Hockey nutrition can be a challenge, especially when at the rink between tournament games or have to hit the drive-through on the way to an early morning practice.
No matter how hard it might be to eat well during hockey season, there is one thing that all young hockey players absolutely have to avoid eating at all costs before hitting the ice.
Staying away from this one food is easier said than done, but trust me when I tell you that this is the worst possible fuel you can put in your tank before hitting the ice.
Hockey players absolutely have to avoid eating sugar before hitting the ice.
Now I know that players aren't going to be snacking on big piles of sugar before their next practice or game.
But what most hockey players don't realize is that the "healthy" foods they are eating before hockey, are really sugar-filled performance-killers.
Eating a lot of sugar before hitting the ice will take a young hockey player's energy levels through the roof for a short time, and will then send them crashing down faster than they went up on the sugar high in the first place.
They may feel great for the three-minute warm-up and their first few shifts, but then they'll be left feeling like they got run over by the zamboni.
Let's look at two examples of "healthy" choices that are really sugar-filled hockey performance killers: 1) Sports drinks: We see famous hockey players promoting these drinks on TV, so they have to be good for us, right? WRONG.
All of these sports drinks, even the "low sugar" versions, are still made of one thing and one thing only - SUGAR.
The only time you should have sports drinks is after you get off the ice, and even then, you really only need them after a really hard practice or game, not after an easy skate.
2) Bagels: These are good for us, right? Yes and no.
The majority of people eat bagels, bread, pasta and rice that is white.
And any grain that is white has been processed.
The difference between white bread and whole-groin bread is that all of the nutrients have been completed stripped out of the white bread.
And when you take all of the nutrients out of a whole-grain food, your body treats it like it is a big pile of sugar.
Hockey players are always much better off having a whole-grain option, instead of the white option, if they want to avoid riding the energy roller-coaster.
In terms of how a player's body will react, there is no real difference between eating or drinking a "healthy" option that is really chocked full of sugar, or just swallowing a handful of sugar before hitting the ice.
Either way, all that sugar will only give players a short burst of energy, and then leave them feeling tired and dramatically decrease their hockey performance.
No matter how hard it might be to eat well during hockey season, there is one thing that all young hockey players absolutely have to avoid eating at all costs before hitting the ice.
Staying away from this one food is easier said than done, but trust me when I tell you that this is the worst possible fuel you can put in your tank before hitting the ice.
Hockey players absolutely have to avoid eating sugar before hitting the ice.
Now I know that players aren't going to be snacking on big piles of sugar before their next practice or game.
But what most hockey players don't realize is that the "healthy" foods they are eating before hockey, are really sugar-filled performance-killers.
Eating a lot of sugar before hitting the ice will take a young hockey player's energy levels through the roof for a short time, and will then send them crashing down faster than they went up on the sugar high in the first place.
They may feel great for the three-minute warm-up and their first few shifts, but then they'll be left feeling like they got run over by the zamboni.
Let's look at two examples of "healthy" choices that are really sugar-filled hockey performance killers: 1) Sports drinks: We see famous hockey players promoting these drinks on TV, so they have to be good for us, right? WRONG.
All of these sports drinks, even the "low sugar" versions, are still made of one thing and one thing only - SUGAR.
The only time you should have sports drinks is after you get off the ice, and even then, you really only need them after a really hard practice or game, not after an easy skate.
2) Bagels: These are good for us, right? Yes and no.
The majority of people eat bagels, bread, pasta and rice that is white.
And any grain that is white has been processed.
The difference between white bread and whole-groin bread is that all of the nutrients have been completed stripped out of the white bread.
And when you take all of the nutrients out of a whole-grain food, your body treats it like it is a big pile of sugar.
Hockey players are always much better off having a whole-grain option, instead of the white option, if they want to avoid riding the energy roller-coaster.
In terms of how a player's body will react, there is no real difference between eating or drinking a "healthy" option that is really chocked full of sugar, or just swallowing a handful of sugar before hitting the ice.
Either way, all that sugar will only give players a short burst of energy, and then leave them feeling tired and dramatically decrease their hockey performance.
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