Nutrition

Optimizing Your Health – Know What You Are Eating

Maintaining healthy is crucial for everyone, from the athlete to an office worker, to our children.  Nutrition is the intake of food needed for the body to function properly. Healthy nutritional habits start with eating a balanced diet that provides the necessary nutrients to repair, support growth and fuel the body properly.

The Breakdown of Nutrients

Our body is a complex organism that requires a mix of nutrients to achieve optimal health and functioning. The primary contributors to this are macronutrients, micronutrients and water.

Macronutrients: Carbs, Protein and Fat. Macronutrients provide energy and support body functions.

Micronutrients: Vitamins and minerals, are not needed in large amounts. Only small amounts are needed; however, they are very important for preventing disease and supporting health.

Water: Aides in digestion and regulates temperature.

Misconceptions Regarding Nutritional Intake

Somewhere along the way we were taught, if we wanted to lose weight, we needed to cut out carbs. You know, bread, chips, tortillas, pasta, potatoes. Cutting out carbs can result in you under eating and become sluggish. It’s important to understand carbs as your percentage of daily caloric intake and what carbs are good for you, carbs that your body can more effectively process. 

For example, my husband wanted to lose weight for a marathon he was running. I told him it was not a good idea. Why? Because your main source of energy comes from the carbs you eat. As an athlete, it very important to keep up the energy. Well, he cut out carbs anyways. You know what happened? He was tired and sluggish. He had NO ENERGY to do his runs. If you are going to cut weight while training for a marathon, you should focus on doing it before the cycle starts and/or into the early base training phase of your training plan. It is also ill-advised to completely cut out carbs to achieve this, you need to build a plan that allows for an appropriate amount of carb intake to ensure you have the energy to achieve your training plan.

Let’s talk about fat. Healthy Fats are not a bad thing. They are actually important to maintain a balanced diet. Fat provides energy and is a dense source of energy. During prolonged physical activity when your food intake is low, our bodies use the fat storage for energy.  Fat is also responsible for nutrient absorption. Without the proper fat intake, the body may not absorb the following vitamins properly A, E, D and K, which then can lead to nutrient deficiencies that negatively impact your health.

Protein, we all know how important it is for us to eat enough protein, however most of the people in the US do not consume enough protein on a daily basis. As adults, we should be consuming 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. Of course, for athletes, that number is higher. Protein aids in a number of things, muscle growth, Enzyme and Hormone production, helps support your immune system, support skin, hair and nail growth, and is an energy source when carb in take is low.

Micronutrients and Why They are Important

There are 13 essential vitamins that the human body requires. Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, and Vitamin K. Each of these plays a unique role in maintaining your health, from supporting immune function to aiding in energy production and blood clotting.

There are 16 essential minerals that human body requires for various physiological functions. Calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, chloride, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, selenium, molybdenum, fluoride and cobalt (part of Vitamin B12). These minerals are essential for bone health, fluid balance, nerve function, and many enzymatic reactions in the body.

Knowing where you may have a deficiency is a little more challenging. Working with your doctor you can get a blood test to help determine where you may have a critical deficiency and how to best remedy it (change in diet, supplementation, or both). It is also helpful to track your intake of vitamins and minerals for a week to see how you do compared to baseline expectations for your age and gender. This can help steer you in the right direction however prior to beginning a vitamin/mineral regime you should consult your physician.

Let’s Recap

Nutrition provides us the energy to carry out tasks. Our main source of energy comes from carbs. Protein is crucial for muscle growth and repair. Fat offers a concentrated form of energy. A diet rich in vegetables, fruit, whole grains and protein helps reduce the risk of disease. Proper nutrition is key for athletes, and anyone who is physically active. It affects recovery, muscle growth and can help with injury prevention.

Eat a variety of food, moderation is key, and drink plenty of water. A diet that consists of whole foods is the best. I suggest aiming for 80/20 lifestyle. You feel like you want a cookie or a cupcake, go ahead and eat it, just remember at it is all about moderation.  When you deprive yourself of certain foods, that when you lose control. Eating a cupcake or cookie here and there as a snack is totally fine, just make sure you don’t find yourself raiding the cookie jar every night after dinner. Eating healthy is not about saying “no” to all the guilty pleasures, it’s knowing how to balance them appropriately to achieve a healthy lifestyle.