A: Nutrition can impact performance in a variety of ways. There are over 50 nutrients that your body needs on a daily basis. Over a period of time, inadequate intake or omission of any of these nutrients can have a negative effect on your health and athletic performance.

Unless you have major deficiencies in your diet, nutrition will not work overnight miracles, but optimal nutrition throughout the year will make a difference. By staying healthy and decreasing "down time," you will feel better, train harder and be in better condition. This could mean the difference between winning and losing.

Q: What is the best diet for an athlete?

A: There is no one perfect diet. Each athlete is different and has individual needs; a 98-pound gymnast, for example, should eat differently than a 250-pound linebacker. The best diet is one that keeps you well hydrated, provides adequate calories, and supplies the 50-plus nutrients in the needed amounts. No single food or supplement can do this. This is best achieved by consuming a wide variety of food on a daily basis.

Q: What should I eat to increase my strength?

A: The most important factor in increasing your strength is not what you eat, but rather how you train. Strength can be gained only after a period of progressive resistance weight training. How much strength you actually gain depends on intensity and type of weight training. It is commonly thought that large amounts of protein or amino acids are necessary to add muscle mass.

Although protein is a component of muscle, muscle is mostly water and only 20-22% protein. An adequate protein intake is certainly important in gaining strength and muscle, but so is your intake of other nutrients including carbohydrates and various vitamins. Additionally, if your caloric intake isn't adequate, the protein you eat will be used for energy instead of building muscle tissue. The athlete who cuts back on food to lose weight and then takes vitamin and mineral pills may be getting more than the needed amounts of vitamins and minerals, but won't be able to increase or even maintain muscle mass. An adequate diet is essential to maintaining energy levels, developing muscles, and increasing endurance and strength.

Q: As an athlete, do I need more vitamins and minerals than an non-athlete?

A: Research supports the fact that when the diet is adequate, vitamin and mineral supplements do not improve performance. Athletes need to consume approximately 1800 calories daily from a variety of foods in order to meet their daily need for vitamins and minerals. Athletes who cut back on calories, are on vegetarian diets or avoid an entire group of foods (i.e. never eat meat or drink milk) may need a supplement to make up for the vitamins or minerals not supplied by food. However, a vitamin/mineral supplement cannot provide energy an athlete gets from consuming the calories in food. If you are taking an over-the-counter dietary supplement or are thinking about taking one, the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) represents the best guideline for safe and adequate intakes for supplementation. A multi-vitamin / mineral pill that supplies 100% of the RDA for each nutrient (check the label) will provide the needed nutrients.

Q: I'm on a heavy training program; how much protein do I need?

A: Based on current research, it appears that 1.0-1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight will meet most athletes needs, as long as they are getting enough calories and not eating a vegetarian diet. There are approximately 10 grams of protein in 1 ounce of meat, 1 egg, 1 glass of milk, 1 ounce of cheese or 4 slices of bread.

Studies have found that most athletes eat far more protein than they need. A more common problem for athletes on a heavy training program is not eating enough carbohydrate calories. If the body doesn't have enough carbohydrates to use for energy, then protein is used, which means the protein isn't available for maintaining muscle mass.

Protein supplements offer no advantage over protein available from foods such as meat, milk, cheese and eggs. In fact, the protein quality of many so-called high-protein supplements is variable and often inferior to milk and egg protein.

Q: But what if I'm lifting weights to build up my muscles?

A: You will need a little more protein than if you weren't lifting weights, but that doesn't mean you will need more than you are already eating. One of the most important factors affecting protein/amino acid needs of strength athletes is energy intake (calories). Inadequate or low protein intake by athletes is usually due to not eating enough calories.

Q: It doesn't hurt to eat extra protein just to make sure, does it?

A: The body cannot store extra protein; therefore, it must either "use it or lose it." If you eat more protein than your body can use, the protein is broken down and part of it is either used for energy or stored as body fat. The other part, the nitrogen part, can be toxic to the body in excess amounts. Large amounts of protein can lead to dehydration, stress your kidneys and liver, increase the amount of calcium you lose in your urine, and cause "gout-like" symptoms in your joints.

Q: What about amino acid supplements?

A: Amino acids are the individual units of protein, much like the individual links of a chain link fence. They have become popular among strength-training athletes and are often taken because the athlete has been told they will stimulate an anabolic effect, increase the rate of muscle gain, or cause weight loss. They can be taken individually or in various combinations.

The body cannot tell the difference between amino acids in pills, powder or in foods. They are all metabolized the same. Your body needs 20 amino acids to synthesize proteins: 9 of these must be obtained in the diet. The most efficient way to obtain these amino acids is from the protein you get from foods.

There is no scientific evidence to show that amino acids taken either individually or in groups are more effective at adding muscle or weight than protein from food. Problems which can result from use of amino acid supplements are similar to those of protein supplements, including dehydration and calcium losses. Additionally, too much of one amino acid may hinder the absorption of another, in effect delaying the muscle building process.