Elevate Your Health Colorado Debunking sports nutrition myths

Whether sweating it out at the Garden of the Gods 10-mile run, racing through the Kaiser Permanente Colorado Colfax Marathon, or Ride the Rockies, casual athletes are always seeking a competitive edge. Many athletes bank on nutrition for an edge — some more successfully than others.

“There is a lot of information out there about the best way for male athletes to fuel their bodies,” says Michael Koons, MS, RD, CSSD, a board-certified sports dietitian with Kaiser Permanente Colorado. “Unfortunately, not all of this information is accurate.”

Myth: Supplements will improve athletic performance.
Truth: Vitamin, protein, or amino acid supplements won’t give you energy or endurance.

A multi-vitamin mineral supplement, for example, might help the body release the energy stored in food, but it won’t give you an energy boost.

Instead, eat a diet containing fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and low-fat dairy to get the nutrients you need. “Vitamins don’t provide energy — food is where energy comes from,” says Koons, who also teaches weight management classes and conducts sports nutrition counseling at Kaiser Permanente Colorado.

Myth: Extra protein equals more muscle mass.
Truth: Consuming extra protein doesn’t help you bulk up — a combination of good nutrition and the proper workout routine likely will. “Too much protein is misused by the body and is either used as energy, excreted from the body as waste or converted to fat,” Koons says. Aim to get 0.54 to 0.77 grams of protein per pound of body weight. For a 175 man, this means 95 to 135 grams of protein per day.

Myth: Only professional athletes need sports drinks.
Truth: Every athlete needs to stay hydrated. Water is a great choice if you’re exercising for less than an hour in a comfortable climate. Sports drinks provide carbohydrates and electrolytes such as sodium and potassium, which help muscles perform at their peak in endurance running events or in hot climates. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends drinks that contain 14 to 19 grams of carbohydrates per eight ounces for endurance events longer than 90 minutes. “In hot, humid conditions, and in events lasting longer than an hour, sports drinks help your performance,” Koons says. “Even a 1 to 2 percent loss of water weight can decrease performance by 10 percent.”

Myth: My exercise regimen entitles me to super-size dinner.
Truth: It’s much easier to pack on calories than burn them off. An hour of intense exercise might burn 600 to 1,000 calories, but that can easily be replaced in a post-workout meal. “I find that athletes who want to lose weight sometimes hit the wall because they are eating more calories than they are burning,” Koons says. “Work with a dietitian to find your baseline calorie needs or use our online fitness calculator to find out what you need to burn to lose weight.”

Myth: Eating carbohydrates tips the scale.
Truth: A carbohydrate-rich diet will fuel the body and the brain before, during, and after exercise. “Carbohydrates won’t make you fat; excess calories will,” Koons says. Athletes should consume high-quality carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to ensure adequate recovery and to supply muscles with readily available energy during a workout.

“Proper sports nutrition is both an art and a science,” Koons asserts. “That’s why working with a sports dietitian can help an athlete safely meet his nutrition and exercise goals.”

These tools on our Web site will help you figure out the best way to burn calories and eat well.

Find more men’s sports nutrition resources at kphealthyme.com.

Koons is a registered dietitian and received his master’s degree in kinesiology from Kansas State University.