Experts on Sports Nutrition Advise
College Athletes on Eating
by Brian Ojanpa

Sports nutrition back in the day was humbly defined, if at all.

Then, eating to win typically meant a thick steak, which played into the muscle-building myth that if a little protein was good, a ton of it was better. "You've got to eat meat to make meat," went the mantra.

Though sports-nutrition knowledge has taken a giant leap since then, spreading that knowledge to athletes is a perpetual challenge, particularly at the college level, where the concept of eating right can take a beating.

"There are a lot bad eaters on the team," said Minnesota State athletic trainer Jason Bushie, who works extensively with men's hockey. "They live and die by fast food, and their body composition shows it."

In his annual nutrition seminars for players, Bushie stresses the contemporary sports-diet dictum: complex carbohydrates during the week, lighter carbohydrate fare on game days, prudent intake of protein - and enough of all to sustain peak performances.

"The main message I send is that they make sure they're eating enough calories to perform," Bushie said. "A 180 to 200-pound player needs 4,000 to 4,500 calories a day."

Some athletes training in high-endurance sports need even more - 6,000 to 7,000 calories daily - said Minnesota State University exercise physiologist Mary Visser, who co-teaches a sports nutrition class and meets individually with athletes to assess their diets.

In one format, athletes are asked to jot down what they eat during a three-day period. Visser and a registered dietitian evaluate the list and make recommendations accordingly.

Visser also counsels athletes who exhibit what she terms as disordered eating patterns, such as wrestlers starving themselves to make a certain weight class, or volleyball players doing the same because they want to look good in their uniforms.

Visser said a study of North Central Conference athletes showed 60 percent reported some type of disordered eating pattern at some point during their competition seasons.

That may include over-reliance on dietary supplements, such as vitamins. Visser said many athletes regard such use as "insurance" against their dietary shortcomings.

"But more is not better," Visser said. "The truth is, most people don't eat what they should."

Toward that end, Minnesota State University coaches have players eat pre-game meals together. The football team, for example, has on-campus meals the night before home games that include pastas, chicken breasts and salad bars.

Food service manager Barry Ahl plans menus that typically include two meats, seafood (baked only), a pasta with red sauce, a vegetable, and a starch or two, such as potatoes. Shunned are "empty calorie" items such as soda pop and sweets.

Ahl also is a stickler for keeping turkey off the menu on game days because it contains tryptophan, a naturally occurring amino acid that can produce sedative effects.

Actually, pre-game meals aren't nearly as important as the meals athletes consume in the days before a competition. And what and when an athlete eats following a contest may be most important of all.

Visser refers to it as the "golden hour" - that time window after competition or a heavy training session when the body requires a whole spectrum of nutritional replenishment.

Minnesota State University women's soccer coach Chris Miskec said she tells her players to heed their post-game cravings because their bodies are telling them what they need.

As a college athlete, Miskec said she craved pickles after a strenuous game. Message from body: give me sodium.

Because soccer players run up to five miles a game, they must replace caloric loss.

"I tell my players to eat as much as they possibly can," said Miskec, who has a master's degree in exercise physiology. Her recommendation: six meals a day of 400 calories each.

Ultimately though, it's up to the athletes to make the dietary choices that will serve them best. And if they think a certain meal gives them a competitive edge, so be it. As a college basketball player, Miskec said she loaded up on plain pancakes before games.

Visser said that if a player thinks something works, it probably does, especially if it's nutritionally valuable.

"Every athlete has meals they like that they know will make them feel good," she said.

Brian Ojanpa, The Free Press, Information from: The Free Press, http://www.mankatofreepress.com

Copyright 2004 Associated Press All Rights Reserved The Associated Press State & Local Wire November 26, 2004, Friday, BC cycle