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Eat Yourself Healthy

Nutrition, Pills And Potions

There is a wealth of information, both good and bad, on sports nutrition, eating for health and slimming diets. Numerous nutritional supplements, pills, potions and other dietary aids are available, claiming to make improvements on performance.

A Balanced Diet

Of course, there are no ‘miracle’ dietary supplements that will enable the average marathon runner to break the world record or an overweight person to shed 4 kilos in two weeks. The words ‘balance’, ‘nutritional’ and ‘healthy’ are used in the content of diet describe the way you should aim to eat- whether as a recreational or world-class competitor. A good, basic and well-balanced diet is critical for everyone, not only to fulfil your basic energy requirements but also to keep your whole body working efficiently.

Total Energy Intake

Carbohydrate, fat, protein and alcohol together make up your ‘total energy intake’ measured in kilocalories (the amount of heat released when these foods are broken down in to your body). When fully broken down these nutrients release different amounts of energy per gram (a tiny amount). They are:

Carbohydrate	4 kcals
Fat	9 kcals
Protein	4 kcals
Alcohol	7 kcals

Ideal Diet

Fat has twice the number of kilocalories per gram compared to protein or carbohydrate. The ideal diet for fitness or for health should be based towards a high proportion of carbohydrate and a low amount of fat, with adequate protein and fibre and plenty of fluid. Unfortunately, the average Western diet is high in fat and alcohol and relatively low in carbohydrates and fibres.

Breakdown of An Ideal Diet

Whether you want to lose, gain or maintain weight the same basic nutritional guideline apply-only the amounts vary. You should aim to get:

• At least 50-60% of you energy from carbohydrate.
• No more than 30-35% from fat.
• About 12-15% from protein.
• Less than 4% from alcohol-yes, there is still a little room for alcohol in a healthy diet.

Carbohydrate

Cakes, sweets, sugary drinks, chocolate bars and so on are sources of carbohydrate 9and fat). But these simple carbohydrates provide only sugar, which gives you a quick energy boost and little else- after 1 biscuit, chocolate or sugary drink you need another to reboost you energy the levels. The more filling, starchy, complex carbohydrates ( the type found in potatoes, rice, pasta of bread as well as in vegetables and pulses) so provides energy and vitamins, minerals and fibre. Energy from these is released more slowly into the blood, enabling your body to maintain a balanced blood sugar level (through the action of insulin). After the intake of such carbohydrates blood sugar level may even but the same as before but you feel better.

Fat

Most of us eat more fat than we need, either knowingly or otherwise. Pastry has large amounts of hidden fat, mainly in the form of butter. The healthiest fats to eat are mainly polyunsaturated fats. These come from grain, seeds, vegetables, fruit and fish. Saturated fats come mainly from animal sources and tend to be more solid. Although both types have the same amount of kilo calories per given weight, saturated fats are more likely to lead to an increase in blood cholesterol level, which is associated with increased risks of heart disease and other related illness. Monounsaturated fats, found in olive –oil and nuts, are also a healthy choice and help lower cholesterol.

Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a fat like substance produced in many animal bodies. Animal foods such as egg yolks, shellfish, offal, cream and cheese are rich sources of cholesterol whereas vegetables tend to contain very little. Cholesterol is important to us for normal metabolism but our own bodies can produce the required quantity of.

Protein

An adequate intake of protein is needed to build and repair muscle tissue, grow hair and fingernails, produce hormones and boost the immune system. Most sports people who eat moderate portions of protein-rich foods daily probably get more than they need. Any extra protein can be used as energy when carbohydrate stores on though or it can be stored as fat. Red meat, traditionally regarded as the best source of protein, has the disadvantage of containing fat. White meat, fish and vegetables (such as pulses) are therefore preferable sources of protein.

Vitamins and Minerals

A good, well-balanced diet should contain all the vitamins and minerals your body needs. You may additionally rake a multivitamin supplement but be aware that there is no proven advantage to taking individual vitamin supplements.

Fluids

Sweating

Sweating enables your body to get rid of extra heat it generates from muscle activity during exercise. If you are prone to heavy sweating it does not mean that you are unfit, it merely indicates that you generate considerable muscle heat. More problematic would be a lack of sweat as this could lead to overeating. If you drink too little or lose a lot of water through profuse sweating you will not be training or competing at your best. It is vital, therefore, to replace these fluids by drinking regularly. Pure water is to be preferred, but other drinks are useful too.

How Much Do You Need To Drink?

Weigh yourself before and after exercise in the same clothes. The difference in weight is the amount of fluid you have lost and need to replace. This is the amount of water that you need drink:

One Kilogram (2lbs) weight loss = 1 litre (2pints) of water to drink.

Remember, this is in addition to your normal daily intake of fluid which should be about two litres or about eight glasses of water. Fruit juices, drinks and soda (diet and regular) are acceptable, but water or low sugar cordials are preferable. Tea and coffee are not ideal as they contain caffeine which is a diuretic.

A diuretic stimulates your body to lose more fluid. A sire way to become dehydrated is to drink excessive cups of tea of coffee after your training. Signs of dehydration include fatigue, headaches, dizziness and lethargy.

The Urine Colour Test

A quick way to check if you are drinking enough is to examine the colour of your urine. If, shortly after exercise, the sample is dark in colour and in a small amount, then you need to drink more. Urine is normally a pale yellow colour when you are adequately hydrated.

Drink While Exercising

Get into the habit of drinking small amounts while you are exercising, particularly if it is hot or you continue for more than 1 hour. Aim to have about (100ml) 1 cup every 15 minutes. If you are in the gym, take sips of water from the water cooler (if one is available). If you are outdoors, make sure you have a drinks bottle with you and take regular sips.

