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Transcript
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 1 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