Plain speaking at sport health, cyber safety talk

"It's all very well to puff out your six-pack chest when taking steroids, but you probably don't want to tell people that you're constipated all the time."

Dr Pat Hickey wasn't pulling any medical punches when he spoke to young Kilcullen sportspeople and parents at the recent GAA-sponsored evening on Sports Health and Safe Digital Practices, writes Brian Byrne.

But he was also very positive when dealing with nutrition and training for those youngsters who want a good experience in sport.

Dr Hickey worked through a number of headings related to nutrition and training matters, aimed at helping young sports people make an informed choice about what they ate and used in their athletics pursuits.

He noted that different sports required different dietary regimes, but all were built around carbohydrates, protein, and micro-nutrients like vitamins and minerals.

He said he wasn't there to speak against supplements, but it was a fact that nobody needed to take tablet supplements to get the vitamins they needed. "Supplements don't really work any better than what is easily available naturally," he said.

And on items such as 'sport drinks', he suggested that cheap alternatives such as a glass of milk provide just as much as the 'highly promoted and packaged' drinks. What was important was that those involved in sports should be taking enough fluids to make sure they didn't get dehydrated.

"If you actually get to the stage where you feel thirsty, then you are already dehydrated," he noted.

In addition to Dr Hickey from the Kilcullen Family Practice, the speakers were Liam Cronin from Microsoft, and Garda Dave Prendergast from the force's Juvenile Liaison service.

Pictured are Garda Dave Prendergast, Liam Cronin, Jim Buckley of Kilcullen GAA Juvenile division, Dr Paul Hickey, and Catherine Moynihan, Principal of CPC.