With their growing bodies and gender-specific nutritional needs, teens already need to continue eating healthy diets full of whole foods and moderate in fat, sugar and salt. When you add athletics into the mix, teens have even more specialized eating needs than inactive teens. Though athletes need additional calories, it isn't necessary to add supplements as long as you have access to healthy food. Especially competitive teens may want to seek the assistance of a sports nutritionist.
Calories
Teen athletes with a daily exercise regime need added calories in their diet to use as fuel for high performance. Non-athletic teens should get about 2,200 calories for girls, and 2,800 calories for boys. Depending on the amount and intensity of your regular workouts, you will need to add anywhere from 500 to 1,000 calories per day to the standard number. Without enough calories, you may become fatigued and your performance will decline. Serious imbalance between the calories you take in and the energy you expend can result in loss of muscle as your body seeks new places to find fuel.
Carbohydrates
Some athletes are encouraged to load up on carbs before a game. Carbohydrates are an important source of energy. Your body breaks carbs down into glucose for ease of burning as fuel. Aim to eat seven to 12 servings of carbohydrates per day. This can include grains and breads and fruits and vegetables. Make at least half of your carbohydrate servings whole grains and produce so you can benefit from their fiber content.
Calcium and Iron
Calcium is an important nutrient because it helps build your bones and keep them strong, guarding against stress fractures. Your bones are still growing during your teen years, and regular athletic exercise puts strain on them. According to registered dietitian Jessica Donze Black and KidsHealth.org, most teens already do not get the recommended amount of calcium each day, so athletes need to pay special attention to getting enough in their diet. Eat three to five servings of dairy foods, such as milk, yogurt and cheese, canned salmon and leafy greens. As a bonus, these foods, along with red meats, provide iron, an essential nutrient for delivering oxygen to your developing muscles.
Protein
Lean protein assists in building muscle mass, but nutritionist Mary Story says that it's a myth that teens need a large daily intake of protein to build muscles. Most teens, athletes or not, already get more than enough protein in their regular diet. Teen athletes should make sure they are eating about 15 percent of their daily calories in protein because too much protein can cause problems like dehydration, kidney problems and calcium loss.
A Well-rounded Diet
Teen athletes benefit from more than a handful of nutrients. You need a wide variety of vitamins, minerals and micronutrients for optimum health. To get these nutrients, eat many types of colorful fruits and vegetables, aiming for five servings of vegetable and four servings of fruit each day, according to Skyline Hospital's sports therapy team. You will also need to consume a higher amount of fat than non-athletic teens so that your body has additional sources of energy to draw upon. You will likely eat additional fat as you raise the number of calories you eat, but make an effort to get those fats from vegetable and fish oils rather than unhealthy fats like shortening.
Supplements
Eating a healthy diet, complete with water before, after and during exercising, means you don't need to consume sports bars or drinks. They won't harm you, but they don't provide much benefit, either. Kids Health says that unless you are exercising for 60 to 90 minutes, or in extreme heat, when the additional carbohydrates and electrolytes may improve your performance, sports drinks and water provide the same hydrating benefits. Other supplements, including protein powders, performance drugs and hormone-based supplements should be avoided by teen athletes. Some of these have not been testing in people under the age of 18, while others, such as anabolic steroids, are known to have negative side effects.
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