As part of our growing list of content here at LIJSoccer.com we are introducing a weekly feature discussing the importance of good nutrition, not only in terms of how it helps your performance, but how it also contributes to a healthy lifestyle. Want to know what you should eat before a game? After? In the offseason? What about a plan for the right way to eat during those long tournament weekends when you may only have an hour between games?
Be sure to check back each week as our LIJSoccer nutrition expert, Cristina Rivera of Nutrition in Motion gives you all those answers and more. Each week, Cristina will offer a fun nutritional fact that can help you get a better understanding of healthy eating, and twice a month will post more detailed features regarding the best way to lay out a proper nutrition plan for young athletes.
This week’s fun nutritional fact is perfect for this time of year overheating in players is a factor.
Hyponatremia is a fluid-electrolyte disorder that occurs when the sodium level in the blood drops below normal.
o Symptoms are headache, confusion, swollen hands and feet, and wheezy breathing.
o Hyponatremia can lead to seizures, coma and death in severe cases.
o Some potential causes are excessive sweating, excessive sodium losses in sweat, overdrinking leading to or during the event, replacing sweat losses with water – instead of a sports drink and intentional urine dilution.
o You can prevent this by having a hydration plan in place and using it, and taking in adequate sodium before, during, and after training and competition.
Cristina Rivera is the President of Nutrition in Motion PC, a registered dietician, and a Board Certified Sports Nutritionist. Her clinical work at the NYU Hospital of Joint Diseases, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Bellevue Hospital has given her a diverse and skilled background in medical nutrition therapy. As a certified specialist is sports dietetics, Cristina has worked with numerous running and triathlon teams to design specific meal plans for athletes during training and on race days. She has also served as a consulting sports nutritionist for the NYU athletic department and currently consults for the Coca-Cola company. Cristina has been featured in Shape, Women’s Running magazine, Women’s Day, and on ESPN.com.