A need to build better athletes

Nutrition is one of the biggest battlegrounds on which Filipino athletes have been losing. Due to relatively low allowances and the need to support growing families, many of the country’s national athletes often content themselves with a menu of instant noodles, processed food and meager rations. This is a double-edged sword, as athletes face the stress of needing to earn more while consuming lower quality of nutrition than their competitors in other countries. The Philippines also loses a palpable number of athletes to economic challenges, as they inevitably have to find a way to support themselves and their loved ones. 

There are, however, a growing number of known athletes who have found one way to solve both problems at the same time. Among them are women’s world pool champion Rubilen Amit, Philippine Azkals Chieffy Caligdong, Misagh Bahadoran and Simon Greatwich, World Cup bowler Biboy Rivera, PBA All-Stars LA Tenorio, PJ Simon, JC Intal and Tony dela Cruz, taekwondo Olympian Japoy Lizardo and world poomsae champion Janice Lagman, tennis internationalist PJ Tierro, race car driver Gaby dela Merced, and volleyball champions Alyssa Valdez and Rachel Anne Daquis. 

“Filipino athletes often have so much adversity to overcome, and not just on the playing field,” explains Aurora “Duday” Gaston, regional general manager of USANA Philippines and Indonesia. “Unlike in other countries, our athletes sometimes struggle with their nutrition needs to stay competitive. We are happy to help them in any way we can, particularly since many of them have already been using our health and nutrition products.”

Gaston runs the 13th of 19 international offices of USANA worldwide, and has shepherded its growth since it opened in 2009. Duday is the wife of PBA legend Fritz Gaston, who also won two NCAA men’s basketball championships in the late 1970’s. That may be another reason behind her impressive record in gaining the trust of many world-class Filipino athletes. 

“There has to be a better way to help our athletes,” insists Fritz, point guard of Ateneo’s back-to-back NCAA champion teams in 1976 and 1977. “Budgets to support our athletes change every so often, policies change depending on who is in charge. I think it’s time for a Department of Sports, so the government can firmly help those in the private sector who are already helping our athletes bring more honor to the country.”

Since multilevel marketing came to the Philippines roughly 20 years ago, Filipinos have shown a natural ability to earn stable, independent incomes. With their natural ability to connect with others, and of course, tens of millions of overseas Filipino workers, Filipinos have a ready market for whatever products are in the pipeline. USANA is no exception. Like other nutrition companies fueled by independent distributors, the company now has Filipinos among those bringing in the biggest monthly volumes and earning staggering pay checks within surprisingly short periods of time. For athletes and their families, the additional income is a welcome benefit, since they know that the career of a pro athlete can be painfully short, and national athletes don’t earn big money that pro basketball players or boxers do. Though most athletes are too busy to pursue direct marketing of any products, they often share their experience with their teammates and family members in an effort to make them healthier. 

The impact of the products on competitive athletes is almost immediate, helping their protein intake, maintain their high nutrition levels and eventually even helping them sleep better. For those who compete in events where keeping weight is critical, like former WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, products like Nutrimeal are a big help. If you’ve ever been a competitive athlete at any level, you know how travel and time differences make it very difficult to always have access to the best food on the road. Between practice and tournaments, athletes don’t have time to cook, either. Olympic champion swimmer Tyler McGill needed supplements to help him recover after burning thousands of calories in the pool every day.

Athletes can’t control where they have to travel to for competition, either. In remote places in Europe and Asia where the food preparation is suspect and meals are not compatible with a Filipino diet, many national teams bring canned food, dried fish and sardines, not exactly a championship diet plan, but necessary since there may not even be a decent market to buy fresh produce from. Even the generic vitamins sold in drug stores may not be enough for the escalated needs of international athletes. The solution is really to bring supplements that you know are scientifically designed to help you perform at your best regardless of the external conditions.

“That is our mission with the USANA Athlete Program and Team USANA Pilipinas,” Duday Gaston adds. “These athletes inspire so many people, and we want help take care of their health and well-being. Today’s lifestyle makes it hard to maintain a healthy diet, even for those who aren’t athletes. We aim to drive the well-being and competitiveness not only of the Filipino athlete, but every Filipino who is striving to succeed in his or her field.”