PIERRE - Beef continues to lead the way as a top protein performance food product by providing all 9 essential amino acids; creating that perfect base in which to build and repair muscle.
The South Dakota Beef Checkoff expanded on this message with a recent visit from Dr. Mike Roussell. Roussell, who serves on the Men's Health advisory board, and is known for transforming complex nutritional concepts into practical nutritional habits, provided insight on the power of protein at two recent events in states.
Dr. Roussell began his South Dakota journey with a presentation to South Dakota State University's student athletes on March 26th in Brookings, SD. The nutrition focused presentation shared tips to help enhance athletic performance including recommendations on amounts and timing of protein and carbohydrate combined foods for repair and recovery purposes. He also discussed the value of consuming high-quality protein like beef in the diet and many of beef's nutritional benefits.
"Dr. Roussell provided science-based information regarding why high-quality protein, like beef, is important in an athlete's diet," stated Holly Swee, South Dakota Beef Industry Council's Director of Nutrition and Consumer Information. "This helps the students understand the science and reason behind it. He shared practical meal planning tips to incorporate in their daily lives. Getting student athletes to make basic, easy changes can ultimately help them both on the field and in the classroom. We want the students to learn life-long nutritional habits."
Dr. Roussell followed this with a similar presentation to high school athletic directors at the South Dakota Interscholastic Athletic Administration Association's conference on March 28 in Deadwood, SD.
South Dakota Beef Industry Council's Executive Director, Suzy Geppert and Holly Swee also used this venue to share the development of the Build Your Base with Beef program designed for high school athletes. This program is currently being developed through a partnership with Sanford Health, Sanford Sports Science Institute, and the South Dakota Beef Industry Council and will be provided this fall to 10 select schools as a pilot program.
