While food is the basis for sound sports nutrition, supplements play a strong role in two ways. Due to the athlete’s great demands for energy, obtaining all the carbohydrates and protein one needs every day – day in and day out – can pose quite a challenge. That’s where supplementation comes in. Sport drinks, meal replacements and energy bars that are dense in carbohydrates allow the athlete to fuel up without having to eat a lot of carbohydrates foods. The on-the-go lifestyle of many active people can make the 5 to 6 meal a day strategy seem overwhelming and nearly impossible. Thus, carbohydrate supplementation via drinks is a viable alternative to round the clock eating. The other barrier to eating 5-6 times a day is the protein issue. We learned protein foods are derived from animal sources such as meat, fish, chicken turkey and low fat dairy products. Aiming for 5 to 6 meals a day with protein at each meal is the ideal, yet putting these ideals into practice can be diffi cult. After all, what athlete – no matter how serious his or her ambition – wants to carry around a chicken breast or a piece of fish, attempting to stick to a perfect nutrition plan? Very few. Here, protein powders offer quite an advantage. First, they’re easy to absorb. While the digestive system has to work fairly hard to break chicken, meat, fish and turkey into the raw building blocks called amino acids, powders are much easier to digest and absorb. It’s thought easier to digest and absorb proteins are potentially better sources of protein that those that are harder to digest. Certainly, it makes reaching your daily protein goal a whole lot easier. Toting about a couple protein drinks mixed with cold water and chopped ice ensures the athlete will neither miss one of his or her 5 to 6 meals each day. Powders and especially powders known as Meal Replacement Packets contain added nutrients – a full array of vitamins and minerals an active athlete needs for peak performance.

If you’re an athlete trying to perform at your best, you’ll need to focus on the basics - good food. However, supplementing some of your diet with protein powders, meal replacement powders and nutrition bars not only supply important nutrients, but make the entire nutrition process a heck of a lot easier. If your following 5-6 meals a day and carrying food around with you, you’d likely not need sports drinks, weight gain powders or protein powders. However, if you find yourself skipping meals, missing meals due to a tight schedule or are simply unable to commit to eating fi ve or six times a day, you’re the perfect candidate for powders, meal replacement powders, sports drinks and bars. They can add nutrition to an athletes body or they are a good way to replace a meal. For example, instead of eating a mid afternoon meal, an athlete could have a meal replacement powdered drink mixed with fruit juice, milk, yogurt or fresh fruit. The convenience of meal replacement packets make them a staple with many elite athletes and they provided nutrition insurance – added vitamins and minerals along with glutamine and MCT’s (a.k.a. medium chain triglycerides). Glutamine is an amino acid that helps recovery and growth and MCT’s are a special fat that helps provide the body with additional energy. Unlike many other sources of fat, MCT’s tend to directly power the muscles with little chance to be stored as body fat.

In addition to sports drinks, weight gain powders, protein powders, nutrition bars and meal replacement packets, there are a couple other considerations. Two include the ever popular creatine and glutamine. Let’s get clear on a couple of issues. Both creatine and glutamine are natural products. They are not steroids, they do not cause any harm in any way shape or form to the athlete – young or old, male or female – and most important of all, they work. Creatine is naturally occurring in red meat. It serves as a source of energy especially during athletic events that require quick and sudden bursts of energy. Sprinters, linemen, baseball players, basketball players, and virtually every team sport activity imaginable can benefi t from creatine. Combined with proper training and a sound eating plan, creatine helps to increase strength and add muscle size. Female athletes can benefi t greatly with as little as 2-3 grams per day taken after a hard training session while larger athletes – males – can take a little more, about 4 to 5 grams a day, taken in the meal following a hard training session. Glutamine is the other hot supplement used by many athletes. Like creatine, glutamine is completely “natural” any is found in all kinds of protein foods. Athletes use it to support muscle recovery. Glutamine can help the body save and hold onto carbohydrates within muscles where they can be called upon as fuel during tough training sessions. Research also indicates that, aside from helping to spare muscle tissue, glutamine plays a key role in nutrient absorption by helping to maintain a healthy intestinal lining. Young athletes can benefi t with 4-8 grams taken with the meal after training. Smaller athletes and females ought to stick to 4-5 grams while larger athletes will suffice with 6-8 grams.

There’s literally hundreds of different supplements on the market. Those listed above are all 100% natural, 100% safe and 100% effective when combined with proper training and sound nutrition.

Andro-based or pro-hormone products are, in the opinion of many credible nutritionists, not nutritional support factors, but quasi drugs. Drugs in the sense they can alter hormone levels in young and old males and should never be considered by femaleathletes! The other popular supplement, ephedra, is currently under going strict government reviews to clarify if it is dangerous or not. Ephedra is an herb that stimulates the nervous system and heart rate. Some athletes use it in hopes it can improve athletic performance. Reports from athletes and coaches are beginning to paint an ugly picture. Can it lead to heart attacks or heat stroke? There’s a few lawsuits pending where ephedra was thought to be a contributor to such maladies. In fact, a couple cases allege ephedra may have contributed to death. Though widely available, the prudent athlete and parents will understand safety and health come before athletic performance. Note: None of Champion Nutrition Products contain Ephedra, pro-hormone or andro-based ingredients.