A balanced diet is necessary for maintaining good nutrition. Nutrition is central to physical, mental, and emotional health. Those who play sports require more food than those who don’t play. Participation in physical activity requires energy, and food is the main source of energy for the body.
Many athletes look for special foods to help them achieve success in their sports. But the truth is, that a good, nutritious, well-balanced diet is the best way to keep your body in shape and to provide the energy you need to participate in your favorite sports.
It is usually best not to eat heavy meals before strenuous physical activity, especially if emotional stress is present, (like before a basketball game). It is difficult for the body to digest the food under those circumstances.
Finally, exercise balanced with a good diet will help a person maintain a healthy weight.
Many athletes take protein and amino acid supplements to gain muscle mass. Because the average American diet is high in protein, most people—even athletes—easily meet their protein needs through food and don’t require supplements. If more protein than needed is consumed, the excess will be burned for energy or converted to fat.
Amino acids assist in the conversion of protein to energy. Since we get amino acids in most foods that contain protein, additional amino acids are generally not necessary.
TIME TO READ
Below is a recommended website for nutrition guidelines. This resource provides valuable information on nutrition and suggested exercises to support a healthy lifestyle. While this is one suggested site, we encourage you to explore other similar resources to find information.
Click here to begin your reading.
Then, complete the Tracking What You Eat Assignment. When finished, submit it to your teacher for a grade.
Review the rubric below to see how you will be graded on your assignment for this lesson.
| Points | Criteria | |
|---|---|---|
| Filling Out Tables | 20 | Student fills out tables appropriately. (4 points per table in questions 1-5). |
| Analysis | 10 | Student answers all components of the analysis question and has properly reflected on the data they found (from question 6). |
