By By SPIROS GALLOS
Niles Daily Star
NILES - Wrestlers and parents at Brandywine Middle-High School received some lessons not learned in the classroom or on the wrestling mat.
As part of a program required by the Michigan High School Athletic Association, about 40 students and their parents met in the school choir room to learn about healthy nutrition Wednesday night.
Brandywine food services director Margie Skinner organized the hour-long program with the help of her niece, Bonnie Prenkert, a first grade teacher at Ballard Elementary School and also a registered nurse.
The nutrition program at Brandywine is quite different from other high schools in the area, Skinner said.
The first half of the nutrition education consisted of Prenkert teaching the students and their parents about proper ways to lose and maintain weight, as well as the dangers of dehydration, a condition many wrestlers suffer from, Prenkert said.
After Prenkert's presentation, the wrestlers played "Nutrition Jeopardy," where they answered questions about nutrition for points which they could later redeem for t-shirts, and cardboard cutouts of Brett Favre, which seemed to be a hot item among many of the game's players.
Prenkert warned the wrestlers of the serious damage caused by common practices wrestlers undergo to "make weight" for matches.
Quick weight loss methods Prenkert had seen over time included athletes starving themselves, wearing plastic sweatsuits, wearing multiple layers of clothing, sitting in saunas, running right before matches, using laxatives, and spitting in cups.
Those seven methods cause wrestlers to dehydrate themselves, which can lead to serious problems, including death.
Prenkert told wrestlers in order to avoid dehydration, they need to drink four eight ounce glasses of water every time before exercising.
In an effort to get the students on the path to good nutrition, Prenkert told them to always be aware of the food they're eating.
Prenkert also told the wrestlers the two most important things they can do to stay in top shape is to eat breakfast every morning and to drink water as often as possible.
Wrestlers can also optimize their performance at meets by following some other guidelines Prenkert offered.
Fifteen minutes prior to a match, wrestlers should drink at least 12 ounces of fluid, and take in 16 to 24 ounces of water for every pound lost. Wrestlers were also discouraged from trying new foods or energy bars before a match because it will confuse the body, Prenkert said.
At the conclusion of the presentation, Prenkert told the wrestlers to use Skinner as a resource for any questions they had about nutrition.
The school has made changes to the menu in recent years in an effort to get the entire student body to eat healthier, Skinner said.
Foods are no longer deep fried at the school, everything is baked. Students are encouraged to eat salads and fruits.
Low sugar smoothies and low or non-fat milk is available as an alternative to pop and fruit juices, which are high in sugars.
The cafeteria will even make each wrestler a chef salad and save it for his or her lunch period to ensure they have a good meal.
Varsity wrestling coach Rex Pomranka feels the program is important to the health of the athletes.
Bonnie does the service as a favor to Skinner and because she feels the training is necessary. She also hopes the program will teach the students how to reach and maintain their desired weight throughout the season, as opposed to crash dieting and starving themselves to make weight before a match.