Sports Nutrition & Sports Medicine
Food as Medicine: Healing Sports Injuries with Food
It's back-to-school season, and back to fall sports. We agree that proper nutrition and hydration will help athletes feel better and perform better. But did you realize nutrition is KEY when dealing with sports injuries? Sports injuries can be classified...
The Child Repair Guide Podcast: Sports Nutrition for Kids & Teens
I had the pleasure of being a guest on Dr. Steve Silvestro's Child Repair Guide Podcast, where we discussed sports nutrition for young athletes. Some of the topics we talked about: The foundation of sports nutrition for kids At what activity level parents...
Consistency in Sports Nutrition is the Name of the Game
What is THE most important meal for a young athlete? Is it the meal before a game? The night before? I get asked these questions repeatedly during my team talks, so I thought I would clarify things for everyone. They're ALL important! In my mind, one of...
Game Over! Don’t Forget the Post-Game Snack!
Let’s face it, our young athletes are dedicated and committed and giving their 100%, but when it comes down to it, especially for the little ones, they care, A LOT, about the post game snack! And we’ve all seen it…kids get off the field, smiling and energized and we...
The Heat is ON! Playing Sports in the Heat of Summer
The Heat is ON! Playing Summer Youth Sports Safely It's that time of year…we've seen extreme temperatures all over the country these past few years, and even in Orange County, an area with moderate temperatures, kids are at risk for heat-related illnesses....
My Son/Daughter Has Knee Pain: Is It Osgood-Schlatter?
Osgood-Schlatter (OS)…sounds ominous, but it’s actually the most common cause of knee pain in children. It occurs most often in children participating in sports that involve running, jumping or quick direction changes; think soccer, basketball, even figure...
You Can Always Count on Food: Raisins as Sports Nutrition Chews
Young athletes are constantly striving to have that extra “edge,” and they often turn to commercial products in order to achieve their training and competition goals. Kids and teens turn to sports drinks, protein powders, chews and gels (there’s even...
Return-to-Play After Mono; “Doc, When Can I Play?”
Jason is a sixteen year old high school football player admitted to the hospital with fever, sore throat and dehydration and diagnosed with mono. The first thing I hear on the day of discharge from most young athletes is “When can I go back to play?”...
Water Safety: How To Protect Your Competitive Swimmer from Chlorine
Summer is fast approaching and thousands of kids and their parents will become regulars at the local pool. But did you know chronic exposure to chlorine can harm lungs and cause or exacerbate asthma? Children absorb chlorine more readily than...
Special Considerations for Female Athletes
You’ve heard that “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus,” but does this hold true for young athletes? Beyond puberty, we start to see some important differences between young males and females. Female athletes can suffer from specific...