| Hockey nutrition can be a challenge, especially when at | | | | 1) Sports drinks: We see famous hockey players |
| the rink between tournament games or have to hit the | | | | promoting these drinks on TV, so they have to be |
| drive-thru on the way to an early morning practice. No | | | | good for us, right? WRONG. All of these sports drinks, |
| matter how hard it might be to eat well during hockey | | | | even the "low sugar" versions, are still made of one |
| season, there is one thing that all young hockey | | | | thing and one thing only - SUGAR. The only time you |
| players absolutely have to avoid eating at all costs | | | | should have sports drinks is after you get off the ice, |
| before hitting the ice. Staying away from this one food | | | | and even then, you really only need them after a really |
| is easier said than done, but trust me when I tell you | | | | hard practice or game, not after an easy skate. |
| that this is the worst possible fuel you can put in your | | | | 2) Bagels: These are good for us, right? Yes and no. |
| tank before hitting the ice. | | | | The majority of people eat bagels, bread, pasta and |
| Hockey players absolutely have to avoid eating sugar | | | | rice that is white. And any grain that is white has been |
| before hitting the ice. Now I know that players aren't | | | | processed. The difference between white bread and |
| going to be snacking on big piles of sugar before their | | | | whole-groin bread is that all of the nutrients have been |
| next practice or game. But what most hockey players | | | | completed stripped out of the white bread. And when |
| don't realize is that the "healthy" foods they are eating | | | | you take all of the nutrients out of a whole-grain food, |
| before hockey, are really sugar-filled | | | | your body treats it like it is a big pile of sugar. Hockey |
| performance-killers. | | | | players are always much better off having a |
| Eating a lot of sugar before hitting the ice will take a | | | | whole-grain option, instead of the white option, if they |
| young hockey player's energy levels through the roof | | | | want to avoid riding the energy roller-coaster. |
| for a short time, and will then send them crashing | | | | In terms of how a player's body will react, there is no |
| down faster than they went up on the sugar high in | | | | real difference between eating or drinking a "healthy" |
| the first place. They may feel great for the | | | | option that is really chocked full of sugar, or just |
| three-minute warm-up and their first few shifts, but | | | | swallowing a handful of sugar before hitting the ice. |
| then they'll be left feeling like they got run over by the | | | | Either way, all that sugar will only give players a short |
| zamboni. | | | | burst of energy, and then leave them feeling tired and |
| Let's look at two examples of "healthy" choices that | | | | dramatically decrease their hockey performance. |
| are really sugar-filled hockey performance killers: | | | | |