3 Enemies to your Athlete’s Performance

The biggest enemies to an athlete’s performance centers around three simple things that are easy to fix. Most physical injury issues and mental health issues I see in my office are directly correlated with an athlete’s nutrition, hydration, and sleep - the three enemies.

If you as a parent do not help your athlete get these three basic skills right, then injuries will keep happening and the mental and therapeutic work we do has NO SHOT OF WORKING!

Yes, that is correct. Mental skills training or any therapeutic effort will not work if these three enemies - nutrition, hydration, and sleep (7-9 hours/night) - go sideways and do not stay on point.

So, may I shoot straight with you? I promise I am not the enemy. I am here to help you be a better parent of an athlete!

You will damage the health and potential of your athlete when you:

• Give them the enemy of fast food – Chick Fil La, Whataburger, Raising Canes, and the like need to be rare treats and NEVER a pre-game meal or regular part of their diet. These options are heavy in chemicals, carcinogens, and the wrong kinds of fat. Now, do not get me wrong, having fast food on occasion is fine, but daily consumption is toxic and harmful. The one time I allowed my son the enemy was every Friday night after my son’s high school football game. I would hit the drive thru and get him the enemy of a Caniac Combo from Canes, one of his favorite meals. While it pained me to purchase this fried monster for him with 1760 - 2040 calories and 3160mg of sodium, I understood the sporadic celebration of the post-game meal.
• Provide the enemies of sports drinks, energy drinks, and sodas – All these products contain harmful chemicals including food dyes, chemically treated & refined sugar toxic to the human body. The liver and kidney have no idea what to do with these lethal enemies. Having Gatorade, Powerade and other like drinks should be earned through a workout, training session, or game. It should not be an everyday drink at lunchtime. Look for cleaner alternatives such as Jocko Hydrate or adding electrolytes such as my favorite from Thorne to your athlete’s water.

Side note: did you know Gatorade was originally in a glass bottle and only had 5 ingredients – water, sugar, salt, potassium, and lemon juice? It used to be a solid electrolyte refueling drink. Now it is full of microplastics, phosphates, preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, and toxic food dyes. Recently, due to a petition, manufacturers removed Brominated Vegetable Oil from these drinks. Your voice makes a difference in getting rid of the chemical enemies!

You will damage the health and potential of your athlete when you:

• Bring the enemies of overly processed snacks to practice – Why would you bring these enemies to fuel or reward a young body? They are bioengineered products and not food. There is nothing nutritive in value or benefit to chips, gushers, Gogurt, or any of these processed products. Instead opt for fresh organic fruit such as bananas and oranges or whole grain crackers such as Unique Sprouted Pretzels, Edward & Sons Brown Rice Snaps, Mary’s Gone Crackers, or Simple Mills Rosemary & Sea Salt Crackers.
• Don’t cook meals with lean proteins, whole grains, and veggies – For the love of God and humanity, cook fresh organic meals for your family and then gather around the table and spend time with each other. There are so many easy meal services if you do not like to cook. And there are simple recipes taking 30-40 minutes to prepare. Just Google it or YouTube it. And, it is a good idea to visit your local farmer's market to get organic, fresh, and nutrient dense produce. Take the kids with you and make it a fun outing supporting local farmers in your area.

Side note: Teach your child how to cook. By the time they are in middle school, they should be fixing their own breakfast and packing their lunches for school. They will thank you later in life even if they consider you the enemy at this point. Besides, cooking and engaging others over a healthy meal are life skills your athletes need.

You will damage the health and potential of your athlete when you:

• Don’t research their medications – You have a right to know the scientific or medical test confirming any alleged diagnoses your child is given. You have a right to refuse that diagnosis if it cannot be medically confirmed. Do research and ask questions about the pharmaceutical drugs especially the psychotropic medications recommended. These medications will alter neuroactivity in the brain. Asking questions does not make you the enemy. It makes you smart and informed. Know the effects of the medication and make an informed decision on their use. Gain full disclosure of all documented risks before allowing your child to take medication. You have the right to refuse treatment you consider harmful.
• Don’t ask doctors and mental health practitioners questions – Just because a teacher recommends diagnostic testing, does not mean you have to follow the recommended treatment protocols. Do not blindly follow. Again, you are NOT the enemy. Ask questions of any medical doctor and mental health professional to understand the alleged diagnosis, how they came to that conclusion, and what medical or scientific test is confirming that diagnosis. Psychiatric disorders such as bi-polar, social anxiety, ADHD, eating disorders, and the like are not medical diseases. There are no lab tests or chemical imbalances which verify any mental health disorder is a physical condition. Modern psychiatric criteria are literally voted into existence and inserted in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM). This is a classification of symptoms which are NOT supported by objective evidence of physical disease, illness, or science.

Please work together as a family to make sure the big three - nutrition, hydration, and sleep - are on target and foster strong brains and bodies. This is paramount to the success of your athlete. When these three are off base, they are enemies to mental and physical performance. Often, cleaning up food and hydration, and getting proper sleep (7-9 hours), improve ‘mental health’ issues where no medications are necessary. Furthermore, when nutrition, hydration, and sleep hit the mark, injuries recover faster, and chronic injuries are uncommon. Again, ask questions, do your research, and know I am always here to be a resource for help.