Sports Inspires Healthier Eating Habits in Kids

Have you ever manipulated, begged, or threatened your kids to get them to eat their vegetables?

How did that go? Chances are…not well. But don’t lose hope. There are ways to entice kids to eat their vegetables and adopt healthy habits that don’t require threats or even melting cheese on top of everything.

You might be surprised to learn that one of the best ways to interest kids in eating healthy is through sports. 

Don’t see the correlation? Let’s talk about it. 

Sports Make Kids More Well-Rounded & Teach Healthy Habits

While the focus in school is understandably academics, sports have the potential to form more well-rounded kids overall, teaching them the importance of teamwork, sacrifice, and delayed gratification.

Naturally, sports can help keep kids physically strong and healthy, but playing sports also contributes to their mental and emotional well-being. With so many young people reportedly struggling with depression and anxiety, sports help to provide a feeling of belonging, community, and confidence. Statistics show that kids who participate in organized sports are less likely to experience anxiety and depression, exhibit lower levels of stress, have higher self-esteem/self-confidence, and are less likely to contemplate suicide. 

Students who participate in sports also benefit from learning life skills, such as mental visualization, strength and conditioning, and healthy diet and nutrition habits. While these habits are initially intended to bolster physical sports performance, kids are learning skills that will benefit them throughout their life. 

Eat (And Drink) To Win

Back in the day, Popeye flexed his biceps and showed kids how big they bulged, and how strong he got when he ate his spinach. Today, athletic endeavors can motivate us to “eat to win.” 

If your child plays sports, you have a more willing participant in their own health, if only from the perspective of improving performance. Emphasizing sports performance makes it easier to teach them how to choose healthier versions of their favorite foods, the importance of cutting down on sugar, eliminating processed foods, and drinking pure water rather than soda or so-called “sports drinks” that are loaded with sugar and toxic chemicals.

Beverages are a good place to start. If we had to rank beverages from best to worst, it would look like this:

1. Clean, purified water
2. Whole fruit juice (not commercial juices stripped of valuable fiber)
3. Sports drinks with electrolyte replacement
4. Soda

What about electrolytes, you might be thinking? Most adults will not require electrolyte replacement until they’ve participated in at least 90 minutes of continuous, high-intensity activity. Children, however, require optimal nutrient levels to support growing bodies while also meeting the demands of rigorous exercise. 

But instead of surgery sports drinks, adding some liquid minerals, just a couple of drops to a bottle of water, is all that’s needed to replenish what the average child loses through sweat and exertion during physical activity – and the minerals are tasteless.

Ancient Earth Liquid Minerals from Body Ecology is an electrolyte-rich formula that contains a complete blend of micro/macro minerals, and amino acids. It provides support for the adrenal glands, thyroid, and immune system to support the whole body during physical activity. 

Exercise & The Gut Microbiome Connection 

There is evidence to suggest that prolonged participation in endurance exercise at high intensity, may alter the gut microbiome. A 2017 review in The Journal of Sport and Health found the demands of intense exercise affected changes in skeletal muscle and human organ systems.

Children are not immune. High school age children can spend a good deal of time in practice and on game day, clocking long hours of training, so they would benefit from gastrointestinal support. 

Researchers found adaptations to exercise might be influenced by the gut microbiota, which in part, regulates production, storage, and expenditure of energy obtained from food. This should be more than enough motivation to take a good probiotic. 

For kids participating in cross country, soccer, and other prolonged, endurance-centered activities, supplementing with quality probiotics to support the microbiome under strenuous conditions, just makes sense. 

But many kids can’t or won’t swallow pills. That’s why a splash of Cocobiotic from Body Ecology in a water bottle is a great alternative to probiotic capsules. Cocobiotic provides protection from potential detrimental effects to the GI tract induced by periods of prolonged, intense, exercise. 

Just add a splash of Cocobiotic to your child’s water bottle before his/her event, and teach them the benefits of supporting the gut microbiota, focusing on increased energy, improved recovery, and helping to maximize the nutrients obtained from the healthy food they eat.

Supporting balanced energy with a liquid mineral supplement is easy. Supporting the GI tract by drinking liquid, fermented probiotics, also takes minimal effort. But what about protein for muscular strength and endurance? 

That’s where Body Ecology’s Probiotic Protein Shake shines. This two in one formula provides 15 grams of plant protein along with probiotics like Bacillus bacteria (which has been shown to help heal leaky gut.) It contains vegan fatty acids, fiber, and sea minerals along with balanced greens and antioxidants.

Health On The Go

Early mornings and busy sports schedules means a lot of kids have to figure out how to eat healthy on-the-go.

Mix Body Ecology Probiotic Protein Shake with unsweetened gluten-free oat milk, unsweetened Good KarmaⓇ flax milk, or unsweetened RippleⓇ a pea protein milk, add ice if desired, and blend for a healthy, post-workout recovery drink. Or, send your child to school with a blender bottle containing just a scoop of the Probiotic Protein Shake powder, a scoop of Super Spirulina Plus, and open a capsule of Ancient Earth Minerals and add to the shake. At school add water and shake for a healthy school lunch alternative or pre-workout snack.

While you probably don’t need it, if you have a super-sweet tooth you can add a bit more sweetness by adding Body Ecology’s, BE Sweet Powder Sweetener made from a natural blend of three of the safest and most delicious sugar substitutes -with no aftertaste. BE Sweet is a perfect blend of monk fruit, stevia, and allulose that adds just the right amount of sweetness.

You don’t have to invest in a team of specialists to support your young athlete. Give their bodies what they need to thrive and emphasize the return they are getting by investing in themselves. The diet strategies they learn will give them a competitive edge while setting them up for a lifetime of healthy habits. 

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