At one point or another, every sports fan has fantasized about emulating their favourite athlete, whether it’s dunking from the free throw line or hitting a grand slam on route to a World Series. But for those of us who have aged into our fandom, those daydreams quickly dissipate at the first pulled hamstring or sign of back pain. The truth is, in most senses, the world’s best athletes operate on a different plane of existence from the rest of us, not least of which comes from how they fuel. Over the past decade, sports teams have increased their investment in nutritionists and dieticians in the hopes of maximizing athletic performance.
“There [are] a lot of nuances in being a professional athlete and in what they have to focus on,” says Katie McInnis, PhD, sports performance dietitian for the Texas Rangers. “Before and during the season, players are focusing on team success, travel, [and] the physical toll of a season. But those core values and fundamentals of nutrition are one of the things teams have control over. So, it makes sense why they’re invested in making sure their players have a full picture of their fuelling.”
A little over a decade ago, the Rangers became the first team to hire a full-time registered dietitian. Now, it’s the standard. Of course, every team and player is different, but when speaking to McInnis and Geordan Stapleton, licensed dietitian for the Houston Astros, the core of their focus was the same: hydration.
“Hydration, adequate intake, maintaining body weight, and lean mass. Over 162 games, small gaps compound quickly. Even minor daily deficits in calories or fluids can show up weeks later as fatigue, decreased recovery, or unwanted weight loss,” explains Stapleton, outlining her biggest focuses over the course of the MLB’s 162-game season. “I’m constantly watching trends — fluctuations in weight, appetite changes, workload demands, and how players are responding physically. Consistency over time is everything.”
“Most people would feel dramatically better — more energized at work, better in the gym, and more recovered overall — if they stopped under-fueling carbohydrates, especially around training or long days.”Geordan Stapleton
The monitoring requires constant diligence across the roster and, in certain cases, a specialized approach. But aside from hydration, McInnis keeps other supplements fairly simple. In fact, most of the generalized advice that helps boost the MLB’s best can be translated to its fans.
“Fish oil and vitamin D are two supplements I think you’d find in pretty much any MLB clubhouse, for good reason,” says McInnis. “Fish oil is really great for heart health, as we know, but also the way it blocks inflammation pathways. Vitamin D has always been known to help with bone health and injury prevention. […] Then, one that takes up a lot of discourse in the media is creatine. Creatine is incredibly well-researched and has an outstanding safety record, so we don’t just recommend it to our players — I recommend it to a lot of our staff and myself as well. There are obviously performance and training benefits, but for those not training like a professional athlete, there are quite a few benefits when it comes to supporting memory and cognitive processes. Of course, things get a lot more individualized, but these are things almost everyone can benefit from.”
“When it comes to hydration and protein intake, spreading it out throughout the day with consistency works best for most people. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just consistent.”Katie McInnis
As far as myths or misconceptions they hope to debunk for both fans and players alike, Stapleton comes to the defence of carbs. “Carbohydrates are essential. They’re your body’s primary and preferred source of energy. They belong in performance nutrition. They’re not the villain they’ve been made out to be. Most people would feel dramatically better — more energized at work, better in the gym, and more recovered overall — if they stopped under-fuelling carbohydrates, especially around training or long days.”
Of course, balance is the operative word. Same when it comes to electrolytes and protein, McInnis urges. While many of the insights from the MLB’s leading nutritionists translate neatly to that of the everyday fan, when it comes to those, the Rangers’ dietitian suggests taking a step back. “MLB players are generally larger, stronger people. What they need to recover in terms of grams of protein or electrolyte dosages is likely going to be drastically different from the everyday fan. Really, when it comes to hydration and protein intake, spreading it out throughout the day with consistency works best for most people. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just consistent. But it can’t be made up in one afternoon.” Just as you can’t get in shape in a day, balancing one’s nutrition doesn’t happen overnight. Even for MLB players, that’s what the offseason is for.
Watch a single MLB game, and it’s easy to see what McInnis means when she refers to differences in protein and electrolyte intake. Try as we might, we simply can’t recreate how professionals perform through a gruelling 162-game season, especially without the constant monitoring from licensed dietitians and nutritionists. But with the right insight, we can recreate how they fuel and translate it into our everyday lives, increasing our own energy, longevity, and productivity in the process.
FEATURE PHOTO COURTESY OF THE HOUSTON ASTROS.
