Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts

Wednesday 27 February 2013

10 Great Reasons To Eat Chillies and Peppers

Too Hot to Handle?
Chillies and peppers come in a range of shapes, sizes and colours and are available in sweet and hot varieties. They are normally added to meals for flavouring and that heat kick that is synonymous with Indian and Mexican cookery. But chillies and peppers have many more hidden secrets that make them excellent for your diet and here are ten of the best reasons to add them to your diet.

1.  Capsaicin reduces chance of colon cancer


Capsaicin is what gives a chilli or pepper its heat. It is a chemical found in the seeds of the chilli which is detected by your tongue. Studies have found that capsaicin in your diet has a positive effect on the chances of getting colon and stomach cancer. Exact reasons are not well known, but every little helps!


Sunday 17 February 2013

5 Fruit Facts that could be Fiction


Fruit Facts?
Fruit is great. We are all aware of this and we get most of our information on this from health and medical sources. The reason for this is often that doctors and health professionals are looking for ways to improve general health levels and particularly obesity levels. This often leads to stated facts about fruit and vegetables which is not necessarily true and can certainly be improved upon. Today we will look at some commonly head thoughts about fruit and look at their validity and viability in a world where fruit is both available and wide in its variety.

An Apple a day keeps the doctor away…





Thursday 14 February 2013

Maintaining Creatine Supplementation with Natural Nutrition


Want better gains?
Athletes are regularly using supplements to increase the gains they achieve at the gym and on the sports field. We have already written about meat choices for muscle and post exercise recovery, but these won’t cover everything you want in your workouts. For this athletes use a range of supplements with varying degrees of scientific support. Today we will look at creatine supplementation which is one of the most widely used performance ergogenic aids.
 
 

Monday 11 February 2013

How to Make Nutritious, Healthy Pancakes


So it is Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day tomorrow and that affords us the opportunity to eat pancakes with anything on for dinner. The tradition comes from clearing your cupboards ready for lent, but now we just use the day as an excuse to flip pancakes and indulge ourselves. People often see Pancake Day as a day out of their diet, but this does not have to be the case. Here we will look at the premium pancake for a number of training and health goals. See if there are any that you will benefit from...

Sunday 10 February 2013

4 Good Food Gone Bad: Some 'Good' Foods Can Be Bad For You


If you’re an avid follower of health foods, regularly finding yourself on nutrition websites, then you might find you are constantly told that some foods are ‘good’ and others are ‘bad’. These articles can make you question whether something is good or bad for you. What you should be asking yourself is ‘is this food good for me?’ The difference is that many foods have positive and negative aspects. I’m always asked about good and bad food, but even a spoon of butter can be right for your diet if you’re deficient in those nutrients. That said, we consider some foods very good for us, when in fact they are hiding nutrients that you might not be aware of. In this blog, we will look at 4 foods which have generally got a good reputation, but are hiding excesses that you might not need. We’ll also suggest alternatives which can help!



Friday 8 February 2013

5 Reasons Should You Eat Baked Potato!

Is potato good for you?

Somebody told me recently that a baked potato was 'the worst thing you can eat'. When I asked them why this was the case, they told me that it was full of starch and just added calories that you didn't need. It is quite amazing how peoples opinions of nutrition can be changed by fad diets and health points systems. The fact that the potato before any cooking is packed with excellent nutritious benefits was lost on this person who viewed the potato, and starch, as generally bad for you.

I have always been a firm believer in a balanced diet and lifestyle, and as such, have always promoted a healthy amount of starchy carbohydrates in order to have the energy for exercise. Remember, eating well is only part of a healthy lifestyle, part two is exercise, and without good quality energy sources, you're going to find that you have less get up and go, and all the extra calories you eat will be stored as fat. So lets have a look at the baked potato, and 5 reasons why it is better than people might think...



Wednesday 6 February 2013

SUPERFRUITS: FRUITBOWL INFORGRAPHIC

 
Click the infographic to see the more about superfruits and what they are good for.
 
