As a student-athlete, I often feel the negative effects of improper nutrition on my body. When I don’t drink enough water and get enough nutrients from the foods I eat before and after practice, I experience hunger, headaches and muscle cramps. In contrast, when I fuel up and hydrate properly, I feel little to none of these effects during or after exhausting physical activities.
There are many known benefits of adequate nutrition for athletes such as reduced risk of injuries, mitigated fatigue levels and improved speed and strength. Making effective nutritional choices is an important part of maximizing performance for competition. Therefore, education on proper nutrition is critical for all student-athletes to thrive.
A benefit of adequate nutrition that pertains to overall health is increased cognitive function, which positively impacts student- athletes academically. According to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the brain burns about 20% of the calories a person consumes. Thus, proper nutrition would help student-athletes pay attention in class and work productively after expending a large amount of energy during a sports practice or workout.
According to the Molecular Diversity Preservation International, nutrition plays an important role in sports recovery and rehabilitation. An imbalance in macro or micronutrient intake or a caloric intake that is too low can cause malnutrition, dehydration and fatigue, which can reduce the amount of force that a muscle group can emit and absorb. Lower force absorption and emission can result in muscle strains and various
other soft tissue injuries.
The risk of soft tissue injuries while performing strenuous athletic activities is lowered when the proper macro and micronutrient balance is held. If Aragon student-athletes are taught about proper nutrition, it will lower the chances of them getting soft tissue injuries. Soft tissue injuriesare often less serious than those of bones, but they can still cause athletes to miss multiple weeks, or even months, of competition.
However, nutrition education should not include telling student-athletes they have bad nutrition and are doing something wrong. This could cause some student-athletes to view their nutritional habits negatively. The focus needs to be on educating rather than criticizing prior poor nutritional habits.
With constructive education on proper nutrition, Aragon student-athletes can preserve their mental and physical wellbeing and improve their game.
