Was one of your New Yearís resolutions to improve your training diet?  If so the internet can be a great resource....that is if you know what to look for.  People are getting online for just about everything, and believe me - there is no shortage of nutrition information on the web!  Just typing in "nutrition" into any search engine is bound to provide you with a plethora of pages to be sifted through.  But when it comes to the internet, anything goes - and faulty or bogus nutrition information is as common, if not more so, than sound nutrition advice.  So below are a few web pages I've come across that have concise, sound and helpful sports nutrition information.  I also threw in a page with tons of great recipes so next time you ask "what should I have for dinner?" you'll know where to look!

www.dietsite.com
 Did you eat enough protein yesterday?  Along with great sports nutrition information, this site has a built in diet analysis program that will analyze a whole day, one meal, or a single food item.  You can also become a member of this site for free and keep a diet diary to monitor changes and improvements in your diet.

www.runnersworld.com/nutrition
 Don't let the name scare you off - this site is not just for runners!  Every month in Runner's World magazine, Liz Applegate, a well known sports nutritionist, writes fantastic nutrition articles about everything from sports drinks to supplements to pre-event nutrition.  The information is easy to understand and very helpful to athletes of all types.

www.sportsci.org
 Once you get on this site, click on "CompEat".  There you will find some interesting sports nutrition articles by Louise Burke, another well known sports nutritionist who works with Olympic level athletes.  These articles are slightly more advanced than the Runner's World articles, but helpful nonetheless.  Especially helpful are the articles about carbohydrate and performance - check them out and see what you think.

www.gssiweb.com
 This is the official Gatorade Sports Science page and it is geared toward nutrition and health professionals.  Still, if you feel you have the nutrition basics down pat and are looking for more in depth information, this is a great place to go.

www.MealsForYou.com
 Who needs cookbooks when there are web pages like this!  Type in a specific recipe, a specific ingredient or a specific amount of carbohydrates you want to consume in your next meal...there are hundreds of great recipes ready to go.  And the nutrition information is right there along side each recipe so you can tell the healthy from the not so healthy fairly easily.

 This should give you a good place to start!  If you get sidetracked (which is so very easy to do when surfing) just remember, there is a lot of bad nutrition information on the internet.  Be wary of sites that look scientific and professional, but are actually trying to sell you something.  If you come across a page you are not sure about just email me at plh@u.arizona.edu.  I'll check out the site and let you know what I think!  Happy New Year! - Paige Holm, R.D.