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Dancers And Hydration

February 28, 2012 by 4dancers

Dancers sweat. They sweat and they work their bodies for long periods of time–much like other athletes.

Enter hydration. Keeping your body properly hydrated is important as a dancer. Today we have Emily Harrison, MS, RD, LD with us to take a closer look at this key subject….

Emily Harrison, MS, RD, LD, Photo by Kim Kenney

Hydration

Even mild dehydration can affect performance.  Staying hydrated is extremely important to a dancer’s performance because the first signs of dehydration are fatigue and poor balance.  Thirst actually only kicks in after the body has lost 1-2 liters of water. If you are thirsty then you are already dehydrated.

The science:

Water makes up approximately 60% of body weight and is the largest component of the human body.  The muscles we work so hard to develop as dancers (skeletal muscles) are about 73% water, your blood is about 93% water and even bones and teeth have some water. Water is critical for maintaining homeostasis within the body and is important in the thousands of biochemical and physiological functions our body goes through every day. Water aids in digestion and is important in the transport and elimination systems of the body.

Overheating and performance:

It’s important for dancers to know that being properly hydrated helps keep the body from overheating. Helping the body promote heat loss when dancing full out will improve athletic performance and aid in recovery. This is especially important for dancers wearing hot costumes and performing under stage lights. Sweat losses during performance can be significantly more than during rehearsal of the same piece. This is why drinking regularly (even small, regular sips) is an important habit during a show.

How much is really needed? Can a dancer get fluids from other things besides water? [Read more…]

Filed Under: 4dancers, Nutrition Tagged With: dancer hydration, dancers, emily harrison, fluids for dancers, hydration, nutrition for dancers

Nutrition For The Dancer: Emily’s Apple And Pumpkin Oatcakes

February 14, 2012 by 4dancers

Today I’d like to introduce Emily Harrison, who is sharing a great healthy recipe with us here at 4dancers, as well as talking a bit about nutrition. Part of our health/wellness focus for the month of February. I haven’t had a chance to make the recipe yet, but it sounds delicious and I can’t wait to try it!

Emily Harrison, MS, RD, LD, Photo by Kim Kenney

I am thrilled to be guest blogging with  4dancers.org. As a former professional dancer I learned early on in my career how important nutrition was to my performance. Now as the dancers dietitian, I work with dancers to help them be at their best with fewer injuries.

Nutrition is a complicated science, but if I had to only give one piece of advice it would have to be: “eat breakfast”. I know you all have heard this before, but you can’t minimize the importance of literally breaking the fasting state with a good source of complex carbohydrates.

Carbs have gotten a bad rap in recent years. But in fact carbs are the body’s preferred source of fuel for athletic activity. Complex carbs in whole grains, vegetables, and fruits give the muscles a prolonged source of energy that is critical in the type of start-stop activity we do as dancers. Whole grains are important sources of fiber, B-vitamins, iron, and folate. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that athletes get 55-60% of their total calories from carbohydrates. Carbs can be found in whole grain pasta, bread, rice, quinoa, barley, all vegetables and all fruits. How can something like that be unhealthy? Sure we want to avoid simple sugars in sweets, juices, soda, refined grains, and baked goods. Those kind of carbs won’t give you enough energy to get through tendus in class. But have three of my oatcakes for breakfast and dance strong all the way through grande allegro.

This recipe has become a favorite of the dancers that I do food demos for. In fact the dancers from Atlanta Ballet’s summer program loved them so much that they set off the fire alarms in the dorms making them the next day: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Nutrition, Recipes/Snacks Tagged With: atlanta ballet, boston ballet II, boston ballet school, center for dance education, dancers dietitian, dancers nutrition, emily harrison, nutrition for dancers

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