For more about superfruits for immunity, click here.
 
To find out more about superfruits for athletic performance, click here.
 
If you want to know more about superfruits for weight loss, click here.
 
Follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/foodnutriblog
 
 
Happy Eating!

Sunday 3 February 2013

Meat for Muscle - What Protein Choice is Best for Hypertrophy?


So you’re hitting the gym hard, lifting the weights and packing in proteins like there is no tomorrow. Do you find that you aren’t getting the gains that you wanted? It might be that your protein intake is lacking in quality, and as such, you don’t get all the gains you would expect from the workout you have done. This can be extremely frustrating as it means that all your hard work might not be making it to your muscles. Today we will look at the meats that boost performance and muscle gain, and the contents of meat that are important to performance.

What Should my Meat Contain?

Which meat?
There are a number of nutrients within meat, and some of them are more effective in muscle growth than others. Obviously there are a range of reasons to go to the gym and therefore a range of important nutrients, but today we will look at muscle growth. The important nutrients are…

·         Protein (particularly leucine) – you need protein for amino acids and leucine increases protein metabolism.

·         Saturated Fat – usually something to reduce in your diet, healthy amounts of saturated fat will increase testosterone, the hormone used to build muscle.

·         Unsaturated fat – unsaturated fat is essential for antioxidant and hormone transfer, so make sure you get some of this

·         Zinc –Required for good protein synthesis while also combining with saturated fat for testosterone boosting.

·         Selenium – this is a natural antioxidant and will protect your new muscle cells.

That said each type of meat will help you in different ways. Let’s have a look at a few of the best options…

Best for Protein and Leucine – Venison and Tuna

Venison has great protein levels
As far as high quality protein and leucine go, it’s difficult to find quality meat that doesn’t fit the bill. Turkey, chicken, venison, tuna, ostrich and beef are all high in protein per 100g, with around 22g. Where venison and tuna really win though is their high levels of leucine. Leucine is one of your essential amino acids, and will substantially increase the rate of protein synthesis in the body. Powerful animals tend to have high amounts, so venison and tuna are packing more than 1900mg per 100g of meat. Bottom of the pile is lamb, which is trailing behind with only 17g of protein and 1336mg of leucine, so this is one to avoid.

Best for Saturated Fat – Beef and Salmon

Beef has good fat levels.
Saturated fat often gets a bad reputation, and it’s not unwarranted. The problem is that people often over consume saturated fat, and this can lead to complications. In this way, 100g of lamb contains 10g of saturated fat, which is more than you need, and so it again comes in bottom of the list. Joining it at the bottom of the list are turkey, chicken and tuna. They all have no saturated fat. This is great if you’re on a diet, but obviously means that the testosterone benefits aren’t there. Salmon and beef contain 3g of saturated fat per 100g, which is a healthy amount, and will boost your testosterone levels.  This means more muscle building hormone, and more muscles.

Best for Unsaturated Fat – Salmon and Mackerel

Salmon contains good fat.
Unsaturated fat aids in the absorption of fat soluble vitamins. After your workout your body is full of damage as you rip up the muscles. This, combined with energy production means you have the need for plenty of antioxidants. Vitamin E, A and K are needed to support your systems recovery, and you need unsaturated fat for this. Salmon and mackerel are packed with unsaturated fat, with 10g and 11g respectively. Coupled with their low levels of saturated fat and these fish are a winner for your post exercise recovery. Chicken, venison and tuna are bringing up the rear, with only 1g of unsaturated fat in each of them.

Best for Zinc – Ostrich and Beef

Full of Zinc
When it comes to zinc, land animals are better by rule of thumb. Zinc is an essential mineral in the production of testosterone, which helps stimulate muscle growth, as well as aiding in protein synthesis and immune function. Beef and ostrich contain 24% and 25% of your RDA per 100g respectively, meaning that on each serving you’re likely to have great levels of zinc, and this will really boost your muscle gains. Avoid fish if you’re looking for zinc, as it is limited in its levels, with salmon, mackerel and tuna all having small amounts.

