This area is dedicated to articles from

Dr. Scott Rand, MD, FAAFP (Director Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship at the Lone Star Sports Medicine Clinic)

on a wide range of topics in the area of health, fitness, and overall well-being.

"Straight From the Doctor"

Healthy Diets for Growing Athletes

An adolescent’s growth, development and athletic performance hinge on eating the right foods, whether it is practicing for a football game or playing baseball in the backyard. It’s important for parents and coaches to understand how to correctly fuel and hydrate active teens to prevent health and performance problems down the road.

For a young athlete to have energy and nutrients, the diet should include complex carbohydrates, moderate amounts of protein and fat, and physical activity. The Food Guide Pyramid serves as an illustration to help young athletes know which foods to eat and how much from the major food groups.

Each day, an athlete should have a minimum of nine servings from the bread/grain group, three to six servings from the fruit group, four to six servings from the vegetable group, two to three servings from the meat/protein group and at least two to three servings from the milk group. Foods coming from the fat and sugar group should be limited as they do not have the vitamins and minerals that are needed and often time provide empty calories.

An adolescent athlete should be encouraged to keep regular mealtimes and snack times to distribute calories throughout the day; this will ensure the athlete will have ample sources of energy available to support a training activity and growth. Depending on the physical activity’s frequency, duration and intensity, an adolescent may need an additional 500 to 1,000 calories per day.

When practicing or performing, an empty stomach is best, so athletes should eat no sooner than two hours before rigorous activity. Simple sugars, for example candy or soda, should not be eaten prior to an event because it can cause an interfering swing in the blood sugar levels that could adversely affect performance. Practice eating along with the sport will assure that food can be tolerated.

Carbohydrates

An active adolescent needs more calories than a sedentary one would and the best way to get those are through carbohydrates. Carbohydrates provide fuel for the body. Complex carbohydrates provide many important B vitamins that are needed to help put that energy to use. Some energy boosting carbohydrates include: whole-grain bagels, pancakes, pasta, cereal, popcorn, oranges, bananas, apples, pears and fruit juices.

Protein

Protein is important in moderation and is necessary for tissue building and repair. Too much protein can lead to dehydration, kidney and intestinal trouble. Adolescents need roughly 0.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight. An ounce of meat has 7 grams of protein so most adolescents get enough to meet their needs without using supplements. Protein bars and shakes are seldom necessary to supplement a normal diet.

Fat

Fat is important to help the body absorb vitamins A, D, E, and K and can be a concentrated source of energy. Fats should make up no more than 30 percent of the calorie intake.

Vitamins and Minerals

Having a well balanced diet is necessary to get the proper amount of vitamins and minerals and they help by releasing energy from food and getting that to the muscles. A multivitamin once daily is acceptable, but high doses of vitamins are rarely beneficial.

Liquids

Liquids are the most important part of an athlete’s diet. Adequate hydration prevents overheating and dehydration. Muscles heat up during exercise and extra fluid is needed to maintain the blood volume so that the circulating fluid can reach into the muscle and carry the heat away to the skin. The heat is released by sweating and sweating without replacing fluids can lead to dehydration.

Exercising in the Heat

Question: I am about to begin an exercise program. Are there any guidelines for exercising in the heat?

Answer: Whether you are training for a marathon, or just doing summer yard work, the Houston heat and humidity can make exercise uncomfortable and sometimes even dangerous. In recent years there have been several high profile cases of severe injury or death related to exercise in the heat.

Prevention of heat injury involves just a few common sense choices.

1. Avoid exercising in the heat of the day. Higher heat and higher humidity make it more difficult for the body to cool and can increase the risk of heat injury.

2. Stay well hydrated. The current recommendation is that you drink when you are thirsty and plan to consume about 400 to 800 ml per hour. Water is probably the best fluid replacement for short term exercise. If you are exercising for more than 90 minutes, you probably need some electrolytes as well. Alcohol is a diuretic, so a cold, refreshing beer is never the right choice for fluid replacement.

3. Wear light clothing that will not retain moisture. The body cools primarily by evaporation

4. Remember to protect yourself from sunburn.

5. Start slow and let your body acclimatize, or get used to, the heat and humidity. Pay particular attention to guests visiting from a cooler, drier climate. If they choose to exercise here, they will be at increased risk for heat related injuries.

Weight Loss

Question: My doctor suggested that I lose 30 pounds. What exercise can I do to lose the weight?

Answer: Unfortunately, simply doing an exercise is usually ineffective as a weight loss technique. Thousands of books have been written about how to lose weight and each author has a slightly different philosophy, but the one fact they all have in common is that to lose weight, you must burn more calories than you take in. To be exact, you must burn 3500 more calories than you take in to lose 1 pound. Jogging, for example burns approximately 675 calories in an hour. A can of regular soda has about 150 calories. If you drink 3 sodas per day, you could lose a pound in 8 days simply by switching to water, or diet soda. Or you could jog for an hour for 5 days. The most effective weight loss strategies combine fitness activities that promote a healthy lifestyle and an increase in muscle mass with food and beverage choices to decrease calories by about 500 calories per day. Your goal should be to lose 1-2 pounds per week. One pound per week doesn’t seem like much, but at the end of the year, when you’ve lost 50 pounds, you’ll look back and be amazed at how simple it was, and how much better you feel.