Mastering Sports Nutrition: Tips for older athletes
One hundred years ago, life expectancy was 42 years. Today, most of us will live twice as long. With age, we gain not only wrinkles and gray hair, but also wisdom, an appreciation for our mortality and the desire to protect our good health. If you are a master's athlete, you also have the desire to remain competitive. You may wonder if you have significantly different sports nutrition needs from younger athletes.
To date, the research suggests older athletes have no significantly different nutritional needs other than to optimize their sports diet so they'll have every possible edge over the younger folks. Their biggest nutrition concern should be to routinely eat quality calories from nutrient-dense, health protective foods that invest in top performance, enhance recovery from hard workouts, and reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and other debilitating diseases of aging. The following tips can help older athletes (and aging athletes, i.e., all of us) create a winning food plan that's appropriate for every sport, including the sport of living life to it's fullest! Don't end up like Mickey Mantle who once said, "If I'd known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself..."
Carbohydrates
Focus your meals on wholesome carbs. Multi-grain bagels, rye crackers, brown rice and oatmeal are just a few examples of wholesome grain foods that both fuel muscles and protect against cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Carb-rich bananas, orange juice, yogurt and/or smoothies also do the job. If you are now slowly recovering from workouts, remember that rapid post-exercise refueling optimizes recovery.
Part II