Best for Selenium – Mackerel, Tuna and Ostrich

Tuna steak is packed with good stuff.
Selenium is an essential antioxidant and protects cells from damage, particularly during exercise. Before you hit the gym it is good to have high levels of selenium as you need the protection from muscle cell damage if you are lifting a lot and ripping the fibres. Mackerel contains 63% of your RDA in 100g of fish, while tuna contains 52% in the same amount and ostrich contains 51% in 100g of meat. This means that in a general serving, you’ll get plenty of selenium. Venison is bringing up the rear in this nutrient, with only 14% of your RDA per 100g.

So what’s the Best Meat?

As you can see, different meats have different levels of benefit. As you can only eat a certain amount of protein, a maximum of about 2g of protein per kg of body weight per day, your choice in important. FO-OD suggests that there are three standout meats; beef, ostrich and tuna. These all contain good levels of protein and leucine, making them a general good basis for your protein synthesis and muscle size. Ostrich and tuna are quite lean, so you will need to ensure you get your fats in other parts of your diet, but they are very high in selenium. Ostrich and beef are full of zinc, but have less leucine than the tuna. You can increase your zinc with some seeds in your diet, like pine nuts, or watermelon seeds. We would say that ostrich is probably the most complete meat choice, but is often hard to get hold of, so beef or tuna might be more affordable, but any of these three will see you getting the best gains than ever. Just make sure you overall diet is healthy and you’ll be ripped in no time!

If you want more information about post exercise recovery and increasing muscle gains, click here.

If you want to know about the best types of hydration for the gym, click here.

Follow us on Twitter on www.twitter.com/foodnutriblog

Happy Eating!

4 Types of Nuts that are Great for your Diet


When most people think about nuts, we think about the salted peanut, available at the pub in a small packet. This often means that we associate nuts with poor health, mainly because the only times we find ourselves eating peanuts is when it’s Christmas, or when we have beer. Sadly, it means many of us have judged all nuts as unhealthy snacks, and all because of the nut imposter that is the peanut, for its name is deceptive. The peanut is actually a legume. So what about actual nuts? In this blog we’ll look at some nuts that can do wonders for your body and your health…

1. Almonds

Great For – Antioxidants                              Not So Good – Fairly high in fat

Almonds are great antioxidants
Almonds are often used in cooking, but can make an excellent general snack, They have a sweet taste, while not having a vast amount of sweetness in them. Almonds contain 24.5g of fat in a 50g serving. This is not uncommonly high for nuts, and it’s not all bad. Only 2g of the total fat is saturated, and a lot of it is omega 6 fatty acids, great for growth and development. The rest is unsaturated fat, which is essential for the use of antioxidants, and is not the type of fat that clogs arteries. Almonds big pluses include 11% of your RDA iron, and 25% of your RDA of copper. These are both essential minerals for blood creation. Almonds also pack 65% of your RDA of vitamin E, an essential antioxidant which will help convert free radicals created during exercise.

2. Cashews

Great For – Mineral Content      Not So Good – Not too filling

Cashews are one of the more readily available nuts and have a distinctive taste. They don’t contain as much fat as almonds, with 22g per 50g of nuts, but 4g of that is saturated, so they are slightly higher in that respect. That said, they contain complete protein, with 9g per 50g of nuts, and this is accompanied by excellent levels of minerals. Fifty grams of cashews will give you 55% of your daily copper, 40% of your daily manganese, which is great for energy production, 30% of your RDA phosphorus essential for cell function and energy creation and 36% of your RDA magnesium, which is great for muscle function. Overall, the cashew might be slightly higher in fat, but only 50g can boost your mineral levels, acting like a natural multi-mineral.

