rate, so you burn more fat and lose weight. In reality, that window is broader, up to 90 minutes either before or after exercise will improve the absorption and benefit of proteins.

Athletes can achieve the same or better results across a much wider range of rep counts when this is the goal. Here is a quick recap of 9 myths that athletes and coaches need to know:. Would your team, club, youth association, or sports association benefit from XPS and its wide range of features?

Contact XPS Network if you want to find out more, or Sign-up for a Free Trial today. XPS Facilities are now available in BETA testing! Although it is rare for vitamins or minerals to be contaminated with drugs, there has been at least one case of a vitamin containing an anabolic steroid.

At the other extreme are products that contain drugs, stimulants, anabolic steroids, or other hormones. Even though these are not technically dietary supplements, many of them are labeled as supplements.

For example, body-building products sometimes contain anabolic steroids or Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators, known as SARMs, or other hormones.

Some pre-workout or energy products contain illegal stimulants like DMAA, ephedra, or other amphetamine-like stimulants. Weight loss products might contain prescription drugs like sibutramine, or hormones, like human chorionic gonadotropin, also known as hCG.

All natural or herbal sexual enhancement products might contain hormones or Viagra-like drugs. After all, two products might look the same, but one might contain just amino acids and other legitimate ingredients, while the other also contains anabolic steroids. Because of this, FDA has issued a warning about certain categories of supplements: body building products, weight loss products, and sexual enhancement products.

Be extremely careful when considering a supplement in one of these categories. We strongly recommend that you avoid products in these categories. Even when FDA tests supplements and finds dangerous ingredients, companies sometimes refuse to recall them.

Sometimes, they simply repackage their product and continue selling it under a new name. You need to do your research and be an informed consumer. The dietary supplement industry is enormous.

Supplements that appear to be safe could actually be dangerous products in disguise. If you use dietary supplements without doing your research, you may be taking serious risks with your health and your career.

Skip to content. Search Close this search box. Facebook X. com Logo formerly Twitter. Youtube Instagram Linkedin Pinterest. Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram Linkedin Pinterest. Nutrition Myths: Do These Fueling Traditions Work?

September 1, Nutrition. Educators Parents. Myth: Pre-Competition Pasta Parties Why it works: For decades, marathoners have been all about carb-loading with pasta and pizza the night before a competition.

Myth: Orange slices on the sidelines Why it works: Using whole foods for fuel is a great practice to teach young athletes, and orange slices provide a quick hit of simple sugar in the form of fructose. Myth: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Myth: Granola bars are great competition fuel Why it works: For many athletes, granola bars are relatively easy to digest, can be made with mostly whole foods, and can provide energy for long days of competition.

Myth: No treats during the season Why it works: Athletes should be focusing on a healthy diet of whole, real foods with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and lean proteins. Myth: Gels and sports chews are critical for serious athletes Why it works: Gels and chews are fast, easy ways to get in simple sugars that can give athletes a boost during a competition or race.

Related Content. REDs: The Role of Nutrition in Prevention. February 1, Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport—better known as REDs or RED-S—can be hard to diagnose, but essentially, it happens to athletes Read More. Tired of trying to reinvent your menu every night at dinnertime?

You may be overthinking the types of meals that December 1, If your athlete is struggling to fall asleep, stay asleep through the night, or is dealing with some mild feelings November 1, Athletes Educators Parents.

Athletes can achieve the same or better results across a much wider range of rep counts when this is the goal. Here is a quick recap of 9 myths that athletes and coaches need to know:.

Would your team, club, youth association, or sports association benefit from XPS and its wide range of features?

Contact XPS Network if you want to find out more, or Sign-up for a Free Trial today. XPS Facilities are now available in BETA testing! If you want to activate the new feature in your XPS, please contact support sidelinesports.

We are excited to see Oakland Roots and Soul SC join the XPS Family! Founded in , Oakland joined USL Championship in…. We have several XPS Forms UI Updates available for you!

News Performance All Sports. XPS Network Instagram. Why it works: Gels and chews are fast, easy ways to get in simple sugars that can give athletes a boost during a competition or race.

Not every fueling tradition is perfect. Sign up for the TrueSport Newsletter and receive a FREE copy of our Sportsmanship Lesson. Team USA wheelchair basketball player, paralympian, and true sport athlete. Today, I want to talk to you about goal setting. And there are three things that I would like you to know.

First, successful athletes set goals and a planned roadmap. Second, goals should be written down, assessed over time, and changed if necessary. And third, goals need to be challenging in order to be worthwhile.

