With the return of the school year, most parents are asking about fueling morning workout sessions to get the highest performance gains while also providing enough energy for their child to have a productive school day. While I cannot be there to help your child actually learn anything at school, I can give some sound advice on dietary approaches that will set up your child’s brain to be ready to learn.
Every 24 hours, the human brain uses an average of 120 grams of glucose, the terminal form of carbohydrates. Whole grain carbohydrate sources should be the primary source of energy for your child and should be consumed throughout the day. Options like whole grain breads, quinoa, couscous, whole grain pastas, oats, and brown rice are the foods to look for in this category. What makes whole grains special? Fiber. Fiber is the protective layer around the grain that keeps it alive until we eat it. Fiber slows down the digestion time of carbohydrates in addition to housing the nutrients of the plant and feeding our gut microbiome. In the US, we refine our grains to make them softer and sweeter, which unfortunately means removing the fiber layer. Thousands of years of genetic programming has wired our brains to choose the sweetest carbohydrate sources we can find, but our bodies have not caught up to adapt to this new form of fiberless carbohydrate.
For the most part, there is not often a scenario when we want youth athletes to be in a caloric deficit. Having carbohydrates present is key to creating energy during training, brain development, and creating new muscle tissue. An ideal eating pattern for morning training would be to consume a low fiber carbohydrate source upon waking, some type of liquid carbohydrate during training, and a large dose of whole grain carbohydrates between training and the start of school. This can be as simple as some fruit and toast in the morning, sport drink at the pool, and a large bowl of oatmeal and fruit before school starts. Signs that your child is underfueling are getting very tired before lunch or dinner or becoming lethargic in the afternoon. Low carbohydrate intake also results in decreased decision making speed, more volatile behavior, poor mood, and reduced strength in the gym, resulting in decreased total force production and therefore less muscle mass growth than their genetic potential allows for.
Eat more carbs and have a great semester!
Jordan Pitts, MS, RD | TSF Sport Nutrition
(817) 845-0788 or JordanPittsRD@gmail.com
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