The approach to fueling US Olympic athletes has changed over the years, the past 7 or so years to be specific.

The US Olympic Committee (USOC) has sanctioned a “marrying” of the culinary arts with nutrition science to create a performance-based menu to help each athlete do their personal best in their sport.

Qualified Sports Dietitians(/Sports Nutritionists) work with food service staff to make sure that the needs of a wide range of athletes can be met.

(Symbol of the five Olympic Rings which is in the Public Domain in the United States shown for identification purposes only courtesy of Wikipedia Commons).

To do his or her best, involving various levels of endurance, grace, speed, and/or strength, each athlete needs to know about how health, fitness, and performance interact. Sports Dietitians(/Sports Nutritionists) have a unique opportunity to help educate each athlete when it comes to why the training facility is providing a combination of particular fluids and solids to get in the nutrients these athletes need.

The focus goes beyond maintaining energy stores in each athlete specific to perform in his or her sport.  Meal and snack combos can vary depending upon how close an athlete is to a performance event as for those it is important to ease the strain of digestion so the athlete’s body can focus on the performance. Intake of fluids and solids needs to reduce fatigue, attenuate metabolic stress, speed up recovery, and help maintain ongoing muscle development.

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Every 4 years it’s time for another Summer Olympics and the world turns its eyes toward the value of sports in our collective lives.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a world class athlete, a “weekend warrior” or the parent of a young person active in sports, you still need to be aware of some critical aspects of nutrition that can affect sports performance and overall health.

(Rethink Your Drink graphic courtesy of the CDC)

Olympic athletes know that adequate hydration along with other factors of optimal nutrition for sports performance can mean the difference between standing on the medal stand or just watching the ceremonies from the sidelines.

For the rest of us who may be “weekend warriors” or supportive parents or family members of youngsters learning life lessons from sports involvement, paying close attention to adequate hydration may mean one does the best one can for that performance. There is nothing like experiencing a “personal best” in any sport or artistic performance category no matter what level of athlete someone is. Family experience in dance, ultra-running, and equestrian pursuits has taught us that.

With the world focusing on the upcoming 2012 London Olympic Games, we’d like to offer some infotainment regarding hydration while staying active during summer heat in the Northern Hemisphere.

(Symbol of the five Olympic Rings which is in the Public Domain in the United States shown for identification purposes only courtesy of Wikipedia Commons).

The following content will mention some general hydration principles for infotainment purposes only.

For athlete specific, personalized advice, always work one-on-one with a competent Registered Dietitian or Exercise Physiologist who has a background in exercise science, sports, and nutrition when it comes to planning for any unique individual’s athletic nutritional needs prior to, during, and post exercise.

SCAN can help any athlete locate a Sports Dietitian in your area in the USA available to work specifically with any athlete’s needs. SCAN stands for the Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group (DPG) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics which one of us happens to belong to.

Today in this Part 1 of 2 blog post in this series, we’ll focus on the basics of hydration, the main differences between sports drinks and energy drinks, and include some considerations specifically for children. In future blog posts, we will finish up hydration and then go into the food side of fueling up.

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