How Food Sensitivities/Intolerances Greatly Affect Athletic Performance

What is Food Intolerance/Sensitivity?

A person with a food intolerance has difficulty digesting that certain food.

This impairment may be due to a lack of digestive enzymes or a sensitivity to certain chemicals and when that happens, IgG bodies are produced and deposited in tissues causing chronic inflammation that appears in 'delayed-onset' symptoms, which can occur several hours or days after certain foods are consumed.

Symptoms include:

• Anxiety

• Brain Fog

• Depression

• IBS

• Headaches/Migraines

• Fatigue

• Hypertension

• Eczema

• Asthma

• Joint Paint

• Chronic Rhinitis

• Arthritis

• Weight Problems

• Fibromyalgia

Unfortunately athletes are more susceptible to symptoms of food sensitivities because the amount of stress they put in their bodies from training will strain their immune system making it harder for their body to deal with foods that are causing inflammation.

How do these symptoms affect their game?

• Increased inflammation results in muscle soreness and slows down recovery time

• Increases stress on their body leading to fatigue as the body needs more rest

• Prevents nutrients from being fully absorbed (again more fatigue/slower recovery)

• Weakens the immune system (easier to get sick after strenuous workouts)

• Cause weight gain (increased cortisol and bloating)

• Increases cravings for sugar & carbs causing blood sugar imbalance (more fatigue/slower recovery/brain fog)

• Lack of focus, accuracy in their play

• Decreased strength (as the absorption of protein and other crucial nutrients greatly decrease)

• Dehydration (decreased mineral absorption)

It's not about eating 'healthy', it's about eating the RIGHT foods for YOUR body.

You could be harming yourself and your hockey career by eating the 'healthy' foods that everyone suggests but you won't know until you do an intolerance test.

What would it mean to you to be at your top performance? Is it worth figuring it out?

Let me know.