What Is Nutrition?

Let’s start with defining nutrition. Nutrition is the process of eating and converting foods to keep our bodies healthy and in top performance mode. Our nutrition directly affects our structural and bodily compounds, such as the health of the hair, skin and nails, as well as the growth and maintenance of muscles, repair of bodily tissues and physical performance.

Getting proper nutrition should be easy, right? Well government reports have stated that Americans are eating too many of the wrong foods; foods that are calorie dense (such as highly processed foods) and nutrient poor. It’s mind boggling to me when I see athletic individuals eating at fast food restaurants, munching on copious quantities of processed snack foods and not relying on organic whole foods. This type of diet is high in sodium, high in saturated fat and severely deficient in micro nutrients.

As sports nutrition specialists, we follow the three Es of nutrition and they are as follows:

Essential Nutrition for Survival and Basic Health, Essential Nutrition for Optimum Health and Essential Nutrition for Athletic Performance.

Essential Nutrition for Survival and Basic Health is the government's recommended daily allowance (RDA). The RDA was established in 1943 to serve as a basic goal of nutrition. It is the minimum nutrition requited to prevent nutrition related bodily issues such as rickets, but is not the best guideline to follow. By 1963, The RDA was updated to include nine nutrients. Currently it lists two dozen nutrients as well as the macro nutrients, however to achieve optimum health, you have to go above the RDA. This will essentially keep you alive, not necessarily disease free.

There is a new standard that has been introduced to replace the RDA. It is called the Dietary Reference Intake (RDI). Although updated, it doesn’t give people the assurance that they are getting adequate nutrition for optimal health, especially for that of the athlete. Remember, these are simple, very basic guidelines to prevent malnutrition and nutrient deficiencies.

The average person should strive for Essential Nutrition for Optimal Health. We have many factors that warrant optimal nutrition. Every day we face environmental stress, such as contaminated drinking water, pesticide use, food additives, etc. As a result, our standard food does not provide what we need to thrive. For example, for optimal health we need to be sure to include antioxidants. We can get these from several color rich organic whole foods, such as blueberries to name one. In addition to getting the optimal doses of vitamins, which is much higher than the RDI, antioxidants play the role of fighting free radicals. Free radicals form naturally in the body and cause wear and tear, and aging. Increasing physical activity, exposure to sunlight and every day pollution will increase the amount of free radicals our bodies produce. By having proper nutrition, with adequate vitamin and antioxidant intake we can mitigate the damage caused by the free radicals. This stimulates quicker recovery time. A good, competent, well educated personal trainer/nutrition coach should recommend the Essential Nutrients for Optimal Health for all their non athlete clients.

The Essential Nutrition for Athletic Performance is the newest advancement in nutrition. Much research is being done to discover how nutrients enhance physical performance. This doesn’t mean that athletes should take handfuls of supplements every day. It suggests that the athlete should eat whole foods and supplement only where necessary. Having the proper nutrient intake, ensures that the athlete will be in top health to achieve peak athletic performance for training and competitions. They have substantially higher nutrient goals in order to maintain, compete, rest and recover.

So, in summary, eat organic whole foods whenever possible. The fewer ingredients the food has the more nutrient dense and calorie friendly it is.

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Heidi Condello, CPT, Weight Management Specialist

https://heidicondello.issacertifiedtrainer.com/