Vegetarian Athletes

The primary concern for vegetarian athletes is protein. As athletes, your protein needs are a little bit higher than your meat-eating teammates because plant protein isn’t digested as easily as animal protein. Don’t worry though, as long as you are eating a variety of high protein sources, you should be able to meet your protein needs for training and competition. Low-fat dairy products and eggs are great sources of protein. If you are avoiding all animal products, some examples of high protein plant foods include:  

• Peanut butter (8 g per 2 Tbs) 
• Pistachios (6 g per 1 oz or 48 kernels) 
• Tempeh (15 g per ½ cup) 
• Falafel (14 g per ½ cup) 
• Soybeans, as edamame (11 g per ½ cup) 
• Lentils (9 g per ½ cup) 
• Quinoa (4 g per ½ cup) 

As with trying any new foods, I would recommend doing an experiment with them not prior to a sporting event. Everyone tolerates foods differently, so try the food and see how you feel after 3-4 hours. If it’s not sitting well or causing some distress, you can eliminate it from your pre-competition meal or pre-practice snack. 
Vegetarian athletes also are at higher risk to be low in iron, especially women. Iron from animal sources is different from iron from plant sources in that it is not absorbed as easily. All iron is better utilized by our bodies when it is eaten with a source of vitamin C such as orange juice, strawberries, kiwi, cantaloupe, or grapefruit. Some high iron foods include:

• Iron-enriched cereals 
• Prunes 
• Raisins 
• Spinach 
• Broccoli 
• Kidney beans 

More helpful information on eating vegetarian diets can be found at: 

USDA Choose MyPlate – Tips for Vegetarians http://www.choosemyplate.gov/healthy-eating-tips/tips-for-vegetarian.html 
USDA Lifecycle Nutrition – Vegetarian Nutrition 
http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/lifecycle-nutrition/vegetarian-nutrition 
The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom 
http://www.vegsoc.org/health/

Guest Blogger: Jaime Williams, USD Dietetic Intern

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Fueling the Athlete with Oatmeal

If you are looking for a breakfast idea to have an hour or so before exercise, oatmeal is an excellent choice. Oatmeal is a whole grain that is high in soluble fiber, which allows for a slower digestion rate that provides long-lasting energy- perfect for athletes! You probably have noticed advertisements for oatmeal that label it as a "heart healthy" food. Oatmeal is considered heart healthy because the fiber content helps lower cholesterol levels. It will also help keep you feeling full longer. 

Oatmeal is high in carbohydrate. If you have read any other of my posts, you know how important carbohydrates are in the athlete's diet! A serving of oatmeal (1/2 cup, uncooked) provides 27 grams of carbohydrate. To add more grams of carbohydrates to your breakfast, prepare with milk and top with fresh fruit. That is a lot of wonderful nutrition in one bowl!

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Vitamin D and Athletes

What is Vitamin D? Here is some background information: 

• Fat soluble vitamin meaning that the body stores excess amounts for later use opposed to water soluble vitamins which get flushed out through the system
• Functionally it acts as a hormone with a similar structure as steroid hormones 
• Known to be important for optimal muscle function as well as playing an important role in bone growth and repair, cell functioning, neuromuscular immune functioning and the management of inflammation. 
• It is produced in the body when your skin is exposed to sunlight 
• Not “just a vitamin”, but rather the only known substrate producing multiple effects related to functions in the body. 
• Important to ensure adequate intake of calcium and vitamin D together to ensure bone health 
• Vitamin D is needed for absorption of calcium

Why is it important to athletes specifically? 

