Maintaining a strong and healthy athletic performance is more than just a matter of training, practice and "keeping in shape." Your body needs support in the form of proper nutrition, hydration and rest in order to keep performing and responding at peak levels.

Athletes who are looking for a competitive edge often try fad diets, supplements or extreme nutritional routines. Many of these tactics are not well researched, but there is a lot of research available about the benefits of nutrition for a strong athletic performance. In general, research indicates that carbohydrates may be the most important nutrient for sports performance because they are the most efficient fuel for energy production. They can also be stored for later use in a form called glycogen in muscle and liver tissue. This makes the energy readily available during exercise.

• Fuel Sources and 'Carb Loading'
• Water
• Sports Drinks and Nutritional Supplements

Fuel Sources and 'Carb Loading'

The foods you eat provide the energy or fuel (calories) your body uses. As an athlete, you burn more fuel, so you need to eat enough calories from the right sources to help you perform at top levels.

A balanced intake of carbohydrates, proteins and fats can provide the right level of fuel to give you the energy you need. Carbohydrates are the most important source of energy for endurance and power. Proteins help build new body tissues, and fats provide energy when you are exercising at lower intensity.

Because each fuel source provides energy for a different kind of exertion, you can imagine that what you eat at any given time can affect your performance in the next athletic event. This is why many endurance athletes do what is called "carb loading" -- eating foods high in carbohydrates -- for a few days before an athletic event. This process helps the muscles build up an excess of glycogen that can be called on during the competition. Be sure to check with your doctor if you plan to do "carb loading."

The article Sports Nutrition from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons has a detailed discussion of the roles of carbohydrates, proteins and fats in athletic performance.

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Water

Your body is made up of lots of water (over 60 percent of your weight!). Water plays a big part in keeping you cool, as well as in flushing toxins from your system. When you exercise strenuously, you can lose a significant amount of fluid, and it is important to replace that fluid (re-hydrate) so that your body can continue to function at its best. Signs of dehydration include feeling dizzy or lightheaded, having a dry mouth and not urinating as much as usual. If you are dehydrated, you will not be as strong and your reactions will not be as fast as they could be.
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Sports Drinks and Nutritional Supplements

Sports drinks, bars and powders contain carbohydrates and proteins. Your body uses the carbohydrates and proteins from these items the same way it uses other carbohydrates or proteins. These "sports foods" won't really help you any more than any other sources of protein or carbohydrate. But they won't hurt you, either. It just depends on what you prefer to eat and drink!

"Performance-Enhancing" Supplements

The promise of increased strength and endurance in athletic performance can be tempting. Many supplements are available without a prescription, and many make great promises. Please remember that even if such supplements are marketed as "safe," they are tested on adults, not on growing teens. Some supplements, such as anabolic steroids, are legally available only by prescription.

Supplements that claim to increase athletic performance can have adverse effects on growing bodies. Several are derived from hormones that are already being produced by the body. They can have permanent negative effects on your health, both physical and mental. They can increase your body's production of cholesterol, cause the body to produce sex characteristics found more commonly in people of the other gender (i.e. breast growth in males and baldness and increased facial hair in females), and damage your liver, kidneys and heart.

If you are eating a nutritionally balanced diet, you are getting the necessary amount of carbohydrates, proteins and fats along with the important vitamins and minerals your body needs for optimum functioning. Adding more substances may not give you any benefit, and can even harm you. And use of some performance-enhancing substances is illegal!
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