The third of six student led seminars on nutrition was held at the Williams Fieldhouse on April 11. Aaron Kaiser, junior health and human performance major led the session, focusing on sports nutrition for pre, during and post training or competition.

“It’s important to know the difference between nutrition and sports nutrition,” Kaiser said. “It’s also different for each sport and position.”

Kaiser started out the session by asking the audience to answer two questions on a sheet of paper. The questions were, “What do you usually eat and drink before and after training?” and “Does this change when competing? How? Why?” After the audience wrote their answers, Kaiser proceeded with his presentation.

Kaiser provided a handout for everybody on what an athlete versus a non-athlete should consume in the areas of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

“Carbohydrates are the most important source of energy for the body,” Kaiser said. According to the handout, the recommendation of carbohydrates for the general public is 45-65 percent of total daily caloric intake. For athletes the recommendation is 60-65 percent of total daily caloric intake.

Proteins are key for the recovery phase of training or competition. According to the handout, the recommendation of proteins for the general public is 10-35 percent of total daily caloric intake. For athletes the recommendation is 12-18 percent of total daily caloric intake for endurance athletes and 12-20 percent of total daily caloric intake for strength athletes.

Fats are a fuel source for muscle cells. According to the handout, the recommendation of fats for the general public and athletes is 20-35 percent of total daily caloric intake. In the session Kaiser stressed that when eating fats to choose good fats like fish, avocados and nuts rather than bad fats, such as chips and pizza.

Part of the presentation was a four-minute video of Brendan Brazier, bestselling author of the Thrive series. He explained the three principles of sport nutrition: timing, fueling and recovery. He also covered the four components of vitality; high return exercise, high net gain nutrition, efficient sleep and uncomplimentary stress reduction.

About 20 people were in attendance at the seminar, including students from University of the West of Scotland.

The seminars are part of the Seminar in Health Promotion course taught by Lisa Emendorfer.

“The students pick the topic based off of where they see themselves in the future,” Emendorfer said. “This gives them real world experience.”

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