As a freshmen at Edinboro University, I was a part of a team that made the national championship game. And at that time I recognized I was the low man on the totem pole, but I felt in my heart that I knew my dreams were so much bigger than winning a national title.

I wanted to make Team USA. I knew what achieving my lofty goal was not going to be easy and that I would need to work hard every day. So, as a reminder, I created a pyramid of goals that I kept right above my bed. This pyramid reminded me of the accomplishments that I was working towards and visually represented my need to create a solid foundation underneath me before reaching the top.

The middle row listed winning a national title and playing for a professional team. And at the top row, the most challenging of them all, I listed becoming a gold medalist for Team USA.

By understanding that there are smaller stepping stones to achieving my ultimate goal of being on Team USA, I was able to stay motivated and to stay focused on completing the smaller stepping stones fully before moving onto the next one. Remember, create a clear goal roadmap, assess your goals often, and continue to challenge yourself.

I hope that you never stopped dreaming big or reaching for the stars. And I look forward to seeing where your roadmap takes you.

First, healthy thoughts often lead to healthier bodies. And third, true beauty goes deeper than the skin. My coaches and I adapt to my training frequently, all with the goal of supporting my long-term success and health in the sport of javelin. In the lead up to the Olympic trials, I was told in order to improve my performance on the field, I should try to become a leaner, skinnier version of myself.

So I changed my diet. And I believe becoming leaner than my body naturally wanted to be was what caused my ACL to tear. In the end, it cost me heavily going into the London games. You should do your research and experiment with your diet to find what makes you feel the best, rather than focusing on what you look like.

Today, if I feel like having a chocolate chip cookie, I have one, just not every day. I hydrate and allow myself time to recover. And I listen to and communicate with my body so that I can be the best version of myself.

In the end, you are in control of how you see, treat, and respond to your body. Be a true sport athlete. Love who you are in this moment and get excited for all the places your body will take you. Today, I want to talk to you about being a good sport.

First, real winners act the same toward their opponent, whether they win or lose. Second, follow the rules and be a gracious winner and respectful loser.

And third, sportsmanship reveals your true character. I started competing in Modern Pentathlon eight years after my older sister and three-time Olympian, Margaux Isaksen, began competing. I soon realized that people often compared the two of us. I know that it would have been easy to let our hyper competitive mindset affect our relationship, but instead we decided to support and cheer for each other, regardless of our own performance.

My experience of competing against and being compared to my older sister, taught me to focus on how to perform at my best, rather than putting wasted energy into wishing for others to fail.

Consumed to excess, caffeine can cause jitters and other issues, but a reasonable amount is absolutely fine, and can even give performance benefits. Check out our Doppio caffeine energy gel and Amaro caffeine energy chews for a natural boost:. Science has shown that a value of mg per Kg of body weight, 30 minutes prior to training or towards the last 20 minutes of a race can help to reduce the perceived exertion and fatigue.

If you are going at a faster pace, these stores will be drained quicker. That means when you are doing endurance events over minutes, you will need to consider topping up your stores.

This may be in the form of gels, chews, bars or drinks. We would normally recommend g of carbs per hour for activities up to 3 hours and then g of carbs per hour for events over 3 hours.

Carb-loading is part of the mythology of running. There is definitely no need to eat more volume of food but it can be worth thinking about your nutrition for the 48 hours prior to your race as this ensures that carbohydrates are converted to glycogen stores.

Ideally, we would recommend swapping some of your protein and fat intake for carbohydrates. So if you normally eat porridge with nuts for breakfast, try porridge with banana and honey.

Like carbohydrates, fats have got an unfairly bad reputation — thanks in part to the low-fat diet trend of the 90s and 00s. But healthy fats are an essential part of a positive diet, promoting healthy joints, skin, hair and more. There are plenty of ways to get protein from a plant-based diet explore our plant based all-natural protein shakes , but ensuring variety is key:.

The key thing is to include a variety of sources throughout the day to make sure that you are getting all the amino acids. Grains and pulses, tofu, tempeh and soya are great sources of protein for vegans.

Plus, carbs ensure your body has enough energy to absorb and use the protein. As a general rule, you want to eat 1g of carbs per Kg of body weight and 2g of protein per Kg of healthy weight if you are looking to build muscle.

It only takes a few seconds of research to see that this myth isn't true. When looking at high-level athletes, you'll find that many of them often use caffeine to help give them an energy boost. Of course, too much caffeine can cause jitters, headaches and other issues, but using a reasonable amount is fine and can lead to a performance boost.

Some of the best ways to use caffeine as an athlete are energy gels and chewables. Caffeine can be great for long-distance and high-endurance sportspeople, as it can help reduce how exhausted you feel. Up to 3 mg per KG of body weight 20 minutes before a race's end can help you.

