Most people have a basic knowledge and understanding of the importance of eating correctly. But, research shows that only a small percentage of athletes eat an ideal diet. This can seriously affect their performance. Common nutritional errors are:

            Not enough carbohydrates;

            Foods too high in saturated (animal) fats and too low in unsaturated (vegetable) ones;

            Not enough milk, cheese and other dairy products;

            Deficiencies in vitamins A, B-complex, C, E and in minerals (iron, calcium, zinc);

            Too many “empty” calories, e.g. soft drinks, chocolate bars, pastry, candy chips, etc;

            Inadequate water and fluid intake;

            Breakfast skipped or minimal.

Nutrition lacking in the essential elements to cover your Basal Metabolic Rate (i.e. the energy required to keep your body functioning for growth and for exercise) may lead to physiological and psychological consequences such as: shortness of breath, little energy, general tiredness, muscle cramps, lack of concentration and even blackouts.

Adequate nutrition is also a key component of sports performance. The greater the demands for increased performance both in training and competition, the higher the nutritional value must be. For hokey players this means good nutritional habits before, during and after performance. This is highlighted by the following key points based on muscle glycogen which provides a large proportion of the energy demands required in hockey training and competition. There is a direct association between performance and amount of glycogen in muscles.

Before: Hockey is an endurance sport interspersed with high intensity exercise and relies heavily on muscle glycogen. Players who begin games with low glycogen levels do significantly less skating. Also, work rate (particularly toward the end of the game) is affected by pre-game muscle glycogen levels, hence the importance of an adequate diet before a game.

During: Evidence shows the benefits of drinking carbohydrate drinks during a game. Muscle glycogen stores are spared, enabling players to skate for longer distances. Players consuming a carbohydrate solution just before and during the second period have greater muscle glycogen stores at the end of the game and may cover more ice in the third period compared to players who drink only water.

After: After a game, glycogen levels are severely depleted (as high as 84%) and players can lose 1 – 5% of body weight through sweating, which can result in impaired endurance performance. If insufficient post-exercise carbohydrates are consumed, then the glycogen levels may not be restored. This means that performance may be affected for the next game or training session.

Analysis of world class hockey players has shown that only 47% of the total calories consumed were carbohydrates, whereas 55 – 70% is advised. Thus, particular attention must be paid to players’ eating habits. Players at any level can ensure they play to their best abilities through a varied and healthy diet and plenty of drinks. This means adequate quantities of carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals and water or sports carbohydrate drinks (for competition and training). The monitoring of food and fluid intake as well as body weight is necessary for players at all levels to ensure they are at the top of their game in both training and competition.

Carbohydrates are the fuel that muscles use for quick, intense sports, for the first 15 minutes or so of any exercise, and to keep an athlete from “hitting the wall” during endurance events. For top performance an athlete must have good stores of carbohydrate (glycogen) in his or her muscles and liver.

Fats start to be used as the major fuel after an athlete has exercised for 15-20 minutes.

Proteins aren’t used as fuel by the body until carbohydrate stores are gone. It is not an easy fuel to break down and use.  Daily, most athletes consume two to three times more protein than their bodies can use or need; the excess is converted to body fat.

BEST STRATEGY:

Eat a diet high in carbohydrates, low in fat, moderate in protein, with adequate fluids, balanced to your ideal body with and activity level.

How do you balance calories (energy) to your activity level and weight?

Nutritional breakdown of calories consumed by hockey players should be:

            Carbohydrates: 55-70%

            Fats: 15-20% (only 10% should be saturated)

            Proteins: 10-15%

Calories needed to maintain body weight equal about 15 calories per pound for a moderately active person. Thus, the 2000-calorie-per-day list of nutrients provided on most food labels applies to someone who wants to maintain a weight of approximately 130 pounds. For the hockey player eating 2000 calories per day, the nutritional breakdown should be:

Carbohydrates: 70% of 2000 calories = 1400 calories or 350g (that’s calculated as 1400/4 calories per gram of carbohydrate)

Fats:  15% of 2000 calories = 30 calories or 33g (that’s calculated as 300/9 calories per fat gram)

Proteins:  15% of 2000 calories, again = 300 calories BUT 75g (300/4 calories per gram of protein)

What to Eat/Drink and When

Just list a race car, you can’t expect to win an Indianapolis 500 without the right fuel in your tank. Unfortunately, everyday, hockey players around the world run out of gas in the middle of a game and struggle just to finish simply because they forgot to re-fuel before they played.

Two hours before a game or practice you should have a small pre-game snack.

Complex Carbohydrates that will digest slowly will provide long term energy, like bagels, muffins, toast, cereal as well as fruits like bananas and oranges. Sports nutrition products can also be an excellent source of energy and can be part of your pre-game snack. These products are designed to give you the right balance of nutrients as well as digest properly for athletes.

You should try to avoid foods that either upset your stomach or may give you short term energy. Things that upset your stomach include milk and spicy foods. Chocolate bars and candy may give you a short term energy boost but tend to cause a real energy drain within a short time and actually hurt your performance.

Yes, even a small loss of 2% body fluid from sweating during a game can have a significant impact on your performance. The key is to drink approximately 14 - 20 ounces of fluid before you play to give yourself some insurance against dehydration during the game.

