by Nancy Clark, MS, RD

Today’s athletes can get more sophisticated knowledge about the foods and fluids that truly enhance performance. With the help of a personal sports nutritionist, athletes with high aspirations are getting to the next level. The following information, discussed at a conference sponsored by SCAN (the American Dietetic Association’s practice group of sports nutritionists) may give you tips that help you “get to the next level.” (To find your personal sports nutritionist, use ADA’s referral network at www.eatright.org.)

Stay Healthy

Staying healthy is a critical job for competitive athletes. You can’t compete at your best if you have a cold, fever or other ailment.

All too often, we hear stories about athletes who train hard only to get sick before their event and become unable to compete. Many ailing athletes wonder if vitamin or mineral supplements (like zinc, iron, copper, selenium, Vitamins A, B-6, C and E) could protect against infections that hinder their performance. According to Dr. David Nieman, exercise immunologist from Appalachian State University in North Carolina, research has yet to confirm supplement benefits in athletes. (In comparison, severely malnourished people do gain benefits from supplements–and that’s where the rumors start.)

Glutamine, an amino acid that enhances immunity, has been touted to be the athletes’ aid to stronger recovery and immune function. According to Dr. Nieman, blood levels of glutamine drop with exercise, but even marathon-type exercise does not sufficiently deplete the body’s large stores of glutamine enough to diminish immune function and create a need for athletes to take glutamine supplements.

The one nutritional practice that does enhance immune function is to consume carbohydrates during hard exercise that lasts longer than 90 to 120 minutes.

Carbohydrates break down into glucose, and glucose is the major fuel for immune cells. Low blood glucose also triggers the release of stress hormones that suppress immune function. A drop in blood sugar during prolonged, intensive exercise can reduce immune function. If viruses and bacteria gain a “foothold” during this open window of reduced immunity following hard exercise (3-72 hours), you’ll be more likely to get sick.

The solution: Prevent low blood sugar

Runners who consumed carbs (in the form of sports drink) during 2.5 hours of hard exercise indicates they had less inflammatory response to the exercise test compared to runners who consumed no carbs, just water.

A second immune booster is exercise itself

For example, exercise boosts the level of natural killer cells that suppress certain types of cancer. But while some exercise is good, too much exercise (overtraining) has a negative effect. For example, runners who run more than 60 miles per week have double the risk of getting sick compared to those who run less. Add too much stress and too little sleep, and the likelihood of illness increases more.

Nancy Clark, MS, RD is a nutrition counselor at Boston-area’s SportsMedicine Brookline. She is author of the best selling Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook, Second Edition, available by sending $20 to Sports Nutrition Services, 830 Boylston St., Brookline MA 02467 or via

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