Download Eat well, score well, get the basics right!

Eat well, score well, get the basics right!
Welcome to the first monthly nutrition bulletin. In future issues I’ll look at issues
specific to golf but this first one takes you back to basics – the foundation of your
daily diet.
Your body relies on what you eat and drink on a daily basis to supply all your
energy and nutrient requirements (apart from vitamin D – which is made by the
action of sunlight on the skin, making dietary requirement very small or even
unnecessary if you spend a lot of time outdoors). If your daily food choices don’t
meet all these requirements your performance will suffer, risk of infections and
injuries will increase and there may even be long-term health implications. Not
only do nutrients have different functions in the body but the type and amount of
nutrients varies from food to food. Understanding what energy and nutrients do in
the body and which foods are good sources of particular nutrients will help you
build up the best possible diet to maximize performance both in training and
competition and to keep your body fit and healthy. Of course your diet must also
be practical, fit your lifestyle and daily schedule and be enjoyable!
Nutrients and their main functions
Food is made up of carbohydrate, fat, protein, vitamins, minerals and water. In
some foods, particularly fruits and vegetables a very large proportion is water, in
others such as oils and fats the water content is minimal. The amounts and indeed
the presence of the
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different vitamins and minerals can vary considerably between foods too. This is
why health professionals (including sports nutritionists!) are constantly
encouraging everybody to eat a diet that contains a wide variety of different
foods. Carbohydrate and fat are the major sources of energy or fuel for the body.
Protein has the unique function of providing the material for growth and repair of
the body. Vitamins and minerals are essential nutrients, which must be supplied by
the diet. Though the majority of them are needed in very small amounts they do
play vital and often very different roles in the diet. Vitamins are a diverse group of
substances, which are needed for the regulation of chemical processes in the
body. Though not a source of energy themselves, many of them are involved in the
release of energy from food. Minerals like vitamins also fulfill many functions.
They help to control the composition of body fluids, are constituents of bones and
teeth and essential components of enzymes and proteins such as hemoglobin.
Energy
All the energy needed by the body comes from the diet. Food is digested, absorbed
and metabolized to release energy which the body can then use.
1 gram protein → 4kcals
1 gram fat → 9kcals
1 gram carbohydrate → 4 kcals
1 gram alcohol → 7kcals
1 gram water → 0kcals
Almost all the weight of a food is made up of these components plus water.
Therefore foods that contain a large percentage of water, such as fruits and
vegetable will have relatively fewer calories. Fatty foods, such as butter,
margarines and oils which contain little water will be rich in calories. In fact most
foods are a mixture of nutrients and the total energy value of a food is the sum of
the energy from each of the nutrients.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates occur in the diet as simple carbohydrates or sugars and complex
carbohydrates or starches. Most dietary carbohydrate is plant in origin apart from
lactose, the sugar found in milk. The main sources of simple carbohydrates are
fruits and fruit juices, milk and milk products, honey and sugar. They are
identifiable by their sweet taste. Sources of complex carbohydrates include bread,
rice, pasta, potatoes, breakfast cereals, pulses and sweetcorn. Carbohydrates are
the most important source of energy in the diet, being the best energy source for
exercising muscles, the brain and central nervous system. If you have ever
followed the fashionable low carbohydrate - high protein diets (but hopefully you
haven’t) - you are likely to have felt tired, lethargic and irritable as you became
deprived of stored carbohydrate. Unfortunately we can only store carbohydrate in
a limited amount in the liver and muscles (as glycogen). This is why sports
nutritionists always put such emphasis on foods providing carbohydrate.
Fat
Fat is an essential nutrient and no attempt should be made to exclude it from the
diet. It is an important source of energy and it supplies essential fatty acids which
the body cannot manufacture (hence the term essential). Fat provides insulation
and cushioning for the internal organs and serves as a carrier for fat soluble
vitamins and antioxidants. Some fats are vital for the formation of hormones. Many
of the flavours, smells and textures are linked to the fats in food – without them
food would taste very bland. However an excess amount of fat in the diet has
become increasingly recognised as one of the risk factors influencing the
development of chronic diseases. The main concern centres on its potential role in
contributing to obesity and all its associated health risks such as heart disease.
