Welcome back I hope you have been well since last we met. Last time we started talking about Nutrition for Teen Athletes. I quickly decided that this was too big of a subject for one post. So, here we are with Part 2. We buy the best shoes we can find for our kids and make sure they have all the best equipment we can find when our children decide to become serious about their sport. That is all important, but good nutrition is even more important than that.
Let’s take a look at protein.
Protein is something that Americans seem to be obsessed with. I am always questioned about where the protein is in the lunches I post. I never get asked, “Where is the fruit, vegetable or whole grain?” True fact. Protein is an important part of our diet, but generally we get more than enough from the foods that we eat. That then makes me question if teen athletes need more protein than their sedentary friends? In fact, they do, but there is more to the story……………….
It is urban legend that athletes need a huge amount of protein to build muscles. Protein shakes and raw eggs are not necessary. I’m not against protein shakes, but I don’t want you to think that downing large doses of protein shakes are your ticket to larger muscles. Building muscles takes consistent training and hard work. That is why my son’s football coach has the team lifting weights before school each day in January when the season doesn’t start till August. It takes time and lots and lots of hard work. Protein shakes are not a substitute for the hard work. In fact, too much protein can actually be harmful. It can lead to dehydration, kidney problems and calcium loss.
Eating too much protein without the balance of fruits and vegetables and the fiber they provide can create another health issue. Let’s just term this one “bathroom problems”. The symptoms include too much time spent in the bathroom and a great deal of plunger use. This may seem funny, but it is a sign of inadequate nutrition. Our body is a machine and it functions best when we feed it a variety of nutrients. Protein is important to our overall health, but it is is not more important than fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats.
So, here are my thoughts on protein for our teen athletes…………..
Teen athletes need more protein than their sedentary friends, but since they are likely eating more calories to fuel their activities they just need to take in the extra protein through their regular eating. Make sure your teen athlete eats lean meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, and nuts or nut butters. A peanut butter and fruit quesadilla makes for a great snack because it includes protein and the fiber to prevent the “bathroom problems.” A salad made from spinach is a great way to add additional protein to your day.
Protein powders can be a nice addition to smoothies, but for those of you on a budget……..protein powders can be expensive and just are not necessary. Your teen athlete can get an adequate amount of protein through the real foods you are feeding them. I’ve also seen a lot in the news lately about protein powders. Some are good. Some are not. Many are loaded with ingredients that most of us don’t consider to be healthy.
Are you a fan of protein powder? If so, let me know what brands you have found that have good ingredients in them. What is your favorite protein source? Have you ever known anyone that you thought was eating too much protein or not enough? What happened to make you think that?
Can’t get enough Juggling Real Food and Real Life? Make sure you subscribe by email. You can subscribe by entering your email address to the right of this page. This will also enter you into the mailing list for my new newsletter. Just wait to see what I have coming. Please also follow us on our various social media. You can easily find me there if you have questions. The Juggling Pinterest Boards are crammed with lots of great information and recipes. Check them out!
You may also like Nutrition for Teen Athletes Part 1
All of my kids are athletes, but my daughter is the only one who really takes nutrition seriously. I'd like to think my meals are fairly well balanced and nutritious but my oldest goes to private school so I don't know what he is eating when he is there (and I have no control over it). We don't do protein powders, but do make an effort to have a little protein as a snack after a hard practice, like peanut butter or milk. But we don't go crazy…just try to keep everything well balanced and eat a lot of fruits and veggies.
Sounds like you are dong a great job Michelle. Balance is key. I would love to hear more about your daughter sometime. I find it interesting when young people take an interest in nutrition. Those good eating habits should serve your family well throughout their whole life.
I am hoping to get her to share some of her smoothie recipes on my blog! She is very conscious about what she eats and reads labels. She's been like this for years. Now she's working at a health food store, which makes her even more aware!
I would love to see her smoothie recipes. That is really great that she is so aware and learned the tools to make healthy food decisions. She is so ahead of where I was at her age. I bet working at the health food store is a real education
This is a great post with so much truth! I don't have teenagers (yet!) but I was one and I'm an adult athlete. I never use protein powder since I think I get plenty from my diet and I always go heavy on the fruits and veggies!!
Visiting from the GET REAL link up 🙂
Sounds like you really have the "big picture" of nutrition figured out. A wide variety of nutrients is what our bodies need. So many folks I know focus on just one thing at a time. I think that's why there are so many fad diets out there.
Thanks for hosting and have a great weekend!
Thanks for joining our fun little party Bridget. We have a great group of bloggers join us each week.
I'll admit, I used to be obsessed with making sure I had enough protein, ultimately resulting in me consuming too much protein. The more I read, the more I learned though. This is such a good post! Americans are way too obsessed with protein, making sure they have enough, what kind of protein they're getting. We need to focus on nutrition as a whole, not just the protein piece of the puzzle.
I do love my protein, but I also love all of the other nutrients I need to help my body work well. You are so right that American are obsessed with protein. I wonder why that is? I love your puzzle analogy. As you point out when it comes to nutrition, education is key!
I tend to favor protein just because it fills me up, keeps me fuller longer and reduces cravings. I do know that my MMA trainers/fighters and weightlifting friends also favor protein which could be why protein powders are generally geared towards them.
I find that all sorts of foods fill me up. I do like my protein though. I really feel like I need it in the morning and then after that I could take it or leave it. Protein powders are definitely marketed to weightlifters which is why I wanted to do the research on this. My son is trying to add muscle for football and wanted to know if he needed to add protein powder to his diet. The answer for him is "NO way!" He eats a ton of meat. He could probably cut back on it, but I know he won't. We call him "meat boy."
I think the whole protein shakes thing came about because people are too busy or maybe too lazy to make real food. The gym lovers don't want to take time away from their workouts so they chug their shake and hit the weights. That may work in that instance, but for a typical family, it doesn't really seem necessary and it certainly won't educate your kids 🙂
You make a good point Nicole. We all love our smoothies and protein powder is a great way to include protein with our fruit. Smoothies and protein shakes also travel well as you have said. I also think there is "group think" going on. When you start looking at other weightlifters you likely wonder how they got so big. Some (not all) look to have a quick solution with protein shakes rather than all of the hard work it takes to build that muscle. I wish I could drink a protein shake and be fit. That would be so much easier than working out! LOL!
My favorite protein powder is Dr Mercola Pure Power Protein (http://proteinpowder.mercola.com/pure-protein.html). As a general rule, I don't get enough protein from my diet so I add a scoop of protein powder to my smoothie three to four times per week. I only use half the recommended serving to keep from getting a protein overload. The Mercola proteins are made from grass-fed cow milk, are GMO free and seem to be of really high quality. It tastes pretty good. I also mix it in unsweetened almond milk so that might affect the taste a bit.