Nutrition for Athletes: Eating to Enjoy Lifelong Health and High Energy

The following is an eating plan that gives a good nutrition foundation for athletes.

• Eat 3 different foods at each meal. For example: for breakfast eat whole grain cereal, raw whole milk and organic strawberries, for lunch include a sandwich made with 100% whole grain bread, sliced turkey, lettuce, tomato and an orange.

• Eat foods in their whole natural state - so instead of juices (orange juice) eat the whole fruit (orange) instead. Not only will you get more nutrition because juices are pasteurized which kills off vitamins and other important factors such as enzymes. but you will also get more fiber.

• As much as possible eat whole foods that have undergone the least amount of processing. This website contains lots of information about food additives like Rbst, high fructose corn syrup. Only because you are an athlete does not mean you are unaffected by these chemicals. In fact because you are an athlete and eat more calories you may be eating more foods that contain these chemicals and in the long run becasue you are eating more of these you may be harming your health.

  Exercise does not insulate you from the common health problems had by most Americans. Even if you have a leaner body and more endurance you can still have poor immune function and blood sugar imbalances. poor heart function etc. What you eat does impact your overall health.