"sports nutrition" news and stories

In my never-ending quest to find the right sports food, this week I stumbled across Probar.

"Probar?!" you ask. "Isn't that something you menace someone with?!"

No, dear reader, that's a crowbar. I'm talking about Probar, the Utah-based whole food nutrition bar.

Founded by high altitude food coach Chef Art Eggertsen, Probar is an all-natural alternative to the isolate- and mineral-infused bars eaten by runners, cyclists, backpackers, swimmers and other exercise masochists. With over 70% raw foods, Probar insists on keeping it real by taking real food -- peanut butter, raisins, sunflower seeds, coconut, cashews and so forth -- and putting them into an energy bar.

The result? Something that's incredibly good for you when you're working hard, but doesn't taste like it came from a test tube.

For me, it made the difference last Saturday between riding my bike the ten miles home and walking it home. So while it's no crowbar, Probar definitely packs a wallop.

With playoffs approaching, the Wall Street Journal revealed (by subscription) how the diet of football players has changed over the years, as players in the NFL have faced fad diets and had to meet increasingly high physical standards. The new approach to feeding players is a "nutrient timing" strategy. This approach is designed to continually replenish the body with the nutrients, carbohydrates and proteins that are consumed during workouts, as well as other daily activities. Nutrient timing is gaining popularity in other sports, as well as simply among anyone who exercises on a regular basis.

The meals and snacks on the players' diet aren't the tater-tots and chicken wings that were served to players who wanted to "bulk up" in the 1980s and 1990s, though. As regulatory groups crack down on the use of performance enhancing substances, the teams look to nutritionists to maximise their abilities. Protein filled snacks include peanut butter sandwiches and yogurt, while balanced dinners have options like roasted pork loin and baked cod with red pepper coulis, accompanied by sides like potatoes and salad.

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