DATE: Monday, August 18, 1997               TAG: 9708160058

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PAT DOOLEY, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   68 lines

PROPER NUTRITION FOR ATHLETES TCC CLASS WILL STRESS EATING FOR PEAK PERFORMANCE

EATING FOR ATHLETIC performance means more than deciding what's for breakfast on the day of an event.

Yet that's just how many athletes - from recreational to competitive - choose their foods, says Linda Barnes, a registered dietitian in Virginia Beach.

``They're not thinking about the long term,'' says Barnes, owner of a consulting service called Integrated Nutrition Concepts. ``To start out in top shape that day, they need to focus on good health and good eating all the time.''

In a new class this fall at Tidewater Community College's Virginia Beach campus, Barnes will try to discourage some common nutritional mistakes athletes make.

Called ``Nutrition for the Athlete,'' it grew out of a realization among dietitians that the public's interest in physical fitness is not always accompanied by knowledge about sound diet, Barnes says.

She hopes to attract a variety of participants, from fitness enthusiasts and serious athletes to teachers, coaches and parents.

The class is open to the public but also counts for three credits and is a health elective for students enrolled in a TCC program.

The Tuesday night sessions will be from 7:15 to 9:55 p.m. for 16 weeks beginning Aug. 26. The cost is $159 for Virginia residents. The textbooks - Nancy Clark's ``Sports Nutrition Guidebook'' and Ellen Coleman's ``The Ultimate Sports Nutrition Handbook'' - are extra.

Topics will include nutrition basics; energy demands of exercise; fluid requirements; vitamins and minerals; body composition; special needs of women and older adults; weight control; and carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

Athletes sometimes underestimate the need for complex carbohydrates, such as whole-grain breads and pastas, says Barnes.

She recommends eating 60 percent to 70 percent of calories from carbohydrates and about 15 percent from protein, though some popular diet plans recommend cutting back on carbs.

``If you don't get your carbohydrates,'' Barnes says, ``you're going to be out of fuel.'' What's more, too much protein can damage the kidneys and bones and lead to osteoporosis, she says.

Another problem is overzealous dieting. Teens especially, may exercise too much for the limited calories they take in, Barnes says. One student she counseled, for example, spent four to five hours a day exercising after school but didn't even snack to boost her energy. Another ate little more than a piece of fruit all day.

Exercisers sometimes forget the importance of fluids, too. They help protect against dehydration and a loss of electrolytes.

Water is the best replenishment, Barnes says, despite the many specialty beverages on the market. ``There's all kinds of junk in sports drinks,'' she says.

Students also will be asked what they want to learn about. The class will incorporate nutrition news, such as last week's updated nutritional guidelines issued by the National Academy of Sciences.

Beware: The class will include three tests and a project requiring participants to examine a nutritional product or claim.

But there won't be a final exam. The last class on Dec. 9 will include a presentation of projects. MEMO: For more information or to register, call Christine Medlin,

program director for the school's department of health science

technologies, at 822-7336. ILLUSTRATION: [JOHN EARLE]

THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

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