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Dak Prescott.Michael Owen Baker/AP
- The Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott eats a lot of carbs before his football games.
- Prescott said he favors hash browns and pasta with marinara sauce as a pregame meal.
The Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has a high-carb approach to his game-day meal plan.
Prescott told Insider he's refined his approach to food over the course of his career. He's stopped eating fast food in the past few years ("As I've gotten older, I continue to get better with my diet"), and he eats plenty more greens.
These days, carbs are the star of the plate before he plays.
"It depends on what time the game is, but it's either breakfast and I'm killing a bunch of hash browns, if the game is later then it's obviously just pasta," Prescott said.
His approach differs slightly from his fellow NFL quarterback Tom Brady, who follows a low-carb meal plan that centers vegetables and lean protein.
Still, Prescott's preference for carbs on game day does have its benefits for helping him get through a football game.
Carbs provide energy for running
Prescott's pregame meals of hash browns and pasta is similar to the meals a marathon runner might have before a long race.
Carb loading — a technique based on loading up on bread, pasta, rice, and other grains — increases glycogen in a person's tissues, giving them more energy at their disposal during competition, according to Healthline.
Unlike Brady, Prescott is a mobile quarterback who does a lot of running with the ball himself.
Eating hash browns and pasta before games could give Prescott plenty of stored energy to sprint at full speed with the ball as much as he does during games without fatiguing too quickly.
Registered dietitian Bonnie Taub-Dix, the founder of Better Than Dieting, said that Prescott's high-carb choices will ensure plenty of energy is released in his body so he can make those big running plays throughout the game.
"Carbohydrates are the nutrients that provide the quickest energy and they are digested and absorbed the fastest," Taub-Dix told Insider. "Prescott needs lots of energy when he's on the field, so I'm sure he also feels the benefit of including many carbs in his gameday meal plan."
Carb loading can cause bloating and blood-sugar swings
Prescott's high-carb routine might help him perform at his best during the game, but it could still cause side effects.
High-carb diets sometimes lead to digestive discomfort because of the fiber content associated with many carb-heavy foods. It can lead to gassy cramps and bloating over the next few days, according to the Mayo Clinic.
High-carb diets can also cause blood-sugar swings, according to Taub-Dix. Blood sugar swings can lead to temporary lack of coordination, chills, clammy skin, and sweating, according to Healthline.