Have you ever wondered how we got from where we used to be to where we are today in terms of sport nutrition? We have. Sport nutrition and vending have been our livelihood for more than 20 years. Yet we can remember a day when sport nutrition was not nearly as popular as it is now. It causes us to wonder what happened.
We remember the days when snooker players appeared to be anything but healthy. Back in the 1980s, the biggest names like Alex Higgins and Jimmy White were not at all ashamed of their hard-partying ways. You could watch a match on television and see the best players in the world drinking and chain-smoking their way through the evening.
Today, snooker players embody the new sport nutrition paradigm. Rather than loading up on the drink and sucking on fags, they are more likely to slowly eat a vegan sandwich between shots. They are more likely to enjoy a flavoured water or a fruit smoothie. It is all about being healthier and more competitive.
We Started Learning About Food
We cannot quite put our finger on when the change began, but it seems as though the first hints were about the same time we started learning more about food. Think back to the 1970s and the amazing research into the dangers of tobacco.
But what we found out about tobacco use prompted researchers to start looking at food as well. From the late 1970s through until the early 1990s, food research was all the rage. Science was looking at everything from sugar to corn syrup and the cornucopia of preservatives in processed foods.
All of that research made us realise that our grandparents were not lying when they told us we are what we eat. We suddenly realised we were feeding ourselves with foods that were not as healthy as they should be. Somewhere during that time, people started making a concerted effort to change their eating habits.
Sport Nutrition Was Born
Our increased knowledge of food led to the birth of sport nutrition as a global industry. Athletes began changing their eating habits so they could be more competitive on the field or court. Suddenly footballers were healthy players. So were rugby players, tennis players, and even golfers.
What we see today in the snooker arena really embodies sport nutrition in the modern era. Snooker players do not have to be big, bulky, and super fit to perform at their maximum. It's not like they're lifting 500 pounds or participating in a full-contact sport. And yet, they still perform at their best when they are healthy.
Most of the people who buy sport nutrition products from our vending machines are similar. They aren't pro athletes competing for medals. They are regular people who just want to be healthier. They exercise regularly, they get plenty of sleep, and they are very careful about the foods they eat. That is good enough for us.
