Stephanie Hunley

Health 110

Fall 2007

Dr. Kandi Qualls

Monday, October 29, 2007

 Female athletes are known to be over-achievers. They consistently make good

grades, they are healthier, and they are happier. They are less likely to use drugs,

alcohol, and smoke cigarettes. For many athletes, the real struggle is with balancing

the needs of their bodies and the needs of their sport. Many girls who play sports are at

risk for the issue called the female athlete triad. This problem is a combination of three

conditions: osteoporosis, amenorrhea, and disordered eating. Osteoporosis can

become prevalent with low estrogen levels, poor nutrition, and obviously low estrogen

levels. Amenorrhea is when a girl’s menstrual cycle becomes irregular or stops all

together. It can occur when intense exercise and low calorie intake combine to yield

low estrogen production. Eating disorders can become prominent when girls avoid

“bad” foods and are striving to meet the standards of weight class, appearance, and

athletic performance. Girls with female athlete triad are usually very passionate about

their sports, so they would do almost anything to improve their performance.

Food: an issue I have struggled with my whole athletic career. In high school, I

was a three-sport athlete and always on the run. Due to my unbalanced diet and poor

nutrition my weight would fluctuate drastically, week to week, season to season. My

poor nutrition was not necessarily associated with wanting to lose weight, but with lack

of knowledge of a good diet and lack of time to eat a balanced diet. Now that I am a

collegiate athlete, I am determined to understand what goes into my body and how it

affects my performance as an athlete. I would like to know the affexts of carbohydrates,

fats, proteins, water, and vitamins have on my body and what arrangement of the latter

would yield to the best performance.

 Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of energy by glucose. Athletes use

carbohydrates for 40-50 percent of their energy during moderate exercise.

Carbohydrates produce more energy during aerobic exercise than fats because they

yield more energy per unit of oxygen. During digestion, the body turns carbohydrates

into glucose and stores it in muscles as glycogen. Then during exercise, glycogen

changes back to glucose and is used for energy. There are two subtypes of

carbohydrates: simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are found in fruits, milk,

honey, and sugar. Complex carbohydrates are found in foods like pastas, breads,

potatoes, and cereal.

Fats also provide fuel for the body; about fifty percent of the total energy spent is

used from the free fatty acid metabolism. Experienced and healthy athletes use fats

more efficiently than untrained or unhealthy athletes. Fats could be used for as much

as seventy-five percent of the energy during marathons and extra long aerobic work.

Fat, however, is the most concentrated source of energy; it yields nine calories per

gram compared to the four calories per gram in carbohydrates and protein. Although

you can have too much of a good thing, fats are very helpful throughout the body. They

supply the body with fat soluble vitamins, keeps skin and hair healthy, and supplies a

layer of protection and insulation for the internal organs. Saturated and trans fats are

known to increase chances for heart disease and increase levels of low-density

lipoprotein cholesterol. Polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats can lower the

LDL cholesterol. These good fats are found in fish, vegetable, olive, peanut, and canola

oils.
 Protein is the bodies source of energy after carbohydrates and fats. Most people

think that extra protein builds muscle, but this is not true. In full grown athletes, training

puilds muscle. Amino acid content determines the quality of food proteins. There are

twenty types of amino acids. Nine of them are essential proteins because your body

does not produce them; eleven amino acids are nonessential because your body does

produce them. Animal proteins from meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy products are

considered complete proteins because they contain all of the essential amino acids.

Plant proteins are found in beans, grains, vegetables, and fruits, but they are

considered incomplete because they do not contain all of the essential amino acids.

Water is often referred to as the “silent nutrent.” It acts as a coolant, solvent,

lubricant, and transport agent; and therefore water is the most important element of life

right behind oxygen. Athletes should always be fully hydrated at the beginning of

practice and competitions. Then, after exercising, all of the water lost should be

replaced. Cold water helps lower body temperature and is absorbed into the body

faster.

Vitamins such as thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin are used to produce energy from

the food sourced in an athlete’s diet. These are easily obtained in any high calorie diet.

Minerals play a key role in performance, but are easily lost through sweat. It is

important to eat normally after a competition to ensure that all of these minerals are

replaced. Water-soluble vitamins are easily broken down by heat and are not contained

with in the body. Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the body and could become toxic

with excess amounts.

 Having a healthy balance of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals

is important in the performance of a female athlete. This can only be achieved by

eating sensible amounts of each and committing to a reasonable caloric intake.

Focusing on the numbers on the scale is not beneficial mentally, emotionally, or

physically. A pre-game meal should be high in starch from breads, pastas, and cereals.

It should also contain additional fluids to ensure proper hydration. It is important to

maintain nutritionally balanced meals everyday, not just pre-competition.

Over the last several months, I have become more aware of what I am

consuming with my mouth and how that is being translated during practices and

competitions. I spoke with Brian Lehmann, the Lady Volunteer Nutritionist. He

completely agreed that the female athlete triad can be blamed on poor nutrition and an

unbalanced diet. He also helped in planning the increase of my calories over the rest of

the semester. By spring semester, I should be consuming 2550-2750 calories on a day

with two intense practices. I personally am striving not to just consume the empty

calories, but to eat the right foods for my body. Now that I know how these foods affect

my performance, there is no excuse for me not to use them to my benefit.

 Works Cited

Joy, Elizabeth. 3 Mar. 1997. “Team Management of the Female Athlete Triad: Part 1:

What to Look for, What to Ask.” 15 Oct 2007. Salt Lake City: The Physician and

Sportsmedicine. http://physsportsmed.com/issues/1997/03mar/joy.htm

Mayo Clinic Staff. 15 May 2007. “Amenorrhea”. 15 Oct 2007. Mayo Foundation for

Medical Education and Research.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/amenorrhea/DS00581/DSECTION=1

Anderson, J. and Young L. 25 Sept. 2007. “Nutrition for the Athlete.” 15 Oct 2007. Fort

Collins: Colorado State University Extension.

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/FOODNUT/09362.html

19 July 2004. “What’s in your food?” 15 Oct 2007. Aetna Intelihealth Inc.

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/325/7095.html

Dowshen, Stephen. Oct 2006. “Female Athlete Triad.” 15 oct 2007. Kids Health:

Nemours Foundation.

http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/sports/triad.html