3. Chestnuts

Great For – Low fat                         Not So Good – Limited protein and mineral content

Chestnuts are commonly sourced as a winter food, particularly around thanksgiving and Christmas. They might be an excellent addition to turkey meals, but the chestnut is also a healthy option for snacking and adding to dishes throughout the year. Chestnuts contain almost no fat, which is brilliant for weight loss. In addition, all the calories in chestnuts comes in the form of carbohydrates, mostly starch, which adds to slow release energy.  Chestnuts are also an excellent source of vitamin C, with 50g of nuts giving you 34% of your RDA. Vitamin C is excellent for boosting your immune system, and will support your body’s defences. Chestnuts have also got good levels of B vitamins and potassium, so they improve energy metabolism and hydration levels.

4. Brazil nuts

Great For – Antioxidants and Mood        Not So Good – Saturated Fat

Ok, so brazil nuts are a bit on the cheeky side. In 50g of nuts you will find 7.5g of saturated fat. It is a little high, about 35% of your RDA, but if you are watching your saturated fat levels in other meals, you can afford to add some here. As a result, brazil nuts are higher in calories than other nuts we have looked at. That said, they also have huge levels of omega 6 fatty acids, as well as vast amounts of magnesium, phosphorus, copper, thiamine, manganese and zinc (which will boost your sperm count gentlemen!). These nuts also contain 15% of your RDA of vitamin E, an essential antioxidant, as well as the brazil nuts trump card, selenium. Selenium is essential for thyroid function and antioxidant properties. Recent studies have also found that selenium boosts mood and reduces depression. So if you have a dark chocolate covered brazil nut (chocolate release endorphins, which are happy hormones) you are onto an amazing mood boosting nut!

Nut so good?

Some nuts are high in fats, like most nuts, but are lacking in the boosting properties of their healthier alternatives, and as such, should be avoided more often than not. The following nuts make the FO-OD  ‘nut so good’ list of nuts to avoid…

·         Macadamia nuts – High in saturated fats, but low in omega 6 fatty acids, and also lacking in vitamins and minerals

·         Pecans – High in fat and not too filling. Other nuts have much better levels of vitamins and minerals without the high fat levels.

·         Walnuts – High fat levels, including saturated fat, and low levels of antioxidants. You might find evidence that they have good levels of omega 3 fatty acids, which they do, but not as much as oily fish, which contain more protein and less fat.

Conclusions

Nuts are a healthy option for snacking and are now widely available. It is important to stay away from salted nuts, as the extra sodium is never really needed. Some nuts are certainly better than others and it is important to consider your diet and nutrition needs before choosing which nuts to eat. Always limit your serving to a maximum 50g, as this means you get good nutrition without the large amount of fat that can come from a nut source.

Follow us on twitter www.twitter.com/foodnutriblog

Happy Eating!

Thursday 31 January 2013

4 Great Fruits for Weight Loss


Fruit and weight loss have always been paired, as they are generally seen as a healthy option. We seem to associate anything we find on the fruit aisle as a healthy option, and great on a diet. For the most part, this is not a vast misconception. Most fruits have good calorific values, are mostly lacking in any fat or cholesterol. Yet many fruits are not excellent for people who are looking to cut calories and this is often caused by the concept of 'natural' sugars. There is an idea within healthy eating that fruit sugars are better for you and that they have better effects on the body. This causes many dieters to take in a lot of fruit, thinking the sugar in them is good for them. The fact is that any carbohydrate, that includes glucose (sugar) and fructose (fruit sugar) all contain 4 calories per gram. The key therefore to weight loss and fruit is to find the fruits which limit the sugar content, and have good levels of vitamins and minerals. This will make them filling, but not calorific. This blog will look at which 4 fruits are best to eat to boost weight loss.

