The body, the mind, the grades , the sport
The body, the mind, the grades , the sport
THE BODY, THE MIND, THE GRADES, THE SPORT
Health Considerations for School and Athletics
Performance and diet:
You are a Student-Athlete. Being an athlete means that you make demands of your body and mind that are above what the average demands that a “normal” person makes. Your body is a tool that you use to perform the task of playing water polo. Like any tool, the cleanest and best-kept tools will out perform rusty, or shoddy equipment any day. How well do you keep your tools? Well, the age-old saying is more true than ever when it comes to performing in a demanding sport like water polo: YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. What you put in to your system is what you get out of it. If you are filling most of your diet with junk then that is all that your body has to work with. Your performance, indeed OUR performance as a team, depends on what your body has to work with.
It’s never too early or too late to start thinking about your body and your mind’s health.
By Darren Sandvig
You will feel the difference!
The body, the mind, the grades , the sport
The body, the mind, the grades , the sport
LEARNING BALANCE IN EATING IS LIKE LEARNING BALANCE IN WALKING: IT TAKES TIME, BUT THE MORE YOU DO THE BETTER YOU ARE AT IT. I am asking for you to take some serious consideration to what you want to accomplish, both academically and athletically. Everyone knows what I want… I want to win. In order for us to win we need to be the best, strongest, fastest and toughest team in the pool. There are things that I can do to help ensure that these qualities are present in my student athletes… most of these things have to do with what we do in the pool. As for outside the pool, I am making the following suggestions regarding health and diet… which will help your performance for those times when you are IN the pool! I am not
a dietitian, and you should always consult a doctor or certified dietitian before starting any diet. But I am an athlete and I know what is necessary and what isn’t necessary to be an student-athlete. (It also helps that am a biologist, and I know a thing or two about biochemistry). In any case, none of the suggestions that I am making are hazardous to your health or to your performance. I want the healthiest and strongest student-athletes around. You will feel the difference. 1. Eat regularly. A regular diet helps keep the body in tune and the brain cells awake.
No brain cellsbad grades, bad gradeslow GPA, low GPAineligible to play. a. this includes eating a good breakfast… which some people find offensive? b. Most dietitians agree that smaller meals and more frequent eating times helps to keep the metabolism running on high (that
is a good thing). If your metabolism doesn’t slow down then either do you. As for myself, I eat four meals a day because that is all I have time for. Time must be a consideration of course.
The body, the mind, the grades , the sport
DIET AND PERFORMANCE When you do eat, know what you are eating. a. diets high in saturated fats and processed sugars can promote weight gain, which most athletes do not want… it slows us down. b. Food items with many preservatives usually have an abnormally high level of free radicals (these are bad) in them, which can harm DNA and slow down healing processes. Since we are tearing down muscle tissue every day in work out, how fast you heal is a big factor in how quickly you get in shape and stay in shape. Rule of thumb… if it’s in a wrapper it has preservatives.
The body, the mind, the grades , the sport
c. Your body needs vitamins and minerals to function at its highest capacity. The best way to get vitamins and minerals is from the foods that you eat, not from a pill. Foods that are high in these essential nutrients are fruits and vegetables. You also get lots of fiber, unsaturated fats, and good sugars from these foods as well. You can’t go wrong with these guys, really. Eat as much of them as you want… they will only help your brain and body stay active. d. Vitamin B12: you can only get this from eating red meat products (unless you eat a pill). The good thing… your body can store enough B12 to last you 7 years. So you shouldn’t feel the need to eat lots of red meat, which
contains lots of saturated fats (those are bad) and some free radicals (them again). e. Protein. We are destroying muscle tissue daily. In order to repair muscle tissue (which is made of protein) we need to eat proteins. Again, there are many choices for proteins… some are better than others. Protein that comes from animals automatically has higher saturated fats in it. That’s OK, if it is in small quantities. Some animal proteins are better than others. Fish, for example, is very low in saturated fats and very high in omega 3 fats, DHA, and DHEA, all of which are considered beneficial for the body and especially the brain. If I were to categorize animal proteins from
best to worst they would go in this order: fish, poultry (chicken, turkey), beef and pork. Quite honestly, wild game is great too (in any variety) but not too many of us are hunter-gatherers anymore. Plant proteins are wonderful in their health benefits; this can most easily be attained by eating nuts and beans. Soy products are plant based proteins that are naturally low in fats (especially saturated fats) and high in beneficial nutrients. Many Asian diets are considered the healthiest in the world because of the tendency to substitute tofu (a soy product) for meat. A recent study attributes the longevity of Okinawans to their plant based diet… live long and prosper guys.
