Is your high school athlete undernourished?
In 2022-2023, almost 3.5 million girls and just over 4.5 million boys participated in high school sports. That's a lot of soccer, softball, basketball and football (including 4,094 girls on 11-player high school tackle football teams, and 42,955 girls playing flag football).
That's wonderful -- it means they're getting physical exercise that helps develop a healthy brain and body. But it takes the right kind of fuel to get those benefits and, unfortunately, a new study in Nutrients reveals that kids are not being taught about the foods they need. (TikTok is not a reliable resource for accurate information.) As a result, they don't get enough healthy carbs or total calories and overdo it on fats and proteins. Bottom line: The researchers found that student-athletes have a "poor level of sports nutrition knowledge and understanding of energy and macronutrient requirements."
So, help your teens and teams by making them aware that student-athletes should get half their calories from healthy carbohydrates (whole grains, beans, fruits and starchy and other veggies). The athletes also need lean proteins and healthy fats and want to limit inflammatory ingredients (in fast and highly processed foods) that can make them more vulnerable to injury -- and make it harder to recover from one. Plus, they should eat throughout the day, so they have a steady supply of energy-producing nutrients and fuels. Intermittent fasting while in training or during the season isn't the way to go.
To help them play long and prosper, sign your players up for the free newsletter at LongevityPlaybook.com.
Dr. Mike Roizen is the founder of www.longevityplaybook.com, and Dr. Mehmet Oz is global advisor to www.iHerb.com, the world's leading online health store. Roizen and Oz are chief wellness officer emeritus at Cleveland Clinic and professor emeritus at Columbia University, respectively. Together they have written 11 New York Times bestsellers (four No. 1's).
(c)2025 Michael Roizen, M.D.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
(c) 2025 Michael Roizen, M.D. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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