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As a sports nutritionist who works with professional and competitive athletes, including tennis players, I’m always on the lookout for tips and tricks that give my clients an edge. An in my 10-plus years of practice, not a week goes by that we don’t learn more about how particular foods and nutrients help the body operate like a well-oiled machine. Each one of your body’s 100 trillion cells relies solely on what you eat and drink to fuel your performance and help you recover. And while sports nutrition isn’t an exact science, there are plenty of tried and true techniques every tennis player should know.

The 20 Things You Need to Know About Nutrition

10. Alcohol May Weaken Muscle
Recent research in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport found that alcohol accelerates post-exercise muscle loss. Healthy males engaged in strength training followed by a cocktail—either vodka and orange juice or OJ alone. Vodka didn’t trigger more soreness, but did impact a loss of muscle strength by as much as 40 percent. Alcohol has also been shown to interfere with replenishing glycogen, your body’s carbohydrate ‘piggy bank’ after exercise, which leads to a lack of endurance the next day. In one study when carbs were displaced by alcohol, glycogen stores plummeted by 50 percent, even eight hours later.

More:

1. Your Diet Impacts Your Brain Function
2. The Right Breakfast Fights Hunger All Day
3. Food Can Fight Pain
4. Don't Run on Empty
5. Sleep Matters ... A Lot
6. Omega-3s Are Beyond Essential
7. Milk Does More Than Double Duty
8. Don't Get Fooled by the Afterburn Myth
9. Organic Food is Worth the Extra Money
10. Alcohol May Weaken Muscle
11. Relying on the Sun for Vitamin D May Be a Mistake
12. Spices are a Secret Weapon
13. Chocolate is a Key Superfood
14. Buyer Beware When it Comes to Supplements
15. A Little Vitamin C Makes a Big Difference
16. Variety Trumps Quantity for Fruits & Veggies
17. Drinking Water May Help You Lose Weight
18. Bacteria Are Critical to Your Health
19. Calcium Isn't Just for Strong Bones
20. Let an Expert Personalize Your Plan

Originally published in the January/February 2012 issue of TENNIS.