Nanna Meyer was a member of the Swiss Ski Team when she came to the United States to compete for the University of Wyoming ski team on an athletic scholarship. After earning degrees in nutrition and exercise physiology, she put her sports background and academic training to use as a sports dietitian for the highly regarded U.S. speed skating team. We sat down with Nanna to get her perspective on feeding athletes competing in the Winter Olympics.
Q: How did you get your start as a sports dietitian?
Nanna: When I came to the U.S., I was 22 years old and had just received a scholarship to race for the University of Wyoming. I was so excited because this was the time that I could finally take exercise physiology courses, learn about my body, and still be a ski racer. In the first year, I also took my first nutrition class and I immediately knew I wanted to pursue a career in sports nutrition. The connection between the food we eat and athletic performance came very naturally to me.
We’ve come a long way in our knowledge. When I first started, we didn’t know much about overuse injuries, low bone mass due to menstrual dysfunction, or the risk of skin cancer due to sun exposure on glaciers. Understanding the consequences of hard training at environmental extremes without the necessary preparation and recovery keeps me passionate about passing on insights and new research findings. My goal is to increase awareness, knowledge, and skill related to how much, what, and when athletes should eat and drink relative to training and competition. This helps them to do a better job, stay healthy, and reach their performance potential.
Q: You’ve studied winter-sport athletes and how they eat — tell us about your findings.
Nanna: I received a grant from the International Olympic Committee to conduct research on nutrition for winter-sport athletes. I hypothesized that these athletes would naturally consume more calories and carbohydrates when training outside at altitude and in the cold because of the higher energy demands. Instead, I found that the athletes, especially females, aren’t very good at adjusting their calorie intake to meet their increased needs. They all do a fairly good job eating enough to cover about 3,000 calories per day, but if their energy needs go higher, it becomes more difficult for them to eat enough.
Q: Is hydration an issue in the wintertime conditions?
Nanna: I found that fluid intakes were very low during winter-sport training held on snow or ice. This is partially due to lower sweat rates, but a decreased drive to drink fluids at altitude and in the cold and the lack of restroom facilities are also factors. Although dehydration does not impact performance in the cold as much as it does in the heat, winter-sport athletes should not be fooled by a decreased thirst response in the cold and at altitude. They can be significantly dehydrated, mainly due to increased urinary fluid losses and respiratory water loss from humidifying air. And this dehydration can negatively impact performance, depending on their sport.
Q: Low bone mass associated with missed menstrual periods and low iron is a common nutritional issue with female athletes in general — what did you find with the athletes you studied?
Nanna: About 20% of the women athletes I studied had some level of iron deficiency, mainly iron depletion shown by reduced serum ferritin. This is lower than other studies have found in female athletes. The reason for this is probably that the athletes we tested were part of a vigorous sports science support mechanism that provided regular screening and vitamin and mineral supplements to the athletes.
I also tested their body composition and bone mineral density and found fairly high bone mass, even in very lean athletes and despite the occurrence of menstrual problems in some women. Winter-sport athletes experience very unique skeletal loading patterns, which stimulate bone mass. In contrast, athletes in non-weight-bearing sports such as cycling and swimming can have lower bone mass, which could set them up for fractures and osteoporosis later in life.
I did find a high prevalence of menstrual dysfunction such as starting menstruation relatively late and missing more than three consecutive menstrual cycles. In addition, we found some disordered/restrictive eating patterns, although none of these patterns were clinical in nature. Nevertheless, winter-sport athletes — especially in sports with a focus on appearance, such as mogul skiing, freestyle skiing, and aerials, or endurance, like cross-country skiing — have a higher risk for disordered/restrictive eating. These athletes need to be screened for these and other risk factors so that early interventions can be conducted to prevent longer-term problems like stress fractures.
Q: What are the factors unique to winter sports that make sports nutrition particularly important?
Nanna: Winter-sport athletes train at environmental extremes such as on glaciers or in winter-simulated environments. Aerials, for example, use water ramps in the summer to simulate winter jumping. This situation is associated with higher calorie needs because athletes must climb stairs while loaded with equipment filled with water in order to get back to the top of the water ramp. Also, dehydration can be an issue because athletes will restrict their fluid intake in order to avoid the hassle of having to remove clothing to use the bathroom during jumping. While summertime is more focused on volume and generalized training, the fall is highly intense. If snow is lacking at lower elevations, alpine and Nordic skiers as well as snowboarders have to stay at altitude for longer periods of time. From September to November, glaciers are ice cold, and recovery time from intense training will be slowed at this elevation. Athletes do not sleep as high as they train, but they may sleep at an elevation still considered moderate in altitude. All of this training in extreme conditions takes energy, and carbohydrate intake is particularly important.
Another issue is that fluid intake is often compromised due to lack of thirst, transient urinary water loss at altitude, and lack of restroom facilities. This sets up athletes for chronic dehydration, which in turn probably has an effect on how well they are able to recover from training.
Also, training at altitude accelerates the making of new red blood cells. This will have a positive impact on oxygen transport and helps with recovery and training adaptation. But if an athlete has depleted iron stores to begin with, she/he may not be able to adapt as well to altitude, which could lead to greater fatigue and inadequate recovery.
