The Dairy Council for Northern Ireland hosted a sports nutrition seminar on the evening of Tuesday 16th October at W5, Odyssey, Belfast.
The audience of coaches, PE teachers, sports dietitians and nutritionists heard about the inspiring career of Britain’s most successful female Paralympian, Dame Sarah Storey, along with her perspective on sports nutrition.
This year’s seminar also featured presentations from Kathryn Stewart, Dietitian and Sports Nutritionist, who addressed the nutrition challenges faced at the non–stop ‘Race Around Ireland’ ultra–cycling event and Performance Nutritionist Lauren Delany from British Cycling. In addition to working with track sprint, BMX and the Paracycling programme at British Cycling, Lauren is also an accomplished sports person in her own right having recently been selected on the Irish Women’s Rugby XV squad for the 2018 Autumn Internationals.
Commenting at the event Dame Sarah said,
“I hope my nutrition legacy for the next generation of young athletes will be to pass on a healthy relationship with food; no fads, nothing banned. My aim is to very much encourage young people to eat with a focus on performance rather than image.”
The audience also heard from Dr Oliver Witard, Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Metabolism at University of Stirling who presented his research on protein for muscle recovery in athletes and discussed the differences between protein from dairy, meat, fish and plants for maximising muscle adaptation to exercise. The Seminar was chaired by Dr Sharon Madigan, Head of Performance Nutrition at Sport Ireland Institute.
Dr Carole Lowis, Nutritionist with the Dairy Council commented,
“It was insightful to hear first–hand the nutrition science combined with the practical experiences of the speakers at this year’s seminar. As an athlete who has won World and Paralympic Gold medals for her country across two sports, swimming and cycling, Dame Sarah’s experience of performance nutrition brought a unique perspective to the event.”
The ‘Milk It’ Seminar was one of a series orgainised by the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland for sports nutrition professionals. These highlight the latest sports nutrition research and its practical application, including the science behind the potential role of milk in sport. Top athletes and performance nutritionists also share their experiences of the nutritional challenges faced by athletes in a variety of sports.
Nutrition and Health Professionals can view this year’s presentations here.
Pictured L to R: Lauren Delany, Dr Oliver Witard, Dame Sarah Storey, Dr Sharon Madigan Kathryn Stewart, Dr Carole Lowis