Put Spring in Your Sport with the Power of Nutrition

March is National Nutrition Month® and the 2026 theme is: Discover the Power of Nutrition. This spring, try refreshing your insight on how food can help your game bloom. From the most casual rec player to the budding pro, balanced nutrition really does have the power to give us that winning edge.

How Food Can Germinate Better Athletes

Eating well doesn’t just shape how you look in your athletic wear. A nutrient-dense eating plan can:

• Supply energy for your body and brain to fuel you through those epic rallies.

• Sprout muscle growth to build strength and avoid injury.

• Speed muscle recovery, so you can concentrate on your shots, not your soreness.

• Support brain health to help you remember the score.

• Provide adequate hydration to avoid cramping and keep all your systems flowing.

• Boost your immune system, allowing more well days on the court.

Adding all these things up, it’s clear that well-planned nutrition can powerfully impact your game.

What Your Game Needs This Spring: All the Macros

The term “macros” (short for macronutrients) gets volleyed around a lot, but what are they, and what do they do for us exactly?

Macronutrients include protein, fat, and carbohydrates. They are the components in food that we use to make the energy needed to beat our hearts, breathe in and out, use our brains, and play pickleball with our buddies. Aside from fueling our games, macros do many other things for athletes.

Protein should make up 10 to 35 percent of calories we get from food. It’s needed to make enzymes, hormones, and to repair every single cell in our bodies, including the ones in muscles that we use to body-bag opponents.

Best shots: low-fat dairy, lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, quinoa, beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds.

Fat should make up 20 to 35 percent of calories we get from food. We need fat to cushion our organs, fight inflammation around joints, help us absorb nutrients into our bodies, and provide structure to our cells.

Best shots: foods high in healthy fats like salmon, sardines, walnuts, olive oil, avocado oil, chia seeds, and flaxseed meal.

Carbohydrates should make up 45 to 65 percent of calories we get from food. Did you know that fiber is a type of carbohydrate? So not only do carbs provide the immediate energy our brains and bodies need for fast hands, they also support healthy digestion and feed our gut microbiome.

Best shots: whole grains like oats, brown rice, and wheat, and whole fruits and vegetables like berries, apples, pears, jicama, bananas, citrus fruit, artichokes, avocado, and asparagus.

Spring for Micronutrients

Of course, we also need micronutrients, which are all the vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that benefit our bodies. While we often associate vitamins with single, specific roles, the truth is that each one is essential for dozens of functions.

For example, you may link vitamin C to warding away illnesses, but C is also important for wound healing, collagen formation, iron absorption, nerve function, antioxidant protection, and much more.

The same is true for all micronutrients, which is why it’s recommended that we eat a wide variety of whole foods each day. And by choosing fruits and vegetables that are in season, you’ll have the best chance at getting the freshest, most micronutrient-dense foods available.

Ripe spring produce includes fruits such as apricots, avocado, cherries, pineapple, and strawberries, along with artichokes, leafy greens like spinach and kale, asparagus, peas, carrots, cabbage, broccoli, mushrooms, and onions.

Now go give your body what it needs to play your best game this spring. See you on the sunshiny courts, pickleball friends! •

Mediterranean Flatbread Pizza

Pizza can be a fast, nutrient-dense meal that you can rally together after a long day of play. This recipe is topped with my own tangy-flavored favorites, but you can make it your own using any pre-cooked toppings you like.

Ingredients:

1 piece whole wheat flatbread of choice (lavash, pita, or naan)

1-2 teaspoons olive oil

⅓ cup of ricotta cheese, pizza sauce, or pesto

¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

½ cup chicken breast, cooked and shredded

½ cup baby spinach, roughly chopped

¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil

½ cup marinated artichoke hearts, chopped

5 Kalamata olives, sliced

⅓ cup julienne-cut sun-dried tomatoes

Directions:

Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat to 400°F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the flatbread “crust” on the parchment. Drizzle then brush the olive oil evenly over the bread. Spread sauce of choice over the olive oil. Sprinkle Italian seasoning over sauce. Sprinkle the remaining ingredients evenly over the pizza crust, ending with the feta cheese.

Switch the preheated oven to the broil setting. Place pizza on the center rack, and broil until cheese is melting and the outer crust begins to darken, about 2-4 minutes. Slice and enjoy!

Serves two: 450-620 calories; 25-28g protein.

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Brandi Givens has been a registered dietitian since 2010, and earned a personal trainer certification in 2024. Questions can be posted to her blog at brandigivensrd.com.

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