Search Here

The University of Minnesota Gophers football team has helped its defensive tackle bulk up through a nutrtion program while Major League Baseball players are adjusting to boost Vitamin D level for better sleep.

Football players and baseball players are taking differwent approahces to nutrition to serve different needs. 

Defensive tackle Andrew Stelter, who weighed 240 pounds when he arrived at the University of Minnesota as college freshmen in 2014, hit his target weight of 288 pounds this spring, the Star Tribune reported. He says that with his 50-pound weight gain, he no longer gets pushed around by bigger offensive linemen.

 Stelter  underwent a specialized nutrition plan formulated by the Gophers full-time sports dietitian/nutritionist, Brittany Francis, consisting of a 7,000-calories-per-day diet to help him better cope with the demands of playing defensive tackle in the Big Ten. He needed 250 grams of protein daily, but his body couldn't absorb that number in just three meals, so gets three large snacks, as well.

Stelter made sure he had enough carbs in his system, eliminated junk food and ingested "as much fruits and vegetables as you can eat."

The Gophers hired Francis to manage what players eat and their weight gain, or weight loss. Francis, a former captain of the Gophers women's hockey team who earned her master's of science in nutrition, creates specific dietary plans for every player and educates them on nutrition to make sure they add good weight, not bad weight. She promotes safe weight gain that coincides with strength training in order to build muscle mass.

Over at the Major League Baseball, Pittsburgh Pirates closer Mark Melancon and Minnesota Twins right-hander are watching their Vitamin D level to promote better sleep efficiency, according to MLB.com.

Melancon and May use a web-based health platform called InsideTracker to measure hormone levels, glucose, cholesterol, vitamins and other key biomarkers that don't show up on a standard physical or blood test.

Melancon tweaked his diet based on what the data was telling him, most notably his Vitamin D levels, and participates in breathing drills and Pittsburgh's daily meditation in an effort to help keep his cortisol in check.

On the other hand, May started tracking his diet at last year's All-Star break and found out that his Vitamin D levels were alarmingly low. Vitamin D levels are affected by natural UV rays, so when May got that in check, his sleep efficiency rating -- which monitors times tossing and turning and the body's temperature -- started to improve. He's also cut back on sugar and is constantly monitoring his fat and carbohydrate ratio.