• Vitamin D has been shown to improve athletic performance (International Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2009) 
• A related finding noted that peak athletic performance occurs during summer sun exposure when your body produces the most Vitamin D 
• Been shown to increase the size and percentage of “fast twitch” muscle fibers playing a huge role in generating quick bursts of speed and power
• Supplementing vitamin D in athletes with sub-optimal levels may have beneficial effects on athletic performance in particular strength, power, reaction time and balance (AIS) 
• A deficiency can lead to several health issues including increased risk of bone injuries, chronic musculoskeletal pain and viral respiratory tract infections 
• Deficient athletes tend to have a higher incidence of stress fractures according to the Cleveland Clinic

References 
1) Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) – “Fuelling your success – Vitamin D” 
2) Institute of Medicine, 2010 
3) Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: Athletic Performance & Vitamin D (John Cannell, 2009) May 2009 - Volume 41 - Issue 5 - pp 1102-1110 
4) International Journal of Sport Nutrition & Exercise Metabolism; “Should We be Concerned About the Vitamin D Status of Athletes?” K.S. Willis et al.; 2008 5) Cleveland Clinic –“ Vitamin D deficiency Hazardous to Athletes’ Health & Performance”

Guest Blogger: Liz Wray, USD Dietetic Intern

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"Inside the Summit League"

For those of you who have Midcontinent as their cable provider, be sure to check out my guest segment on "Inside the Summit League." The show airs on Wednesday nights at 7 pm CST on Midco Sports Net. I visit with the host, Tom Neiman, about various sport nutrition topics. 

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Knowing Your Sweat Rate

Answering the question, "what is my sweat rate?" can be tricky. Although it can be calculated easy enough, there are so many variables that can affect it that it will not always be the same. It will change depending on the type and intensity of activity, temperature outside, genetics, humidity, and the type of clothing/equipment you are wearing. Being mindful with your hydration plan will help prevent some of the effects of dehydration and possible muscle cramping. 

An example of how much sweat rates can vary can be seen by looking at two tennis players.

Male 1: He is in his summer competition with an average sweat rate of 1.6 L per hour.
Male 2: He is also in his summer competition and is prone to muscle cramps. His sweat rate is 2.6 L per hour.

As you can see, most everything between these two males is the same (temperature outside, humidity, clothing) with the exception of their genetics. So it goes to show that you really need to pay attention to your body and how much YOU are sweating to estimate how much water you should be drinking. Not only are you losing fluid in your sweat, but also electrolytes. Sodium, in particular, is lost in sweat and even the rate of that is highly dependent on genetic factors. Some people are "salty" sweaters while others not. It may require adding in some electrolytes to your water or drinking a sports drink.

Reference:
Sawka, M. N., Burke, L. M., Eichner, E. R., Maughan, R. J., Montain, S. J., & Stachenfeld, N. S. (2007). American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Exercise and fluid replacement. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 39(2), 377-390.

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Recipe - Green Smoothie with Kale, Banana, and Milk

As I was making my breakfast this morning, it hit me that this would make a wonderful breakfast for an athlete on-the-go because it is so quick to prepare. It is a light breakfast, but still packs in a good amount of carbohydrate with some added protein. Adding in the kale really gives this smoothie an extra punch of nutrition. Who says you can't have your dark leafy greens in the morning? This smoothie is also an excellent source of calcium because both the kale and milk are rich sources. 

In my breakfast smoothie that I have pictured, I used:

1 cup of chopped kale
1 cup of vanilla soy milk
1 banana
1 tsp chia seeds (optional)

I blended those ingredients until smooth, then I added in a few ice cubes and blended again.

Nutrition facts: 258 calories, 49 grams carbohydrate, 11 grams protein, 5 grams of fat

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Another Reason Not to Skip Breakfast

You have heard it all before. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It's so easy to come up with reasons to skip this meal, such as not enough time, not hungry in the morning, etc...

It is important for everyone, especially athletes, to fuel your body right away in the morning. After a night of sleep, your body is running low and breakfast is needed to give you the jump-start you need. When choosing what to eat for breakfast, be sure to include a good source of protein. Often times people eat a lot of protein later in the day and forget to include it in with breakfast. Your body needs it in the morning, too! It will also keep you feeling full longer.

Another reason not to skip breakfast comes from a study done by the Imperial College of London. Subjects who skipped breakfast craved higher fat choices once lunch time came around. Those who ate breakfast did not have such intense cravings and ate fewer calories at lunch. It offers interesting insight to how our brain thinks about the food we eat. A more detailed summary of the study can be found in the link below. 

From BBC News, Skipping breakfast primes the brain to seek out fat

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