Healthy Athletes Are Also Heat Smart

By Dr. Lucie

Healthy Athletes Are Also At Risk to Heat Related Illness

Heat related illness can occur when a person does not take the necessary precautions against the heat.

Nutrition is defined as the process of food intake and utilizing food sources.  Nutrition is important for maintaining the body’s proper physiological functions, growth, and avoiding disease.  A proper diet can help prevent illnesses including by not limited to certain cancers, diabetes, liver disease, and cardiovascular disease.

Fad diets are dangerous and they don’t provide long lasting weight loss.  Fad diets make promises they cannot live up to, or are dangerous to general health and well being..  You may lose a larger amount of weight quickly, but it is usually water weight  or creates a state of malnutrition in the body..  That weight  lost will also most likely come back relatively quickly at the cessation of the diet.

Fad diets such as the “cabbage soup” diet and lemonade diet are missing key elements to good nutrition.  The lemonade diet is simply missing everything.  These diets will commonly leave its users ravenous to a point they breakdown and gorge on anything they can find.

Living in Florida and playing sports in the hot weather can certainly be a challenge. It is important to hydrate before, during and after a practice or competition.  To learn more about sports drinks vs water for hydration, please read this article.

To learn more about heat related illness, please read this article by Dr. Yorio. 

This article by Dr. Lucie spotlights some of the concerns that parents may have when it comes to their athletes and heat related illness.

JOI Rehab

Whether you are suffering from heat related illness, joint pain, or injuries resulting from any type of activity, JOI has 12 physical therapy clinics conveniently located in Jacksonville and Northeast FL who specialize in orthopedic rehab.  JOI athletic trainers cover several high schools, colleges and recreational events in the North Florida Area.

If you are interested in scheduling an appointment at JOI Rehab for physical therapy, call (904) 858-7045. Come see us!