Just a quick question before I start on Soccer nutrition. Would you run your vehicle to the point where it would run out of fuel? Fueling young athletes with food and water is no different than refueling your car. It must be done at systematic intervals otherwise both you and your car will stop. Without proper nutrition, the human body cannot function at its potential or best.
Just as important and many times overlooked, is the value of hydration. There are two main components to a young athletes diet, the first is a healthy eating pattern based on foods that have a high nutritional value. Secondly, some scientists argue that this is the most important, is drinking water on a daily basis. These two components should be the foundation of a young athletes diet.
A good daily nutrition and hydration plan should include the following.
- 2-3 servings of Protein: poultry, fish, lean meat, beans and eggs.
- 3-4 servings of dairy: milk, yogurt, cheese.
- 6-11 servings of grains, whole grains, bread, pasta, rice and cereals.
- 4-6 servings of fruit and vegetables: dried, canned or whole fruit and raw or cooked vegetables.
- 8-10 tall glasses of water.
Making healthy decisions daily about nutrition and hydration can be challenging for parents, especially working parents. A great way to attack this problem is to eliminate soft drinks and to limit take away to once a month. Fast food is loaded with excessive amounts of calories that stem from a high percentage of fat, giving the child or player very little in terms of nutritional value. When you cannot be around your athlete or child, make sure to pack him/her a healthy lunch coupled with a bottle of water or juice. Eating healthy at school or when your not around, will allow your child to develop a good eating habit consciously and sub-consciously.
The second change to make is to limit or eliminate the consumption of soft drinks. Soft drinks such as Coca-Cola and Fanta contain large amounts of sugar and give no nutritional value to your child or player. Some soft drinks that contain caffeine also dehydrate you quicker and increase the production of urine. The best replacement for soft drinks is water. Most children or young athletes will struggle to drink natural water, so add some lemon to it to give it some flavour. There are no calories in water and simply put, the best hydrating resource known to all man kind.
With busy schedules and work deadlines it is quite difficult to prepare a healthy meal 3 times a day. One solution to this problem is eating smaller size portions of healthy foods at regular or more frequent intervals. This method is referred to as “snacking” in all the health books. Snacking is only beneficial when the child snacks on healthy and nutritious foods. Do not snack on junk food at any time, instead pack an extra piece of fruit, peanuts, crackers or even yogurt are great substitute. Also ensure your child or player carries around a water bottle to ensure he/she maintains good hydration.
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