Olympic Athletes & Their Food: 10 Quirky Facts You Never Knew

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At the Berlin Games in 1936, Americans were said to have eaten a ton of...

shredded wheat or corn flakes in milk. According to a study about cultural-historical diet and athletic training, in a paper entitled "What do the best sportsmen of the world eat?" by Paul Schenk,  Americans were all about the carbs. Schenk was conducting research at the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics, where he also noted: "American Olympians consumed beefsteak (primarily rare or medium), had average daily intakes of 125 g of butter or cotton oil, three eggs, custard for dessert, and drank 1.5 L of milk." Seems that American athletes weren't big on fruit, however, as he observed, "In contrast with other Olympic national teams competing at Berlin, Americans ate no citrus and limited their intake of sugar". Talk about food for thought.

Hungry for more? Check out these 50 food facts about US presidents.