Q: What can be done to counteract the effects of exercise in the cold and at altitude?
Nanna: Much more focus should be put on hydration. Use warm sports drinks rather than water at altitude and in the cold. Also, balanced training meals with an increase in carbohydrates and adequate amounts of protein and fat are important. Alpine skiers and snowboarders in particular should watch their carbohydrate intake. If they shiver on chairlifts due to the cold, they will burn energy, and particularly carbohydrates, at a much faster rate, which means that they are running out of their preferred fuel more quickly. Glycogen depletion in skiing has been associated with greater injury risk.
Winter-sport athletes should also monitor their recovery carefully. If they end up training on glacier snow or at higher elevations, this may mean a 2–3-hour time lag until they can get back to the hotel for a good meal. Thus, recovery foods and fluids are important to have in their backpacks so that they are able to eat and drink right after training. Also, most of these athletes have afternoon workouts, and a limited recovery time will impact their energy levels for the afternoon session.
Finally, I advise athletes to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, along with seasonings — such as garlic, ginger, and turmeric — teas, and oils such as olive oil. These foods provide dietary antioxidants that can help to neutralize the oxidative stress that results from training in such extreme environments.
Q: What advice are you giving to our Olympic athletes as they head to Vancouver?
Nanna: We have done a lot of work this year on getting athletes up to speed on their racing nutrition. This includes their pre-race meals, how to fuel themselves shortly before racing, and how to speed up recovery and get ready to race again if they have more than one race in a day. All athletes have their eating routines set by now.
Also, at the Olympics, there is a lot of downtime and plenty of food available at the Olympic Village, venues, and private houses. Sometimes this can lead to weight gain and potential changes in body composition. So athletes are instructed to be cautious about buffet-style food abundance.
Staying healthy is probably the most important factor at this time. We address things such as eating for a healthy immune system, personal hygiene, sleep/rest, and food safety. The fact that nutrition affects the immune system is well known. If athletes are prone to colds and the flu, using nutritional strategies like increasing carbohydrate intake and eating more fruits and vegetables can help them strengthen their immune system. Also, the athletes are regularly tested for blood parameters in order for us to quickly react should something be uncovered.
Q: Does sports nutrition really make a difference for an Olympic-caliber athlete?
Nanna: I have been working with some elite athletes for over 10 years. The changes they have made nutritionally are enormous, and their performances continue to improve. Obviously, experience in a sport, such as adding miles, improved technical skill, running economy, or cycling efficiency, is far more important than nutrition per se. However, what athletes need to understand is that nutrition is one of those important sport-specific, performance-determining factors just like physiology, biomechanics, equipment, psychology, social network and family support, coaching, and skills. Nutrition interacts with many performance parameters, and the earlier athletes begin to work on refining their nutritional strategies for training and competition, the faster they will reach their potential. It is really a question of maturity and vision. If you want to be the best, you use all tools available to you, including nutrition, to optimize your training and not waste time. Who really has time to waste?
I truly believe in the optimization of nutrition for athletic teams and individuals interested in reaching their highest athletic ability. Twenty years ago we had no resources and we made many mistakes. Some athletes have enough talent to reach a high potential without optimizing all their performance-related factors. However, the majority of athletes out there need help in identifying nutritional strategies for their sport. Coaches should bring in a sports dietitian who first speaks to the entire group of athletes about general nutrition guidelines relative to the sport, followed by individual meetings to fine-tune strategies. Individual athletes can access their own sports dietitian. While the initial work with a dietitian may be more extensive when learning about the key concepts and strategies to optimize performance and recovery, less and less hand-holding is necessary over time. The investment is small to moderate, while the payoff is tremendous.
Q: How can coaches and athletes find a sports dietitian?
Nanna: Go to
http://www.scandpg.org/mapsearch.php and locate a sports dietitian by state. There you will find qualified professionals who are Board Certified Specialists in Sports Dietetics (CSSD) and are trained to understand the physiological demands and nutritional strategies for your sport. If you need help internationally, you can also become an associate member of Professionals in Nutrition for Exercise and Sport (PINES —
http://www.sportsoracle.com/pines/pines-home) and thereby access international resources.
Q: Any predictions for our Olympic athletes in Vancouver?
Nanna: The U.S. is fortunate to have the world’s best speed skating teams. This is due to talent, great coaches, and a complete sports science program that has backed U.S. speed skating over all the years I have been working with them. Through screening and assessments, biochemical testing, physiological performance testing, individual work, workshops for practical applications, food service on the spot, and a dietary/sports-supplement program, we have been able to make a solid impact on the athletes from the time they enter the junior national team up to and including when they achieve international recognition. So we will see in Vancouver whether our hard work has paid off!
Nanna Meyer is the founder and leader of Professionals in Nutrition for Exercise and Sport (PINES), an organization devoted to the sharing and promotion of resources and expertise in the field of sports and exercise nutrition, to ensure worldwide access to evidence-based sports nutrition information. PINES has two membership categories — one geared to nutrition professionals and the other to athletes, coaches, industry, and others interested in gaining direct access to information. PINES currently has professional members representing 15–20 countries. To learn more about PINES, including details on membership, go to http://www.sportsoracle.com/pines/pines-home.
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