Questions and Answers: Do Olympians Dairy?
Q: What do the United States Olympic Men’s Hockey Team and Women’s Ski Jumping Team have in common?
A: Besides being amazingly powerful athletes, both teams refuel with chocolate milk!
Over the past few weeks we have spent some time in the CHSAA nutrition corner discussing the reasons why chocolate milk is a great post-exercise choice – with fluid and electrolytes to rehydrate, carbohydrate to refuel and protein to rebuild muscles after a workout. Similarly, we have discussed the importance of proportions and eating to meet the demand of your body and sport.
Registered dietitians at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs value and encourage refueling with dairy and proportionate eating with their athletes because when it comes to making suggestions for our U.S. Olympians, they make recommendations that are scientific and evidence- based! Last week, our Western Dairy team was able to speak with one of the registered dietitians who works with athletes at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. Here are some of the interesting things we learned about what goes into helping elite Olympians be nutritionally prepared:
Q: What basic nutrition recommendations do registered dietitians who work with Olympians make?
A: Nutrition recommendations vary for winter Olympic athletes, meeting nutrition needs of women’s figure skaters to men’s ice hockey players. However, one thing they all have in common is the need for protein during training.
Q: What protein goals do most Olympians have?
A: Some athletes that are focused on staying in a specific weight class, like wrestlers or figure skaters, balance the amount of protein that they eat proportionately to the other calories that they are consuming. Even when athletes are carefully watching what they eat, protein foods are needed to maintain lean mass (muscles like your biceps and quadriceps, and organs like your heart, lungs and brain). Athletes that are trying to gain weight and build muscle are encouraged to eat protein foods at every meal and snack. Athletes must remember that just like carbohydrates and fats, protein foods contribute calories, calories that must fit into a balanced diet.
Q: What are popular protein sources encouraged at the Olympic Training Center?
A: Milk, cheese, yogurt, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, chicken, lean steak, beef jerky, eggs, fish, turkey, ham, beans, edamame, peanut butter, tofu and nuts are all examples of lean proteins that athletes commonly enjoy. Dairy foods are a particularly popular choice because they are easy to enjoy post-workout and three servings a day have been shown to have other health benefits.
Q: Does an athlete’s training phase effect the way they eat?
A: Many dietitians that work with year-round athletes adjust their athlete’s diet based on how hard the athlete is exercising.
Most athletes, (including high school athletes as explained in previous Western Dairy articles) benefit from a balanced diet similar to MyPlate. Remember, both carbohydrates and proteins are important during training. As athletes begin training and working out more often, carbohydrate demand increases. Lean proteins, including dairy foods, and vegetables remain very important during training.
Q: When do most athletes recover with protein foods?
A: When it comes to recovery, timing is important. Chocolate milk, yogurt and smoothies are highly encouraged in most recovery cafes for many athletes across the country including those at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. Athletes recover after intense exercise with hot and cold plunges, massages and recovery foods. Many dietitians recommend consuming whey protein (a protein in milk products) at least 30 minutes after exercise for recovery. Slow releasing casein protein (the protein that makes up 80% of milk protein) is recommended before bed so muscles can rebuild overnight with their help.
Athletes can train harder and perform better with proper nutrition. Visit this site to read more about milk as an exercise recovery beverage and learn how to eat for peak athletic performance.