1. Grapefruit

Pink great-fruit?
Grapefruit is a common fruit in fruit salads across the country and it also happens to be a champion weight loss fruit. A hundred grams of grapefruit contains only 32 calories, a tiny amount of your daily calorie needs. Pink grapefruit has no fat, salt or cholesterol, and contains 8g of carbohydrates, with 6g of this coming from sugar. This means that grapefruit tastes good, while not giving you needless calories. As a body booster, it also contains excellent amount of vitamin C, an antioxidant that's great for your general health and immune system, as well as good amounts of vitamin A, another antioxidant which supports the formation of teeth and bones. To top it off, grapefruit is also particularly filling, meaning that you wont find yourself back in the fridge too quickly after you have your 100g of grapefruit.

2. Watermelon

Better for you than you think...
Watermelon gives away it's low calorie properties in its name. Watermelon is 92% water, meaning that it is really low in calories. In fact a 100g slice of watermelon will only add 30 calories to your diet, so it's almost like not eating at all! The calories come from the carbohydrates, with 8g in total, and 6g from sugar. This sugar is mostly fructose, the fruit sugar we mentioned earlier. This demonstrates that fruit still adds calories and cannot be ignored. To help your body out, watermelon contains extra vitamin C and A again, and of course, no salt, cholesterol or fat. Watermelon also happens to be filling, so you won't need a lot of it, and to really help out, it has a very low glycaemic load, so the sugar you do eat won't send your blood sugar through the roof (if you're a parent take note, the sugars in watermelon will not go straight to your kids heads!).

3. Cantaloupe

Cantaloupe is filled with good stuff! 
Cantaloupe is a type of melon that is more common in the USA than it is in the UK. If you visit your local supermarket though you are sure to find some, and by finding some, you find an excellent source of diet boosting food. Cantaloupes only have 34 calories per 100g, so you can almost gorge on it without adding too many calories. The sugar content is 8g per 100g, making cantaloupe a sweeter tasting fruit than watermelon and grapefruit, and yet you only give away 2 extra calories on the grapefruit. Cantaloupe is stuffed full of beta-carotene which is an important antioxidant, and is amazing for your body, as well as good levels of vitamin C. It also contains a good amount of potassium, important for muscle function. It's important that you wash cantaloupe properly, as it can have salmonella growing on its skin, so clean it thoroughly and don't keep it over 3 days.

4. Strawberries

Not just for the summer...
Strawberries are a very British food, synonymous with tennis, English summers and cream. But if you take away the cream, rainy summer days and rackets, you're left with a fruit that is high in taste, but low in calories. In 100g of strawberries you will find only 32 calories, with no fat, cholesterol or salt. The sugars that are contained in strawberries total only 5g, and you also get 2g of fibre in 100g of strawberry, so it aids your digestive transit. Strawberries, much like other fruits packs in a lot of vitamin C, but strawberries also have 19% if your daily manganese, an essential nutrient for energy production. Strawberries are a filling choice and have a good balance of vitamins and minerals, making them an excellent choice for the health conscious.

Are There Bad Fruits?

Fruits are never going to be as high in calories as the foods which are high in fat, as fat has higher calorific values than sugar. That means that if you choose fruit, you cannot go too wrong, but below are a number of fruits which (in 100g) have significantly more calories than our weight loss fruits above, and might be better to avoid when you want a low calorie snack...

  • Prunes – 339 calories
  • Raisins – 229 calories
  • Plantains – 122 calories
  • Passion Fruit – 97 calories
  • Bananas – 89 calories
  • Pomegranates – 83 calories

Now this doesn't mean that the fruits above are bad for you, just that they contain more calories, and as such are beneficial for many reasons, but are not too useful as a snack when you are looking to reduce calories. Try the low calorie fruits as your food of choice when you feel like you need to eat between meals, as they are filling, nutritious and low in additional calories.

You can find out more about fruits on our other blogs, including 4 fruits for athletic performance and 4 fruits for immune system boosting.

Follow us on twitter www.twitter.com/foodnutriblog

Happy Eating!