Sports Drinks

Sports Drinks contain varying amounts of carbohydrate and are formulated to be drunk before, during or after exercise. During exercise you should dilute the drink (that is, its sugar level) as concentrated drinks draw the blood and fluid away from the muscles towards the digestive system. This will affect your exercise ability. After the activity you can drink a more concentrated drink to replace the energy and fluid.

Thirst is not a good indicator of when you need to drink, so drink before you are thirsty.

Alcohol

Alcohol is also a diuretic and can have a dehydrating effect (you take more trips to the toilet when drinking alcohol). It is not an effective way to rehydrate after a game or exercise routine. Also, in a can of beer only 50 of the total 150 calories are from carbohydrate, the rest are alcohol. Alcohol is not converted to the energy type of carbohydrate stored in muscles (glycogen). Unfortunately, it is stored of fat.

Good Habits

Timing

Naturally, you should not eat just prior to exercise. Leave 1-2 hours after a meal before you exercise, particularly if the meal contains protein.

If you have a good, healthy, high carbohydrate diet, your muscles should be adequately fuelled for exercise.

For a quick energy boost, or if you are training in the early evening and need something in the afternoon, a light carbohydrate snack such as banana, rice cake, slice of bread and honey or bagel is a deal.

Remember that high calorie meals take longer to leave your stomach than light snacks. It is best not to have sugary foods up to 30 minutes before exercise as these can lead to a drop in your blood sugar level.

Refuelling Your Muscles

The first hour after you finish training or match is the most important time to refuel your muscles. Immediately after exercise your metabolic rate is high and your muscles ability to replenish those vital glcogen stores is at its peak. If you do not feel like eating immediately after exercise, drink a sugary drink or fruit juice or try to eat a banana. These provide carbohydrate to start the refuelling wheels in motion. If you have done a particularly strenuous training session or played a hard game lasting over an hour, your carbohydrate stores will be almost completely empty. It can take 24-48 hours to refill the stores (and that is on a good diet). The sooner you start this recovery the better, particularly if you are training again the next day.

Improving Your Nutrition

Step 1

• Increase your carbohydrate intake
• Pasta, rice, bread, potatoes, cereals and noodles should be the biggest part of your diet.
• Make sandwiches with thicker slices of bread and use less filling.
• Add Pasta or rice to salads and dried fruit to cereals or yoghurt.
• Pizza bases are great but go easy on the cheese and pile up with vegetable topping.

Below is a list of sources of carbohydrates. As it was explained earlier, the best sources are complex carbohydrates but simple carbohydrates are useful for a quick energy boost.

Sources of Carbohydrates

• Breakfast cereals-include some wholegrain varieties.
• Bread-all types e.g. wholegrain, granary, white soft grain, white bread, pitta bread, French bread, rolls, baps, muffins, crumpets, bagels and potato cakes.
• Crisp bread, water biscuits, wholemeal crackers, oatcakes and rice cakes.
• Pasta-all shapes and colours.
• Rice.
• Potatoes-boiled, mashed and jacket more often than chips, roast or crisps.
• Pizza bases- deep pan (take care with the topping).
• Beans- bakes, red kidney, black eye.
• Peas, lintels, chickpeas and pearl barley.
• Root vegetables- carrots, parsnips, Swede, beetroot.

If you are exercising for more than an hour and –a – half, you will find it helpful to drink during exercise fluid which contains some sugar. Ensure that the drinks container label states that the carbohydrate content is no more than 8%.

• Fruit-all sorts, fresh, dried or canned (in juice).
• Fruit Juice.
• Natural or fruit yoghurt.
• Cereal bars (be careful about the fat content).
• Jam, marmalade, honey, syrup, and treacle.
• Confectionery.
• Biscuits-Rich tea, nice, fig roll, plain digestives rather than shortbread or custard creams because of fat content.
• Cakes- current buns, malt or fruit loaf, fruit cakes, scones, gingerbread, rock cakes and other similar or plain cakes. Go easy on others, which may have a high fat content.
• Puddings- fruit crumbles, baked fruit, bread pudding. Milk puddings, jelly or banana custard.
• Sweetened soft drinks and flavoured milk drinks.
• Sugar- added to drinks and breakfasts cereals.
• Sports products e.g. glucose polymer drinks.

Step 2

• Keep an eye on the amount of fat you eat.
• Grill, boil, steam or microwave meat, fish or poultry rather than fry.
• Choose lean cuts of meat and trim off extra fat.
• Choose chicken or fish rather than red meat.
• Cut down on all fried foods, especially prepared pies, chips and crisps.
• Choose low-fat cheese, butter, margarine, milk and yoghurt. Lower fat cheeses include Edam, camembert, brie, mozzarella, feta or cottage cheese.
• Add less of the strong cheese, such as Gruyere or Gouda, to sauces.
• Use less oil in cooking and cook in a non-stick pan.
• Choose to low-fat or tomato paste sources rather than cream sauces on pasta, rice or meat.

Step 3

• Choose healthy snacks
• Bagels, rice cakes, oatcakes, English muffins, crumpets, breads, Rolls, pita bread or crackers with jam, honey or marmite.
• Dried and fresh fruits especially bananas.
• Fruit juice and soft drinks.
• Yoghurt and popcorn.
• Breakfast cereals with skimmed milk.
• Muesli bars, but watch out for fat.

Step 4

• Eat regularly and do not skip any meals (see especially breakfast).

Step 5

• Drinking plenty of water and other fluids (not alcohol).
• Drink at least two- three litres of water per day.
• Get into the habit of carrying a water bottle with you.

Step 6

• Start to the refuelling process in the first al after exercise.
• If you’re not hungry drink some fruit juice.

Step 7

• Avoid eating late at night.

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