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Mar 8, 2017 By Joe Carei for The 5 min read

As many of you know, I am also track and cross country coach. And this time of year, parents are concerned with the nutrition of their scholar athlete. They also have questions about the value of local, farm-raised produced products vs. store-bought products and the effect on their student-athlete.

An athlete’s needs are based on age, gender and body weight. Also, the sport that they are playing has a role, too. For instance, a distance runner who runs 10 miles will have different needs than an athlete playing baseball, with a lot of stop and go actions. My rule of thumb is 80-100 calories needed for each six minutes of hard exercise. But then, how much are the calories are from carbohydrates, protein and fat?

For that runner, 60 percent carbs, 20 percent fats, 20 percent protein is a basic rule of thumb. When leaning toward sports or events that need power or speed, like our baseball player or a sprinter, you should lower carbs and increase protein.

Carbohydrates are essential for the athlete to continually have energy. Good carbs are complex ones like rice, pasta, oats and grains along with fruits and vegetables. Complex carbohydrates are good because they release energy over a longer period of time.

While protein is important in building new muscles, eating the right amount of protein is key. Consuming more protein than the body needs may translate to excess calories that must be stored, usually in the form of fat. Too little protein consumption means the body has to supply it itself, which can result in muscle breakdown and loss. Protein needs are based on age, gender and body weight, with young athletes needing .7 to .9 grams of protein for every pound of body weight. Many foods contain protein, but high quality protein comes from beef, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products, soy and soy products, beans, nuts and nut butters. Keep in mind, with a proper diet, there is no need for protein supplements.

Fats are a vital part of a young athlete’s diet. They have many key roles including aiding in the absorption of important vitamin and minerals as well as providing energy for young bodies. The focus should be on eating healthy fats such as nuts, avocados, fish and olive oil. These types of fats are easily converted to energy. Saturated and trans-fats have the opposite effect. They zap your energy. Choose your fats wisely.

When it comes to farm-raised product vs store bought, carbs are carbs, and proteins are proteins. But, the nutritional make up of these are different with farm raised.

Farm raised eggs, a great source of protein at 7 grams per egg, have twice the omega-3 fatty acids; the good fat (boost reaction time and eases inflammations), three times more vitamin E (helps with muscle damage and recovery), seven times vitamin A beta-carotene (increases performance) than store bought ones. It also has less saturated fat (fatigue) and cholesterol.

Grass feed beef and free range chickens also carry a more powerful punch of Vitamin A and Vitamin E. On top of that, they have more Iron (oxygen absorber), Zinc (immune booster) and Phosphorus (reduces lactates) then their in store counterpart.

There are many reasons to buy farm fresh vegetables. They are more nutrient packed vehicles for carbohydrates, than their store counterparts. But, the main reason fresh holds a rein over stores is time. Produce steadily loses vitamins when being shipped and while in storage. Some vegetables lose 50 percent of their nutritional value in just a week of storage. Fruits can lose almost 25 percent in nearly the same time frame.

For any other questions about athletes and nutrition, you can contact me at the email address provided.

Good Carb Recipe Vegetable Paella

1 large Bell pepper cut in strips

1 medium onion diced

2 cloves garlic minced

1 zucchini, sliced

2 tomatoes, diced

Olive oil

Pinch saffron (optional)

Salt and pepper

1 cup rice (brown is more nutritional)

3 cups chicken stock/water

Chopped parsley

1 teaspoon paprika

Sweat onions and peppers in olive oil; add garlic, zucchini and tomatoes. Cook for a minute. On medium heat, stir in rice and add stock and paprika and saffron if desired. Cook about 20 minutes until rice is done. Add parsley and adjust taste with salt and pepper.

Good Protein Recipe Chicken and Black bean tacos

1 pound chicken breast

1 can black beans drained

1 large tomato diced

¼ cup water

1 jalapeno pepper, diced

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

2 green onions, chopped

Cilantro

6 taco shells

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In tightly covered baking dish, bake all ingredients except for 1 green onion, cilantro and taco shells. Bake for 45 minutes. Pull chicken and shred it. Place in taco shells, top with rest of cooked ingredients (may need to drain a little). Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro.

Good Fat Recipe Guacamole

2 avocados

¼ cup diced onion

1 small tomato diced

1 clove garlic minced

Salt and pepper

Peel and mash avocados in a medium serving bowl. Stir in onion, garlic, tomato, lime juice, salt and pepper. Adjust flavor with lime juice, salt and pepper. Chill for an hour…serve.