Finding Quality Sports Nutrition Information

author : Nancy Clark

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Resources you can trust to improve your endurance sport diet

The Athlete’s Kitchen

by Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD

Where to Find Quality Sports Nutrition Information

We live in an age of information overload. Between emails, blogs, tweets, and newsletters, I feel bombarded by the latest nutrition news. But that’s not the case for everyone. Many athletes ask me where they can find reliable sports nutrition information. The following list offers several resources to help you find answers to your questions about eating for health and performance.

Websites

Five excellent web nutrition resources include:

• The Gatorade Sports Science Institute offers extensive sports nutrition information on all topics in their Sports Science Library.
    
• www.PowerBar.com Helpful nutrition and training information.
     
• Nestle is the parent company for PowerBar. The Nestle Nutrition Institute offers a vast library of sports nutrition information, including video presentations by researchers on their latest findings that can enhance performance. 
      
• www.webMD.com Search the topic of your choice, sports related or not, and you’ll find answers by experts.
      
• www.findingbalance.com  This website, for people who struggle with eating and body image issues, offers extensive resources, including video interviews.

Newsletters

For monthly printed and mailed newsletters that offer detailed yet easy to read coverage of current nutrition, wellness and fitness concerns, check out:

• Tufts Health & Nutrition Newsletter (www.tuftshealthletter.com; $24)
    
• Berkeley Wellness Letter (www.wellnessletter.com; $24)
     
• Nutrition Action Healthletter by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. CSPI challenges the food industry to clean up their act! (www.CSPInet.org; $10)

Textbooks

Maybe you don't want to go back to school, but you would like some scholarly resources on sport nutrition and exercise physiology. Here are two options:

1. Sport Nutrition for Health and Performance by Manore, Meyer & Thompson offers a comprehensive look at the topic. (www.hkusa.com)
      
2. Sport Nutrition; An Introduction to Energy Production and Performance by Asker Jeukendrup gives a strong research approach to the topic.

Professional Journals

Most professional journals offer quite “heavy” reading that is not particularly enjoyable. One exception is the International Journal of Sport Nutrition & Exercise Metabolism. While it is far from “light” reading, the majority of the articles are very interesting (to me, at least!). You’ll learn the latest research on carbohydrates, protein, sports supplements, fueling practices, plus more. (http://journals.humankinetics.com/ijsnem; $92/year).

Another option for professional journal reading is www.pubmed.gov. This site takes you to the National Library of Medicine where you can search any topic and get links to the research. For example, if you are curious about sodium and sweat, you can search “sodium sweat athletes” and find 51 abstracts that summarize the research on that topic. Want to find the latest about vitamin D and athletes? Search “vitamin D athletes” and you’ll get 53 abstracts to read (and learn you likely could benefit from taking 1,000 IU D between Thanksgiving and Easter!)

Nutrition Books

Here are some titles I recommend:

General nutrition books:

• The American Dietetic Association's Complete Food & Nutrition Guide by Roberta Duyff
      
• Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family: Orchestrating and Enjoying the Family Meal by Ellyn Satter.

Sports nutrition books

Vegetarian athletes or those with diabetes will appreciate:

• Diabetic Athlete's Handbook by Sherri Colberg
        
• Vegetarian Sports Nutrition by Larson-Meyer D. E.

My turn to do some shameless self-promotion here:

Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook is considered by many athletes to be their “nutrition bible.” It’s a comprehensive yet enjoyable and easy-to-read resource.

For sport-specific “quick reads,” enjoy my other books that are available at www.nancyclarkrd.com:

These make wonderful gifts for friends, family and teammates:

• Food Guide for Marathoners: Tips for Everyday Champions
      
• Food Guide for New Runners: Getting It Right From the Start
      
• Food Guide for Soccer: Tips and Recipes from the Pros
       
• The Cyclist’s Food Guide: Fueling for the Distance.

Books on Weight issues, Dieting, Eating Disorders

1. The Don't Diet, Live-It! Workbook: Healing Food, Weight and Body Issues by A. LoBue and M. Marcus.
      
2. Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works by E. Tribole and E. Resch.
     
3. Your Overweight Child: Helping Without Harming by E. Satter
       
4. The Exercise Balance: What's Too Much, Too Little, Just Right by P. Powers. and R. Thompson.
       
5. Making Weight: Healing Men’s Conflicts with Food, Weight, Shape & Appearance by A. Anderson, L. Cohn & T. Holbrook
       
6. Body image: Body Image Workbook: An 8-Step Program for Learning to Like Your Looks by T. Cash.
       
7. Food and Feelings Workbook: A Full Course Meal on Emotional Health by K. Koenig.
       
8. The Anorexia Workbook: How to Accept Yourself, Heal Your Suffering & Reclaim Your Life by M. Heffner.
       
9. Overcoming Bulimia Workbook: Your Comprehensive Step-by-Step Guide to Recovery by McCabe, McFarlane and Olmsted.
        
10. Surviving an Eating Disorder: Perspectives and Strategies for Family & Friends by M. Siegel et al.

 
For additional nutrition and exercise books, surf these online catalogs:
    www.ncescatalog.com  Nutrition resources of all types
    www.Gurze.com        Gurze Eating Disorders Bookshelf
    www.hkusa.com         Exercise and sports nutrition resources

Don’t want to read?

If you prefer one-on-one, personalized approach to learning what, when, and how to eat for top performance, your best bet is to find a local sports dietitian. Enter your zip code into the referral networks at www.SCANdpg.org or www.eatright.org. You may be surprised to learn how much you don’t know. (After all, you don’t know what you don’t know!)

Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD (Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics) helps both casual and competitive athletes learn how to eat a winning sports diet. Her practice is at Healthworks, the premier fitness center in Chestnut Hill MA (617-795-1875). Her Sports Nutrition Guidebook and food guides for new runners and marathoners offer additional information. They are available at www.nancyclarkrd.com. See also sportsnutritionworkshop.com.

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date: October 31, 2011