Athlete's Kitchen adds nutrition to the game

MURRAY — Food is fuel.

Nanna Meyer, Ph.D, MS, RD and The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital nutrition advisor, leads an informative seminar in nutrition during the Athlete's Kitchen at TOSH on Wednesday nights from 5-7 p.m. Healthy food is provided by Wild Oats.

Recently the Murray High girls' tennis team attended the seminar after practice and prepared a healthful dinner. Each athlete came away from the table with new tweaks to their own diets to help their individual performance.

Breakfast is key, and many girls admitted they skip the most important meal because of time.

"Then grab a glass of milk, a graham cracker, a yogurt, a drinkable yogurt smoothie, a piece of toast. But eat something for breakfast, get something in your stomach. You need to include a protein source to each meal or snack," suggested Meyer.

Amanda Jensen decided to eat oatmeal for breakfast the next day.

Ali Spackman exchanged her usual Fruity Pebbles for a serving of protein filled Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal.

Chavalah Washington said, "I ate a good breakfast the next day. I ate oatmeal and a banana. For lunch, I had a Caesar salad and brought an apple from home."

After the breakfast discussion, Meyer discussed the critical importance of hydration for the athlete, in particular in the hot weather. The girls understood since they had just come from practice and were thirsty.

"Drink water, as much as your body tells you that you need. Thirst is a good indicator. Drink Gatorade or Powerade during your match and afterwards to replace the fluids you have lost through sweating. You can dilute the sports drink. Water alone will not replace the sodium or the potassium lost, and cramping could then occur," said Meyer.

Jensen knew the pain of cramping. Painful cramping in her feet and calves began during her match and continued through that night.

"It is too late to fix the problem immediately when the cramping occurs during the match. Drink your Gatorade. When you are finished with play, you could eat a half of a banana if you like the taste. Hydrate by drinking a sports drink to replace the fluids and electrolytes lost," said Meyer.

How often have we seen orange slices during halftime at a soccer match?