High school junior Richard Hudson, 17, was determined to improve his football abilities but he felt just too wiped out to work any harder on the field. After attending a program at Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan he found that the solution to his challenges lay not at practice nor in the weight room, but at home, in the kitchen. Hudson tinkered with his diet and the change was startling. “Now, I feel like I have more energy and I can lift more and run longer,” he told Jo-Ann Barnas of the Detroit Free Press.

Richard Hudson, 17, left, and his mom, Kelly, prepare a healthy snack together at their West Bloomfield, Mich. home. (Photo by WILLIAM ARCHIE, Detroit Free Press)