The body, the mind, the grades , the sport
HYDRATION,SLEEP, AND PERFORMANCE f. Liquids. Keeping your body hydrated is probably one of the most important things you can to promote rapid recovery and adequate blood flow during the day. Adequate blood flow increases brain and body productivity. What are appropriate ways to hydrate your body? Soda is definitely last on that list. There is more water in a bowl of strawberries (and more nutrients and essential vitamins too) than there are in a can of Coke. There are no nutrients or health benefits to most any soda that is on the market. It is just sugar and more sugar with a little bit of water to ease the flow. In fact the high
The body, the mind, the grades , the sport
concentration of sugar puts your blood into a hypertonic state and you actually become more dehydrated. My advice… if your thirsty, eat a bowl of strawberries (or any other fruit for that matter). Nothing hydrates your body better than water. Pure and simple, water is the stuff of life. Some of you may be in to drinking those athletic drinks like gaterade or power aide. They are also high in sugar and also salts. After a very demanding workout, when you’ve just sweat profusely (yes you sweat in the pool), and lost a lot of the essential ions and electrolytes you body uses to work efficiently, then it would be appropriate to replenish those lost essentials with a swig of gaterade. But when you are just hanging out at lunch, or at
home, or waking up in the morning and your electrolytes are all up to snuff (the idea being that you cannot store extra electrolytes past a certain point) all you are really doing now is drinking more processed sugar water. Your body can, however, store extra sugars… in specialized cells called fat storage cells. If you are eating correctly and often enough there is no need to store extra sugars for later (since I don’t think any of us are traveling to Uganda for an extended period of time, we wont be suffering from starvation any time soon). g.Sleep. Getting a full 6-8 hours of sleep is crucial to high performance. If you aren’t getting enough sleep you won’t be fully awake in class. If you lag in class
then you lag in grades. If you lag in grades then you will become ineligible to play. Plus, not getting enough rest will hamper your mental sharpness in the game. h.Getting exercise is important, but then again, that is why you are on the water polo team. Still, it is important to remember that you need to properly warm up and warn down before and after a game. You will not be able to perform to your fullest if your body doesn’t adequately get the blood flowing to all the important cells, especially the brain and heart. You need to remove the lactic acid from your muscles to prevent starting a new work out already in oxygen debt.
The body, the mind, the grades , the sport
Thoughtful diet, good exercise, proper hydration, and adequate sleep are the key elements to high performance in anything you do, scholastic or athletic.
The body, the mind, the grades , the sport
Fruits and veggies Low fat proteins
Fats, oils, and sweets Whole Grains/Starches
28% 50% 17% 6%
“Early to bed, early to rise, makes a person healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
A good diet consists of lots of whole grains, vegetables, and fruit. Throw in some dairy products here and there for excitement. Proteins are key, but eat the proteins that are low in saturated fats, and don’t make the protein the bulk of your diet. Once in a while indulge in a nice desert or throw a little salad dressing on your salad… fats, oils and sugars should make up the smallest part of your diet. Your athletic body will thank you for it. I have made up a diagram abovethat shows portion sizes of food groups that should be found on your “dinner” plate (it actually applies to any time you are eating).