Monday 28 January 2013

4 Fruits that Enhance Athletic Performance


Fruit isn’t something that you regularly see as a performance enhancing food, but the content of some fruits can be beneficial in aiding your gym performance. Whether you are trying to add bulk, improve your cardiovascular fitness or enhance your power and strength, fruit has the vitamins and minerals, as well as the sugars that you need to get the best gains from your routine. But that’s not all fruit, and just like the fruits we looked at in the immune support blog, there are better fruits to improve athletic performance. We will look at some of those today…

Athletic performance is obviously a broad topic to discuss in relation to food, as the body requires many nutrients for performance. That said, it can be useful to know what fruits can offer you the support that your macronutrients are supplying for your diet.

1. Passion Fruit

Passionate about performance?
Passion fruit might sound more like something you take on a date picnic, but actually, it has an interesting mix of nutrients that support a workout. Firstly passion fruit contains good levels of carbohydrate, with 23g per 100g, and 11g of that being sugar. That's not all bad, as it is essential that you have small amounts of sugar for your workout. In addition to its sugar benefits, passion fruit also has 8% of your RDA of iron, essential for blood formation and the creation of ATP, your body's energy chemical compound. It also packs in 7% of your RDA of magnesium, which is essential for muscle contraction and 9% of your daily potassium, which is important for fluid balance.

2. Blackcurrants

More than just juice...
Blackcurrants are usually found in fruit juice form, as they pack in plenty of flavour, and are regularly used in cordials. They can aid your workout with there vitamin and mineral balance, and they also support your immune system. They are stuffed full of vitamin C and a number of other antioxidants in high numbers so they help with your health. That aside, they also pack a punch in the gym. 8% of your daily iron, and 9% of your daily potassium makes them a very useful support, especially in a smoothie, in which you can add other fruits to improve the balance of nutrients. As an added bonus you also get 5% of your RDA calcium, which will help you to make more forceful muscle contractions.

3. Guava

Guava is a class gym hero
Guava is a relatively new fruit to the British supermarket, and if you're not sure what it is, you are not alone. It is a fruit found in tropical countries, and looks like a small watermelon. It contains good levels of sugar, at 8g per 100g of fruit. This means it isn't too heavy for those looking to burn calories in the gym. It also has 11% of your copper and 11% of your potassium, so it boosts your muscles and energy levels. It also boasts 302% of your RDA of vitamin C, which helps the absorption of iron, without oxidising it, so its good for your health and your creation of red blood cells.

4. Raisins

The superfood you're missing!
Now, raisins aren't usually considered to be a real fruit, because of the process of making the, and the way they come in a box, but the raisin is a superhero of a fruit. First of all, a 100g serving gives you 59g of sugar. That makes these little fruits like natural jelly beans, just packed with energy. But that isn't all the humble raisin has for you. It contains 21% of your RDA of potassium, so your fluid balance and muscle contractions will be prepared for your session. Raisins also have 10% of your RDA of phosphorus, which regulates calcium (important for muscle contraction) and helps to make ATP, which in combination with the 10% RDA of your iron means you'll be energy rich! Throw in 15% of your RDA of copper, which aids the iron in the creation of haemoglobin, and you'll find the raisin boosts your performance.

Conclusions

There you have it, four fruits which really can help you push yourself harder in the gym. Eaten properly as part of a balanced diet, and ensuring you get the right level of recovery (see our blog about post exercise recovery here) you can use these fruits to aid your performance.

For 4 fruits that boost your immune system, click here. Find out about 4 weight loss fruits here.

Follow us on twitter here.

Sunday 27 January 2013

4 Fruits that Support your Immune System


Fruits have been, for a long time, touted as an essential part of a healthy diet. It is difficult to go wrong with fruit in your diet, but some fruits are better than others, dependent on your goals and requirements. We often think of fruits as being full of natural sugars, vitamins and minerals, but if you want the best gains for your health for your diet, you should try to target your fruit type to ensure you get the best benefits. There are so many fruits available to you at the supermarket now that it has become possible to make nutritious fruit choices and get the maximum benefit. Over the next few blog entries, we’ll discuss the different fruits and what they are good for…

Four of the Best Fruits for Immune Support

A range of fruits support immune function, as vitamin C is a key nutrient to improve immune function. In addition to vitamin C, vitamin E, A as well as selenium and manganese are important. These are a few fruits which can help you with an immune boost.