One of the best tricks brands like Lucozade or Gatorade have pulled to make many people, even those involved in fitness, believe that their drinks are essential for high-performance athletes. The truth is that many of these drinks are simply not necessary and are likely to harm your overall nutrition.

Many of these drinks contain a lot of sugar, artificial ingredients, and more, and there are better ways of getting a hit of energy. If you're going to use sports drinks, make sure to only use them for longer workouts, as this is where they have some value, as they'll give you prolonged boots in your glycogen stores.

Carb-loading is where you eat more carbs than you usually would before a long-distance event to build up a greater glycogen store. Having more of this gives you more energy, helping you to perform. The issue with carb-loading is that many people need to do it properly and emphasize too much on the loading part.

You shouldn't eat more food before a race. Instead, it would help if you swapped out other food groups for carbs while eating the same volume. For example, two days before a race, you should swap your protein and fat for carbs. So instead of eating nuts, eat a banana. You should stick to something other than your normal meal plan and add extra carbs, as that can hamper your performance.

We've already mentioned it in the first myth, but fat isn't the enemy regarding weight gain. The reputation of fat has taken a beating since low-fat diet trends emerged in the early 00s, but the reality is that we need fat. Many healthy fats are vital for a positive diet, and sports people need them more than ever as they can help a lot with endurance.

Of course, the most significant thing with fat is all about portions. Too much fat can lead to it being stored in your body, but having the right amount can help your joints and improve your skin and hair. Try to get your fats from nuts, seeds, avocados, and oily fish, among other natural foods.

These also contain vitamins D and E, which is excellent for athletes. Protein is most abundant in meat. However, you can still get the protein you need from other sources.

This has been a stick used to beat vegans with, but the truth is that you can get plenty of protein from plant life and vegan options. All you need to worry about if you're looking to get protein from your greens is to keep it varied.

This ensures that you get a broad spectrum of amino acids needed for protein synthesis within your body. Grains and pulses are the best meat-free protein sources, as well as tofu, tempeh and soya. For the best results, if you're looking to boost your recovery, be sure to eat protein with some carbs within 30 minutes of exercising.

Sports nutrition is not focused on getting you as thin and slim as possible. In fact, the aim is rarely to lose weight. Instead, it's focused on ensuring that you're fitter and can create a body that's best suited to the sport you play.

Each body type is different from the 'ideal' shape, and proper sports nutrition isn't trying to get you to achieve a certain look. Instead, it's designed to give your body the pieces to maximize your performance as an athlete. If you really must supplement with electrolytes, find a sports drink that is sugar free unless you otherwise know that you need the extra sugar calories.

Eating a piece of whole fruit would be a far better and nutritious way to get an energy boost after exercise. Finally, the last sports nutrition myth is that low calorie diets will help you shed weight faster.

Some athletes who feel that they need to start losing weight will go on these, looking to get to their end goal sooner so they can see that rise in performance.

Sadly, it often works against them. Plus these very low calorie diets will put them at risk of lean muscle mass loss, which can then cause a permanent decrease in their overall performance. When it comes to fat loss, slow and steady wins the race for any athlete.

So keep these sports nutrition myths in mind. If you can side-step these, you will feel more confident that you are structuring your diet in a way that will promote both health as well as maximum performance.

Looking to enhance your knowledge of sports and nutrition? Myth 1: The More Protein, The Better Ever see an athlete pounding back a protein shake right after a big event? Myth 2: You Should Be Feasting On High-Carb, Low Fat Food The next sports nutrition myth to note is the notion that your diet should revolve around high carb, low fat foods.

Myth 3: Bagels Are An Optimal Source Of Energy Moving along, are bagels a primary go-to for you? Myth 4: Sports Beverages Are A Wise Choice Sports beverages are another thing that athletes need to be careful about. Myth 5: Low Calorie Diets Will Help You Shed Weight Faster Finally, the last sports nutrition myth is that low calorie diets will help you shed weight faster.

Recent posts. Carbohydrates and sugars have a bad reputation with anyone promoting ways to lose weight. The only way to lose weight is to consume fewer calories than you burn. A calorie deficit is the most effective way to lose weight.

You can still have carbs and sugars as part of a weight loss diet, in moderation, of course. Training for almost every sport involves building muscles. Naturally, protein is an essential part of that. However, branched-chain amino acids BCAA are not.

All you need are protein supplements 1. The same goes for fasting, juice diets, and other types of extreme restrictions. Stretch whenever you can, of course, or when a coach wants players to get ready.

Spot reduction is an exercise designed to reduce fat and increase muscle in specific areas.