A well-balanced sports nutrition meal plan can provide athletes with the nutrients needed to help prevent injuries and recover from exercise. Let’s explore key tips to support athletes with building a strong nutrition foundation that keeps them healthy and performing at their best.
Consume Adequate Calories to Support Health and Performance
An athlete’s first priority should be to ensure they are consuming enough calories to support their health and performance.
Inadequate calorie intake increases an athlete’s risk of injury, suppresses the function of the immune system, impairs growth and development and can lead to nutrient deficiencies (1). Under fueling can also decrease an athlete’s response to training, impact cognitive function, reduce endurance performance and muscular strength and impair recovery from exercise (1).
Adolescent athletes burn significant calories through practices, strength training, conditioning, and competitions, on top of normal daily activity, so meeting these elevated energy needs is paramount in supporting the athlete's health as well as sports performance.
Pro Tip: Encourage teen athletes to fuel frequently throughout the day, aiming for three well-balanced meals and several healthy snacks.
Protein for Injury Prevention and Recovery
Alongside adequate calories, protein is essential for injury prevention and recovery. It supplies the amino acids needed to build and repair muscle, strengthens tendons and ligaments, and supports immune health (2).
How Much Protein Do Athletes Need?
Protein needs of athletes are based upon the athlete’s body weight. It is recommended that athletes consume 1.4 – 2.0 g of protein/kg of body weight/day to build and maintain muscle mass (2).
Injured athletes have even higher protein needs with recommendations up to 2.5 g of protein/kg body weight/day (3). The increased protein supports the repair of injured tissues as well as reduces the loss of muscle that occurs during periods of immobilization or disuse (3, 4).
In addition to the total amount of protein consumed, athletes should be mindful to spread their protein intake throughout the day with several meals and snacks. Athletes are also encouraged to consume protein following a workout to support the building and repair of muscle tissues (2).
At each eating occasion, athletes should aim to consume 0.3 grams of protein per kg of body weight. This calculates to be in the range of 20-40 grams of protein, depending on the size of the athlete. (2, 4).
Choose High-Quality Complete Proteins
Protein quality matters as much as quantity for muscle growth and repair. Of the 20 amino acids (building blocks of protein), 9 are essential, meaning our body cannot produce them and therefore must be consumed in the diet. When it comes to muscle building, leucine is of particular importance.(3, 4).
Dairy foods such as milk, yogurt, and cheese, are great examples of high-quality, complete proteins, delivering all 9 essential amino acids, in one package. Alongside other animal proteins such as chicken, eggs, seafood, beef, and pork, dairy helps athletes consistently meet their essential amino acid needs.
On the other hand, most plant-based sources of protein are deficient in one or more of the essential amino acids. Therefore, athletes who do not eat animal proteins need to include a variety of plant-based proteins in their diets to ensure they obtain all essential amino acids.
Nutrition to Support Bone Health
To help reduce injury risk, athletes should include nutrients that support optimal bone health. During adolescence, athletes build 40-60% of their adult bone mass, reaching peak bone mass by their early 20s (5). This makes childhood and teen years critical for building strong bones, and once peak bone mass is reached, the focus shifts to preventing premature bone loss (5)
There are several nutrients that play important roles in bone health, including: protein, calcium, Vitamin D, Vitamin K, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus. Eating a well-balanced diet that contains a variety of dairy products, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, poultry and fish can help ensure athletes consume these key nutrients (6).
Dairy products, in particular, are rich in bone-building nutrients and are a healthy addition to an athlete’s meals and snacks.
For example, a 1-cup serving of milk provides the following (7):
- Protein: 8 grams of complete protein
- Calcium: 310 mg (25% Daily Value)
- Vitamin D: 104 IU (15% Daily Value)
- Phosphorus: 253 mg (20% Daily Value)
- Potassium: 391 mg (10% Dietary Reference Intake)
Include Dairy Products in Meals and Snacks
To support optimal bone health, athletes should aim for 3 or more servings of calcium-rich dairy products each day (8). Easy ideas for adding dairy to an athlete’s meals and snacks include:
- Drink milk with meals
- Add a cheese stick to an athlete’s school lunch
- Enjoy a post-workout smoothie made with Greek yogurt and milk
- Have a yogurt and fruit parfait for an afternoon snack
- Include a slice of cheese on a sandwich or wrap
- Prepare cottage cheese topped with fruit and seeds for a healthy bedtime snack
Add Anti-Inflammatory Foods to an Athlete’s Meal Plan
To also support recovery & reduce inflammation, athletes should include a diet rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients to include, Vitamins A, C, and E, zinc, selenium, essential omega-3 fatty acids, flavonoids and polyphenols (9).
Including a variety of anti-inflammatory foods in their diet can help athletes incorporate these nutrients into their meal plans. Top anti-inflammatory food choices include:
- Berries, tart cherries, pomegranates
- Leafy greens, avocado, broccoli, beets, onions
- Walnuts, almonds, pistachios
- Chia seeds, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds
- Salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel, herring
- Extra virgin olive oil, turmeric, ginger, garlic
A food-first approach to obtaining dietary antioxidants is recommended. Research suggests that chronic, high-dose supplementation with certain antioxidants, such as Vitamins C and E, may hinder desired adaptations to training (9).
Pro Tip: For an anti-inflammatory snack, try the Berry Nutritious Acai Bowl recipe from the National Dairy Council. This recipe features acai berries, blueberries, kale, kefir and yogurt, making it a power-packed addition to an athlete’s meal plan.
Sleep for Injury Prevention and Recovery
Sleep also plays a critical role in injury prevention and recovery. Athletes who chronically get ≤7 hours per night face a 1.7 times greater risk of musculoskeletal injury (10). Poor sleep raises inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein and interleukin-6, and disrupts growth hormone and cortisol secretion, which can impair muscle repair and recovery from intense exercise ( 11). It also weakens immune function, increasing the risk of illness and chronic inflammation (12).
Sleep and nutrition go hand-in-hand. Athletes who are sleep deprived tend to make poor nutrition choices. This may result in athletes failing to consume the carbohydrates and protein needed to support their recovery nutrition needs (11).
How Much Sleep Do Athletes Need?
Despite the importance of sleep many adolescent athletes get insufficient sleep, particularly on school nights (13). The American Academy of Sleep Medicine provides the following sleep recommendations, based upon the individual’s age (14, 15):
- Youth 6-12 years old: 9-12 hours of sleep per night
- Teenagers 13-18 years old: 8-10 hours of sleep per night
- Adults: 7 or more hours of sleep per night
Develop Positive Sleep Habits
Given the importance of sleep for athletes, it can be helpful to provide athletes with tips for improving their sleep habits.
- Keep a consistent sleep/wake schedule
- Make the bedroom cool, dark, and quiet
- Build a relaxing bedtime routine (deep breathing, mindfulness, reading, journaling)
- Avoid caffeine in the late afternoon/evening
- Limit evening screen time (consider blue-light blocking glasses for homework on devices)
Nutrition for Injury Prevention and Recovery: Key Tips for Athletes
You are now set with key tips to help athletes build a sports nutrition foundation that supports injury prevention and recovery from exercise. As a reminder, athletes should make sure they consume adequate calories and protein to support their health and performance needs, boost bone health with nutrient-rich dairy products, add anti-inflammatory foods to their meal plans and prioritize getting adequate sleep each night.
For additional sports nutrition tips and resources for athletes, make sure to check out the blog: The Essential Role of Protein in Muscle Growth, Recovery, and Reducing Soreness.