You should start your pre-game hydration routine two hours prior to the start of your game or practice. Over the course of the first hour you should try to consume 14 – 20 ounces of fluid such as sports beverages, fruit juices and water. DO NOT DRINK A LOT OF FLUIDS IN THE HOUR IMMEDIATELY BEFORE YOU PLAY. The problem with drinking extra in he last hour is that your kidneys will be stimulated and your urine production will be increased. This will make you go to the bathroom a lot and can actually dehydrate you.

As part of your pre-game hydration routine, you should try to have a glass of fruit juice or a sports beverage approximately two hours before you play. Although there is nothing wrong with drinking water, fluids like sports beverages and fruit juices, which contain a small percentage of carbohydrates, have been shown to help accelerate the absorption of fluids into your system to help prevent dehydration.

You should try to avoid fluids like soda pop (can cause intestinal cramping) ad coffee. These fluids also tend to increase your urine production. This will cause you to go to the bathroom more and can lead to dehydration.

Dos and Don’ts

Below are some recommended foods and foods to avoid before, during and after games.

Pre-event SUGGESTIONS

Breakfast IDEAS

Lunch and Dinner IDEAS

Soft pretzels (microwave); plain or hot air popcorn (microwave, low-fat, low-sodium)

Low-fat crackers and cheese; melba toast; bread sticks

Cold plain bakes potato or dipped in low-fat cottage cheese

Rice tossed with raisins and cinnamon

Cereal with raisins and nuts – dry or with low-fat milk

Low-fat plain or fruit yogurt

Fresh or water-packed fruit

Milk pudding; custard

Shredded carrots with raisins and non-fat dressing on whole wheat bread

Hard boiled eggs

Dried fruit: raisins, apricots, pears, etc.

Vegetable sticks

Plain cookies; arrowroots, fig bars, graham wafers

Oatmeal-raisin cookies; date squares; banana bread

Energy bars

Sunflower seeds; nuts; trail mix

Low-fat frozen dairy products; ice milk, frozen  yogurt

Beverages – All Meals:

Water – lots of it; bottled if water source is suspect

Skim or low-fat milk – add powdered milk, malt powder Ovaltine, Nestles Quick, Carnation Instant Breakfast or other flavoring

Hot chocolate – made with low-fat milk

Fruit or vegetable juices: cranberry, grape, apple, pineapple, apricot, cranapple, orange juice, tomato, V-8

Blender drinks: milkshakes, eggnogs, fruit frappes and smoothies

Sports drinks

Tea or coffee black or with small amounts of sugar and/or low-fat creamer/milk as necessary – very limited quantities

Healthy Eating & Cooking Tips:

            Eat sensible portions at meals

            Don’t eat fried foods

            Trim excess fat from all foods

            Remove skin from poultry

            Try to avoid sauces and gravies

            When eating salads, go easy on the dressing

            Substitute tomato, lettuce, mustard, relish and ketchup for cheese bacon and sauces

            Bake, broil, poach, barbecue, roast – cook meats, poultry and fish

            Steam, boil, bake – to cook vegetables

Healthy Eating at Restaurants:

            The key to eating healthy at any restaurant is to follow the tips above, especially regarding portion sizes and food/preparation types.

            Many restaurants offer nutrition information on their own web sites

            Here is a site that collects nutrition information for selected items from various restaurants:

http://www.dietfacts.com/fastfood.asp

 Source: Unknown

FOR MORE IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE

CARBOHYDRATES

Carbohydrates (CHO) are the fuel that muscles use for quick, intense sports, for the first 15 minutes or so of any exercise, and to keep an athlete from “hitting the wall” during endurance events. A reduction in blood glucose (hypoglycaemia) leads to feelings of weakness, hunger and dizziness and will lead to a reduction in performance due to neurological fatigue.

Foods which are high in carbohydrates include bread, potatoes and rice. Pasta, noodles and crisps are moderately high in carbohydrates and apples, beans and lentils are low. A more detailed list is shown below.

The recommended daily CHO intake for hockey players is around 55 – 70% of their overall energy intake. The actual amount required depends upon the athlete’s total daily energy expenditure, type of sport performed, the athlete’s sex and environmental conditions.

Suggestions on increasing CHO intake are listed below:

            Eat a large portion of potatoes, pasta or rice with your main meal.

            Eat plenty of fresh vegetables as a snack or with your main meal and bread for sandwiches or with your main meal.

            Eat fresh fruit either between meals or as a desert.

            Using CHO energy drinks to supplement food intake (or even plenty of fruit drinks) can help increase muscle glycogen levels.

The use of CHO energy drinks can help increase muscle glycogen stores and improve player work-rates. Drinking during a match helps reduce fatigue and prevent dehydration. The use of CHO drinks to aid post-match recovery is also important, especially as the most rapid restocking of glycogen stores occurs during the first few hours after exercise, with the first two hours being the most critical. The only time CHO intake should be avoided is within 30 – 60 minutes of exercise as this can impair performance due to an increase in insulin which then reduces blood glucose levels.

Disclaimer:
The information, including opinions and recommendations, contained in this website is for educational purposes only. Such information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. No one should act upon any information provided in this website without first seeking medical advice from a qualified medical physician.