The ABCs Of Nutrition And The Immune, Inflammatory And Injury Processes Of Athletes Webinar

The immune system, inflammatory response and injury process are inextricably linked and play a collective role in maintaining the health of athletes and active individuals of all levels. Challenges to normal immune system competence include factors such as heavy exercise training designed to enhance performance, nutritional deficits and the physiological, metabolic, and psychological stress associated with competition. What’s more, negative outcomes that include inflammation, oxidative stress, and muscle damage can also arise in this population and carry an increased risk of injury, inadequate recovery from exercise, impaired athletic performance and weakened protection from illness or infection. With regard to athlete care, there are many misperceptions about the compounds, nutrients, foods and beverages and eating patterns that can help or hinder these processes. Thus, this webinar will review the nutritional strategies that may enhance proper immune function, mitigate the physiological stress from training, support the recovery process and provide key nutrients that prevent damage to or facilitate refortification of bone or tissue. Nutritional strategies will be addressed, including those making use of dairy foods and beverages, as well as other approaches that ensure proper energy balance and macronutrient distribution, adequate intake of micronutrients and inclusion of functional nutrients or compounds. To help athletic trainers recognize nutritional shortfalls, prevent injury and illness, support recovery and foster wellness promotion among their athletes, the scientific literature, current guidelines and best practices for the role of nutrition in the immune, inflammatory and injury processes will be presented.