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Nutritional Needs & Guidelines

Safe Weight Loss and Gain For Youth Athletes

Young athletes attempting to lose weight and body fat or gain weight and muscle mass may resort to unhealthy weight-control practices.  Gradual weight loss or gain is best.

 

Is Low-Fat/No-Fat The Way To Go?

Cutting out all fats isn't a good idea because the body needs some fats to function.  The key is for your child to eat food with healthful fats and avoid unhealthy fats like saturated fats, trans fats and hydrogenated oils.

Nutrient Dense Whole Foods Are Best for Sports

Nutrient dense whole foods are best for sports. To figure out whether a food is a whole food or not, you just have to ask yourself if it was manufactured in a factory or grown in a field.  Or better yet, read the label. If it's a whole food, you should be able to recognize every ingredient as something that grows in nature.

Sports Nutrition Basics

Whether it's training for a soccer game or playing a backyard game of catch, children's athletic performance, development, and growth depend largely on eating the right foods. Unfortunately, most children (and adults) forget just how important nutrition is to good health and athletic performance.

 

 

 

 

Sports Nutrition Basics: Children Have Special Nutritional Needs

Whether it's training for a soccer game or playing a backyard game of catch, children's athletic performance, development, and growth depend largely on eating the right foods. Unfortunately, most children (and adults) forget just how important nutrition is to good health and athletic performance.

 

 

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Salt Tablets Not Okay For Athletes

Salt tablets are a bad idea, and here's why.

Food Sources for Iron

Iron is critical to the formation of hemoglobin, the oxygen carrier within red blood cells. Here's a listing of foods containing iron.

U.S. Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for Minerals

Minerals are contained in the food we eat. Here's a chart listing the food sources for various minerals and their function in the body.

Minerals Important for Child's Diet

Minerals perform important functions in the body. Some minerals, such as calcium and phosphorus, are used to build bones and teeth. Others are important components of hormones, such as iodine in thyroxin. Iron is critical to the formation of hemoglobin, the oxygen carrier within red blood cells. Minerals also contribute to a number of the body's regulatory functions, including regulation of muscle contractions, conduction of nerve impulses, clotting of blood, and regulation of normal heart rhythm. Here are some tips on making sure your child gets all the minerals he needs.

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