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Top Athletes Don't Play Games With
Nutrition
(NAPSA)-Recent research suggests athletes who drink milk may have a better
chance of avoiding a bad break during competition.
About 25 percent of the eight million youths who participate in
junior high and high school sports incur some form of injury, according to figures from
the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. In fact, more
than 2.6 million young Americans visit emergency rooms each year for sports-related
injuries. Sports injuries also constitute one in five emergency room visits among people
aged 5 to 24.
The good news is that proper training and nutrition could help to
prevent many of these injuries, according to sports nutritionist Heidi Skolnik, MS, CDN,
FACSM, a consultant to the New York Mets and New York Giants. One diet downfall that she
frequently observes is the lack of calcium, which may set the stage for stress fractures
and other injuries.
"Teens are reaching for nutrient-void soft drinks and sports
drinks to satisfy their thirst, but they're creating a calcium drought for their
bones," Skolnik warns. "Young athletes need at least three glasses of milk a day
for calcium to help keep them from being sidelined. Milk also packs protein to maximize
muscle development."The Athlete's
Choice
Recent figures show that the amount of soft drinks teenagers
consume has risen by more than three gallons per capita over the past decade, while the
amount of milk consumed has dropped by the same amount. On average, teens are drinking
only one glass of milk a day.
Teens missing out on milk are missing out on good nutrition.
During teen years, nearly half of all bone mass is formed and about 15 percent of adult
height is added. That's why it is so important for teens to include three to four glasses
of milk each day for calcium to do its job to help build strong bones, especially for
young athletes.
A survey of 50 team trainers from the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB also showed milk to be a
preferred beverage choice for their athletes:
· 100 percent think the bone-strengthening calcium in milk is important for the
athletes they train
· 96 percent of trainers recommend milk to the athletes they train and suggest about
three glasses of milk a day.
· 88 percent believe that strong bones are important to help prevent injury.
· 98 percent agree milk's nine essential nutrients are important for athletes trying
to lose weight.
· 94 percent of trainers recommend milk to help maintain muscle mass.
Kick-Off with Calcium to Win a Million
For more information on how milk is an important part of an athlete's training table,
you can visit one of the more than 40 got milk? 3-v-3 Soccer Shootout tournaments, where
dietitians share tips on milk's role in good nutrition. Additionally, athletes of all ages
can compete for $1 million by kicking the highest score in an interactive soccer
challenge. Local soccer winners will move on to regional championships and those winners
then have a shot to kick for $1 million during halftime of the MLS Cup 2001 and to appear
in their very own "milk mustache" ad.
For more information about the got milk? 3-v-3 Soccer Shootout and the nutritional
benefits of drinking milk, log onto www.whymilk.com.
The National "got milk?" Milk Mustache Campaign is jointly funded by
America's milk processors and dairy farmers: the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion
Board and Dairy Management Inc. A series of educational brochures is available on the Web
at www.whymilk.com.
Health experts and trainers recommend milk to help athletes stay off the sidelines. |
