A Guide to Eating for Young Athletes

The good news about eating for sports is that reaching your peak performance level doesn't take a special diet or supplements. It's all about working the right foods into your fitness plan in the right amounts.

Teen athletes have different nutrition needs than their less-active peers. Athletes work out more, so they need extra calories to fuel both their sports performance and their growth.

When it comes to powering your game for the long haul, it's important to eat healthy, balanced meals and snacks to get the nutrients your body needs.

Besides getting the right amount of calories, teen athletes need a variety of nutrients from the foods they eat to keep performing at their best. These include vitamins and minerals. Calcium and iron are two important minerals for athletes:

Calcium helps build the strong bones that athletes depend on. Calcium — a must for protecting against stress factures — is found in dairy foods, such as low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese.

Iron carries oxygen to muscles. To get the iron you need, eat lean meat, fish, and poultry; leafy green vegetables; and iron-fortified cereals.

Athletes may need more protein than less-active teens, but most get plenty through a healthy diet. It's a myth that athletes need a huge daily intake of protein to build large, strong muscles. Muscle growth comes from regular training and hard work. Good sources of protein are fish, lean meats and poultry, eggs, dairy, nuts, soy, and peanut butter.