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Think of yourself as an athlete and think about how athletes manage their food intake, writes Fiona Sutherland.

I was so pleased to see dancers being reminded about the importance of hydration and fuelling in tweets by Sports Dietitians Australia (@SportsDietAust) during the National Dancesport Championship held here in Melbourne. There is very strong evidence-based research about food and performance and dancers in that event who prepared themselves correctly with their nutrition would undoubtedly have performed better than those who didn’t.

So if dancers are considered athletes in the nutrition world, how do we approach energy and nutrient needs?

The energy dancers need varies enormously of course but, in general, increases with the level, time and intensity of your training. Males need more energy because they have more muscle mass than females. We sports dietitians use an equation to calculate the specific needs of a dancer but this is very complicated and rarely used in practice. And every day can be different.

As a guide, if you are maintaining a stable weight, have decent energy levels (most of the time), bounce back well from a tough day or are managing injuries as expected, you are meeting your overall energy needs. If you are tired most of the time, not recovering sufficiently from an injury or just not performing well, you might not be meeting your energy needs.

However, specific nutritional balance (for nutrients such as carbohydrate, protein, vitamins and minerals) can be a lot less variable, regardless of gender or level of performance. The amount you eat will vary, but I often make very similar recommendations about nutrient balance to many different dancers despite obvious physical differences.

So, what does this mean in terms of food? Compared to the general population, my opinion is that dancers need to eat foods that are going to help, not hinder them. Specifically, these foods are energy-giving grains (such as wholegrain bread and cereals, rice, pasta, quinoa, couscous, crackers and legumes), high quality proteins (such as fish, lean meats, legumes, eggs, nuts and seeds) as well as some good fats and oils from sources such as fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, avocado and olive oil.

And what about treats and higher kilojoule food? Fun food (whatever you call it) is just that, fun. It tastes good, but is often devoid of useful nutrients. I think this – the quality of what you eat – is the main factor to consider. For dancers who who rely on their bodies, fun foods are simply not useful to their performance. Too many people get caught up in the kilojoule content of food and don’t look at what the food actually contains. At the end of the day, at least 75 per cent of your diet (regardless of energy content) should be good quality; that is, less processed and nutrient rich. Some of that will need to include higher energy food (such as cheese, nuts or avocado) to meet your needs. So, in summary, first consider the quality of the foods you are choosing, then secondly their energy content.

Another hot topic among athletes is hydration. Being well hydrated is critical to your wellbeing and energy level. Dehydration most commonly causes low energy, headaches and difficulty concentrating or focussing.

In my experience, dancers (as many other athletes) are not always crash hot about drinking enough water. On an average day, you should be aiming for 35-45ml/kg/day – more if it’s hot or your classes are long or intense. The best guide is your urine, which should be pale as much of the time as possible.

Fuelling your body well is critical for optimal performance. Think about yourself as if you were an athlete. If you need additional support, a sports dietitian is the person to see (www.sportsdietitians.com.au).

This article was first published in Dance Australia magazine February/March 2013

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