Sources of Fat
Visible fat Invisible fat
Butter, margarine Very lean cuts of meat
Oils, lard, suet, dripping Cheese
Hydrogenated fats and vegetable Whole milk – silver/gold top
shortening (check food labels) Eggs
Cream Meat products – pies, pasties,
Fat on meat, poultry skin sausages, burgers, pate,
Oily fish salami and tinned meats
Chips, crisps and roast potatoes
Fried food and pastry
Nuts, olives, avocado pears
Some cakes and biscuits
Creamy puddings, cheesecake
Mayonnaise, salad cream, creamy sauces
Peanut butter
Chocolate, toffee, fudge
Protein
Protein performs vital structural functions in the body. It is found in and are
constituents of muscle, bone, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, skin and hair. Proteins
are needed for growth and development and on a daily basis they are involved in
rebuilding, repairing and maintaining vital tissues. Enzymes and hormones are
proteinous by nature and together they regulate tissue and cell metabolism. For
example, insulin is a protein that monitors blood glucose levels. Some proteins are
important in the functioning of the immune system and so help to fight off
infection. Other proteins work as transporters, moving fats and minerals around
the body. Oxygen is transported in the blood to all cells by the protein
hemoglobin. Although these are the primary and unique functions of protein, it can
also be a source of energy. Protein cannot be stored in the body so if more is
consumed than the body needs, some of the protein molecule is broken down and
excreted in the urine as urea and the rest is either used for energy or converted to
fat and stored.
Sources of Protein
Animal sources Vegetable sources
Meat Beans, peas and lentils
Offal Nuts and seeds
Poultry Quorn, tofu
Fish, shellfish Soya beans, soya milk
Eggs Textured vegetable protein
Milk, cheese, yogurt Bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, cereals
The whole diet approach
Enjoying a diet that contains a wide variety of different foods can ensure that
daily requirements for all the essential nutrients are met. A monotonous diet
including the same limited choice of foods or a diet that is consistently low in
overall food intake will not achieve this. These are not the ways to maximize your
performance or keep your body fit and healthy. Putting foods into groups
according to the main nutrients they supply makes it easier to choose wisely but
enjoyably. Those who eat the correct proportions of foods from the main food
groups every day and vary the choices within each group will be eating well and
therefore probably performing better. The actual amount eaten will of course
depend on individual energy requirements.
THE FIVE FOOD GROUPS
Breads, other cereals and starchy carbohydrates
Bread, potatoes, pasta and noodles, rice, breakfast cereals, oats, maize, millet
and cornmeal, yams and plantains. Beans, peas and lentils are also included in this
group.
Provide carbohydrate, calcium, iron, B vitamins and dietary fibre.
Fruit and vegetables
Fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruit and vegetables, salad vegetables and fruit
juice.
Provide vitamin C, antioxidants, folates, carbohydrate and dietary fibre.
Milk and dairy products
Milk, cheese, yogurt and fromage frais (but not butter, eggs or cream).
Provides protein, calcium, vitamin B12, vitamins A and D (lower fat versions
contain less of these fat soluble vitamins).
Meat, fish and alternatives
Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, beans, peas and lentils.
Provides protein, iron, B vitamins, zinc and magnesium. Beans, peas and lentils
also provide dietary fibre.
Foods containing fat and foods containing sugar
Margarine, butter and other spreading fats (including low fat spreads), cooking
oils, oil-based salad dressings, mayonnaise, cream, chocolate, crisps, biscuits,
pastries, cakes, puddings, ice cream, rich sauces and gravies.
Provide fat, essential fatty acids, some vitamins.
Soft drinks, sweets, jam, honey, marmalade, biscuits, pastries, cakes, puddings,
ice cream.
Provide carbohydrate, some minerals and vitamins and fat in some products (but
not others).
The general advice for long-term health and therefore the diet that the general
public is being encouraged to follow is not unlike the diet you should be following
but with significant adaptations. You need to follow a high carbohydrate diet and
may therefore need to include more sugary sources as well as the starchier ones.
Too many high fibre foods can make a diet bulky and could cause unwanted sideeffects - a potential problem on the golf course. The advice to avoid high intakes
of fat, to ensure vitamin and mineral intakes are optimum and to keep to a
sensible intake of alcohol is just as important for golfers as the general public.
Lastly advice to cut back salt or sodium intake may not be appropriate for all
golfers – particularly those who sweat a lot or whose sweat is particularly salty –
more of this another time!
Jane Griffin
Sports Dietitian and Nutrition Consultant