1. Kiwi Fruit

This furry little fruit is packed with vitamin C, which improve immune function. Each 100g of kiwi contains 155% of your RDA of vitamin C. This sounds like a lot, but you will simply excrete additional vitamin C, and as such, the kiwi is an excellent choice. A kiwi also contains 5% of your RDA manganese, which is an important antioxidant (find out more about antioxidants here), and 7% of your daily vitamin E. This is essential as an antioxidant, as well as good from protection from cancers and heart disease. The humble kiwi is also packing 50% of your RDA of vitamin K, which is essential for blood clotting.

2. Mango

 
A mango is a sweet tasting fruit with soft flesh. 100g of mango will give you 21% of your daily vitamin A, an essential vitamin for thyroid activity and fighting infections. It’s also filled with 60% of your RDA of vitamin C, and 6% of your RDA of vitamin E. So its packing with antioxidants, which support immune function. Be careful with mango if you’re pregnant, as the high levels of vitamin A can cause issues for your babies healthy development.

3. Papaya

The papaya fruit is a relatively new fruit to the bowl in most UK homes, as it has become more popular recently. 100g of papaya if enough to give you 101% of your RDA of vitamin C, and 19% of your vitamin A, so a bowl full of papaya is great for fighting off a disease, as well as being tastier than a Lemsip! Papaya also contains 5% of your RDA of magnesium, which supports immune function and support nerve system health.

4. Blackberries

Blackberries are often forgotten, but they can be an excellent source of immune support and antioxidants. They contain 35% of your RDA of vitamin C in 100g of blackberries, as well as 7% of your vitamin E requirements, and 24% of your vitamin K needs. As well as all these, 100g contains 32% of your RDA of manganese, so blackberries are packed with antioxidants. Try keeping some blackberries with you at your desk as a snack, as they’re also great for weight loss (find out more about the benefits of berries here).

 
 
For part two, 4 fruits for athletic performance, click here.

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Wednesday 23 January 2013

Superfood Breakfast - Salmon and Avocado Muffins


Breakfast is often described at the most important meal of the day; you just cannot miss it if you want to be healthy. Most people have two concerns in the morning before work, one is the alarm, and the other is catching up to work after you get up late! Often people leave little time for breakfast, or grab a coffee and a croissant on the way into the office. We all think that we need breakfast, but what makes an excellent breakfast? And how can an excellent breakfast also be quick to make and portable? In this article we will look at one option that allows for excellent nutrition, fast preparation and on the go eating.

Tuesday 22 January 2013

Perfect Post Exercise Recovery Using Natural Foods


A good workout feels great!
All athletes are looking for the edge when it comes to better performance. Athletes often think about the types of training they are doing, the number of sessions they take part in and the intensity with which they train. Consequently a lot of athletes finish their exercise routine and feel horrible in the days afterwards. Post exercise recovery is about cooling your body down, and giving it the right nutrients after exercise. Many athletes and gym goers believe that something in powdered form as a shake in the minutes following a workout, but today we will look at perfect recovery, without the need for tubs of powder, shakers and gallons of milk. This is natural recovery.

What’s Going on After Exercise

Post exercise, your body is in a catabolic state. This means that it is breaking down fuels and tissues to create energy and create force for contraction. As such, your body is already in a state that needs repair.

After exercise, you need the right
nutrition
·         The body has usually broken down a number of muscle fibre tissues as your contractions pull muscles, causing tears in the tissue.

·         Your heart rate and breathing rate remain elevated as you replace oxygen and removed carbon dioxide.

·         Your liver begins the breakdown of lactic acid and your internal environment gradually returns to normal.

·         Your blood is thicker than normal as you deal with the increased heat created by cells by sweating, reducing water and salt levels in the blood.

