Good nutrition and eating well is absolutely vital for youth athletes. Not only do they have incredibly high energy demands because of all the sport that they do, but they also have increased needs for certain macro and micronutrients too. Meeting these is essential to ensuring athletes can stay healthy, grow and develop normally and perform at their best too.

But finding time to tick off all of their nutrient needs between hours spent at training before and after school and long commutes back home can be really challenging. Especially if you add on top of that selective eating habits and fussy eaters too. That’s where PRO-TEEN® comes in!

What Makes PRO-TEEN® Different?

PRO-TEEN® is far more than just another protein shake that you see lining the shelves in shops, supermarkets, and service stations. It’s the world’s first recovery shake designed specifically to meet the unique nutritional needs of youth athletes. it’s precise blend of protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals are what set it apart from the mass-market alternatives.

Why Are Macronutrients So Important?

Despite what you might read in media headlines and on social media, all three macronutrients are completely essential to everyone’s diets (especially youth athletes). The macros as they more commonly referred to make up the biggest portion of the diet and provide the body with all of the energy that it needs for things like normal functioning, digestion, day-today movement and sports and exercise too. PRO-TEEN® contains an optimal ratio of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats for recovery after a training session.

Let’s take a look at each macro in more detail to see exactly why they’re so important and how they can impact performance.

Carbohydrates For Youth Athletes

Carbohydrates provide the body with the fuel that it needs for high intensity exercise ^[1]. The carbohydrates you get from food are stored in the body like the fuel tank in a car. The more carbs you eat, the more you have in the tank ready to use. The amount of carbs you use each session will depend on things like how long or hard the session is. The tougher and longer the session, the more carbs your body will use, so the more you will need to have in the tank to start ^[1].

After a training session these stores will have been used up and so will need to be refuelled before the next training session. Recovery should start as soon as possible after a session especially when athletes are training on consecutive days or more than once a day ^[2]. However, with lots of athletes heading straight into the classroom after a morning session or needing to get to bed after a late-night finish, this can be challenging. Failing to refill the stores after a session and going to bed on empty stomach will increase an athletes risk of under fuelling which will impact their sports performance but more importantly their health and well-being too. Learn more about carbs here.

Protein For Youth Athletes

Ask any high school athlete what they need protein for, and they’ll all know that its key to muscle growth, recovery, strength, and repair. And they’re absolutely correct! But what lots of teen athletes (and their parents!) often don’t know is that it’s needed for so much more than just that. Proteins make up the majority of tissues, organs, and bones, as well as hormone and enzyme production ^[3], so it’s vital for pretty much everything!

Athletes will have higher protein needs than non-athletic teens of the same age so will need to include plenty of protein in the diet each day. It’s not quite as simple as just eating a lot of protein though. The type and timing also play a crucial role in the body’s ability build muscle tissues. To maximise muscle growth and repair, youth athlete will need to eat source of protein every 3-4 hours including in each of the 3 main meals plus regular snack too. After a training session, when the muscles have worked hard, consuming around 20g of protein is recommended to help to maximise muscle recovery and training adaptations. Learn more about protein here.

Fats For Youth Athletes

Fats are probably the most misunderstood of all of the macronutrients and are often the ones that are overlooked in the diet. They’re an essential energy source, providing the fuel the body uses for lower intensity activities and movement, as well as also providing lots of important nutrients too ^[4].

Unsaturated fats are the ‘healthy fats’ that help to lower blood cholesterol and reduce inflammation, making them great for reducing muscle soreness after intense training session. These are the ones that should be eaten the most, whereas intakes of saturated and trans fats should be reduced. However, the opposite tends to happen, especially in teen athletes or those who don’t include foods like oily fish, nuts and seeds in their diet regularly, which is why each scoop of PRO-TEEN® contains all of the omega-3 you need each day. Learn more about fats here.

While all youth athletes should always take a food first approach to their nutrition, it doesn’t have to be food only. Supplements and recovery shakes can be an ideal option to ensure athletes are getting all of the macronutrients they need to fuel and refuel, when a healthy and nutritious meal isn’t an option.

With PRO-TEEN® shakes, parents can rest easy knowing that their youth athletes are getting the macro and micronutrients (click here to learn more about the unique blend of vitamins and minerals)  their body needs to grow and develop and the athletes themselves can be confident that they’re fuelling to perform.

References

1. Louise M. Burke , John A. Hawley , Stephen H. S. Wong & Asker E. Jeukendrup (2011) Carbohydrates for training and competition, Journal of Sports Sciences, 29:sup1, S17-S27, DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2011.585473
2. Louise M Burke , Bente Kiens & John L Ivy (2004) Carbohydrates and fat for training and recovery, Journal of Sports Sciences, 22:1, 15-30, DOI: 10.1080/0264041031000140527
3. Lanham-New, S. (2011). Sport and exercise nutrition. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
4. Smith, J., Holmes, M. and McAllister, M. (2015). Nutritional Considerations for Performance in Young Athletes.Journal of Sports Medicine, 2015, pp.1-13.