In the spirit of the Vancouver/Whistler Winter Olympic Games we will focus this series of articles on how naturopathic medicine can support athletes to achieve their best. Whether you are a weekend warrior, amateur, professional, or Olympic athlete there are many ways naturopathic medicine can help improve performance, prevent injuries, and support recovery and overall health. Even if you are not an athlete you may still be curious to see many of the medical treatments competitive athletes use to prepare for competitions like the Olympics.

Before we get into the naturopathic treatments that can benefit athletes let’s take a look at some of the most significant health factors for athletic performance. These are the aspects of health that need to be in place for any athlete to be able to train for competition and perform at their best. These are, in fact, the therapeutic targets for naturopathic treatments.

Nutrition and Fuel

Food becomes the fuel athletes use to perform. Food also contains the nutrients the body needs to recover from training and rebuild its structure. What an athlete eats and how that food is digested and absorbed is critical to their achievement. It is not only important to consume healthy foods during training but to also ensure those foods are being handled well by the body. In next week’s article we will look at some of the most important dietary concepts for athletes, examine various forms of supplementation, and give practical nutritional tips for athletes looking to improve performance and recovery.

Physical Structure

The muscles, bones, ligaments, and various connective tissues make up the physical structure of the body. In order to achieve top performance they all need to be in good shape. Sure, we hear about athletes playing through injury and pain but there is no doubt that in most cases the condition of the physical body greatly impacts overall performance. In 2 weeks we will look at many of the naturopathic treatments designed to support the physical structures of the body. These techniques can not only help athletes build their physical body prior to competition but also prevent injuries that could otherwise stop them from competing.

Preventing Illness

All athletes have an on-season and an off-season. All athletes must train differently depending on which season they are in and at which point of the season they are in. Among the major hurdles that prevent optimal performance is illness and infection. Whether these happen during training or competition they can significantly hamper an athlete. Due to the high level of training many athletes endure there is a significant risk of immune system weaknesses. In 3 weeks we will examine the naturopathic approach to keeping athletes healthy and infection free not only during training but also during competition.

Mental, Emotional, Spiritual

You cannot separate the physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual aspects of a human being. If any of these is ill the others will be affected. Far too often we focus on the physical part of training and athletics and neglect the mental, emotional, and spiritual components. These are not only vital during training but also on competition days. How many times have we seen the best physical athlete lose to someone else who was more prepared from the other angles? The final article of the series will focus on naturopathic treatments that support the mental, emotional, and spiritual side of athletic performance.

Whether you are a recreational competitor, an aspiring professional, or an Olympian this series of articles will help you prepare better for your athletic endeavours. Even if you are not an athlete you will learn many of the behind the scenes recipes for success used by many of the future medalists at the Winter Olympics.