·         This reduction in salt leads to cramping.

Recovering Fluids

Getting the right fluid is
essential
Fluid recovery is the first and most essential recovery phase. Subsequent recovery phases aid in performance, but it is crucial that you replace lost fluid. Dehydration of just 2% can lead to reduced physiological performance, but dehydration closer to 5% can lead to hospitalisation and potential fatality. Make sure you address your fluid balance early. If you’re worried about getting the right amount, weigh yourself before exercise, and after. Take the difference in grams and convert that to millilitres. Take in that amount of fluid.



The Effects of Fluid Recovery

·         Normal blood viscosity

·         Reduced heart rate

·         Reduced breathing rate

·         Reduced chances of cramp

The Perfect Drink

The best drink will have about 13g of sugar in glucose form per 100ml. It should also contain a pinch of salt per 100ml. You can make this yourself easily, adding sugar, water (mixed with cordial for flavour) and salt.

Recovering Fuels

After exercise, you need to consider that you have used a large amount of carbohydrates to perform. It is therefore essential to recover these. A failure to eat carbohydrates in the two hours after exercise can lead to

·         Poor recovery

·         Reduced muscle glycogen

·         General feelings of lethargy

Quinoa is a perfect fuel recover food.
Ensure that you take on board some form of starch based carbohydrate, like quinoa (see here for the info on quinoa and why it is perfect) that will replace your carbohydrates, while giving you other recovery essential vitamins and minerals. In addition to this, you need extra glucose, for immediate sugars, which comes from the drink in the hydration phase of recovery.

Repairing and Growing Muscle

The final phase of nutrition recovery comes in the form of repair of muscles. The small tears in muscles, if left untreated, can become DOMS in the two days after exercise has finished. DOMS is the aching sore feeling in muscles after exercise. To combat this you need effective protein synthesis. To do this, you need two aspects of nutrition. Firstly, you need to make your body anabolic, which means your body is building fibres. This can be done naturally be increasing your insulin levels. Insulin is released in response to high blood sugar levels, and reduces the amount of sugar in blood. If you drink a high sugar drink, you will spike your insulin levels. Do this immediately after exercise and you will instantly begin recovery of muscles.

What is the right protein?
The next stage is to get high quality protein into your diet as soon as possible. This is not just any protein, as the correct amino acids are required for maximising potential. Leucine is one of the essential  amino acids and an increased amount of leucine after exercise, combined with insulin can cause a 36 fold increase in protein synthesis, improving muscular recovery. This will also fuel increased hypertrophy. To get this protein, meat is your best option. 


The following meats are good options:

·         Salmon (100g) – 22g protein with 1796mg leucine

·         Beef Steak (100g) – 30g protein with 2360mg leucine

·         Tinned Tuna (100g) – 26g protein with 2073mg leucine

·         Chicken breast (100g) – 31g protein with 2328mg leucine

·         Pork Loin (100g) – 28g protein with 2196mg leucine

Tinned tuna is already easily minced, and therefore easier to digest. For more on meats, check our blog about meat for muscle.  Each of these options contains the right balance of proteins for excellent recovery, so the choice is yours. You can only take in about 0.8g-1.3g of protein per day per kilo of bodyweight, so you should look for about half a gram of protein per kilo bodyweight in your meat choice after exercise. For a 70kg person, this would mean 105g of chicken in your post exercise meal.

Conclusions

Natural exercise recovery for athletes is an attainable and beneficial strategy, as long as you are aware of the methodology and types of food. If you hit the gym, or play some sport, and want excellent recovery, start with a sugary drink with salts, follow that with the right amount of your protein source and a healthy helping of quinoa. This will pack in the right macronutrients for recovery, as well as strong amount of supporting vitamins and minerals which improve energy metabolism and facilitate protein synthesis and cell recovery. Follow the rules and after your workout, you’ll feel and look great!
For more nutritional advice, comment below or look at the other blogs on http://fo-od.co.uk
Happy Eating!