Research shows that athletic performance is primarily affected by an athlete's diet. Although on average student-athletes have rather busy schedules considering practice schedules, homework, and chores, proper nutrition is essential for optimal performance. Students who choose to play a sport while still in school have to learn to manage their time efficiently to excel in academia and sport. Student athletes must hold themselves accountable, when considering what their daily routine will consist of, given that they are not only a hard-working student but an optimal athlete as well. With the variety of dietary options to choose from such as the "western diet" (Pollen. 2015), vegan, paleo and vegetarian-- an athlete's dietary choice needs to
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Comparing the differences between poor diets to healthy ones could help shed some clarity as to why certain athletes are at different performance levels than others. Those unfamiliar with this way of thinking may be interested to know that a healthy diet basically boils down to the consumption of whole foods and foods that have been cultivated with the least possible amounts of additives or other artificial substances.
The most common place to find healthy foods would be your local farmers market filled with plenty of options of fresh produce. The most efficient ways to prepare healthy meals would be grilling or baking vegies or meat using spices and seasonings with low sodium.
Unhealthy Foods
Athletes who have a habit to frequently consume saturated processed foods should consider taking a closer look at how the products they're consuming are affecting them. More specifically how certain unhealthy food ingredients attribute to their physical performance. The author of "Escape from the Western Diet," Michael Pollen addresses breaking unhealthy diets in addition to repeating (or repeatedly stressing) and elaborating on a dietary concept he refers to as the "western diet"(Pollen, M. 2015). Athletes should be conscious of how too many bags of chips, too much fast food, overall the "western diet" will counteract the effort they've put into obtaining the physical standing that they are working towards. …show more content…
As an athlete goes on to play over extended periods of time while their game awareness can improve, so can physical strength. Most athletes do not continuously monitor their dietary intake, because some colligate sports programs are capable of hiring sports dietitians to guide athletes in the proper direction for optimal performance. In "Availability of a sports dietitian may lead to improved performance
(JISSN, p.4) and recovery of NCAA Division I baseball athletes" a sports dietitian(SD) was hired for the study. At two out of the three institutions, the D1 baseball players also participated in the cross-sectional survey. With proper guidance from qualified sports dietitians, athletes were shown the appropriate diets they should be following. As shown in the diagram taken from the article, the athletes who had a sports dietitians(SD) were compared to the athletes who only had strength and conditioning(SCC). The athletes who were provided with sports dietitians, from their schools, were stricter on diets when consuming unhealthy foods like fast-food, caffeinated drinks and sodas, they were even on dietary plans that included multivitamins to gain specific dosages to consume the proper
Comparing the differences between poor diets to healthy ones could help shed some clarity as to why certain athletes are at different performance levels than others. Those unfamiliar with this way of thinking may be interested to know that a healthy diet basically boils down to the consumption of whole foods and foods that have been cultivated with the least possible amounts of additives or other artificial substances.
The most common place to find healthy foods would be your local farmers market filled with plenty of options of fresh produce. The most efficient ways to prepare healthy meals would be grilling or baking vegies or meat using spices and seasonings with low sodium.
Unhealthy Foods
Athletes who have a habit to frequently consume saturated processed foods should consider taking a closer look at how the products they're consuming are affecting them. More specifically how certain unhealthy food ingredients attribute to their physical performance. The author of "Escape from the Western Diet," Michael Pollen addresses breaking unhealthy diets in addition to repeating (or repeatedly stressing) and elaborating on a dietary concept he refers to as the "western diet"(Pollen, M. 2015). Athletes should be conscious of how too many bags of chips, too much fast food, overall the "western diet" will counteract the effort they've put into obtaining the physical standing that they are working towards. …show more content…
As an athlete goes on to play over extended periods of time while their game awareness can improve, so can physical strength. Most athletes do not continuously monitor their dietary intake, because some colligate sports programs are capable of hiring sports dietitians to guide athletes in the proper direction for optimal performance. In "Availability of a sports dietitian may lead to improved performance
(JISSN, p.4) and recovery of NCAA Division I baseball athletes" a sports dietitian(SD) was hired for the study. At two out of the three institutions, the D1 baseball players also participated in the cross-sectional survey. With proper guidance from qualified sports dietitians, athletes were shown the appropriate diets they should be following. As shown in the diagram taken from the article, the athletes who had a sports dietitians(SD) were compared to the athletes who only had strength and conditioning(SCC). The athletes who were provided with sports dietitians, from their schools, were stricter on diets when consuming unhealthy foods like fast-food, caffeinated drinks and sodas, they were even on dietary plans that included multivitamins to gain specific dosages to consume the proper