Posts Tagged ‘blood sugar’

The Olympic Athlete Diet

February 15th, 2010

skiierI was thinking about this topic over the last few days, especially since the Olympics kicked off and since watching an episode of the Biggest Loser last week.

Let’s start with the latter.

Last week on the Biggest Loser, the contestants spent some time at the US Olympic training in Colorado. They worked out with some of the US Olympians and then spent some time in the cafeteria learning from nutritionists of the US Olympic team.

And that’s where things went south.

The first thing these “nutritionists” showed the contestants was a big plate of white pasta and a side of white bread. They said that this meal would provide the necessary energy via carbohydrates that their Olympians needed.

Cringe!

Then, they showed the contestants a big hamburger, a salad, and a side of fruit. Wow, talk about bad food combining.

Anyways, I was amazed at how poor the quality was of an Olympic athlete diet. I certainly hope that most of the athletes have been eating like this.

This isn’t helped by the fact that McDonald’s is the MAJOR sponsor and OFFICIAL RESTAURANT of the Vancouver olympic winter games. How does that even happen???

So the few examples above tell us what some athletes are eating. But is that how athletes should really be eating for optimal performances?

I personally don’t think so.

Instead of eating white pasta and white bread (not great from a blood sugar and digestion perspective) why not choose a hypo-allergenic rice pasta or even a raw zucchini pasta?

Remember, wheat is a big issue for a lot of people. And they don’t even realize it.

Another important nutrition concept for olympic athletes to remember is the importance of eating lots of fruits and vegetables. Here are 3 reasons why they need to get their 5-10 servings per day:

Reason #1 – Fruits and vegetables provide more alkalinity

Athletes produce a lot of acid when training and competing. As a result, a more alkaline diet can be helpful in buffering some of that acid and providing an oxygen-rich environment that is needed for optimal repair and regeneration.

Furthermore, when the blood is acidic (for instance, due to an acidic diet and heavy training load) oxygen transport to the cells can become compromised because when the blood is acidic it becomes more viscous and doesn’t flow as freely. Blood needs to be at a pH of between 7.35-7.45 for ideal health and oxygen and nutrient transport.

Fruits and veggies are the fastest and easiest way to ensure this can happen.

Reason #2 – Fruits and veggies are rich in antioxidants

Physical exertion (oxygen consumption in general) produces a lot of free radicals in the body. These free radicals wreak havoc and need to be neutralized by antioxidants.

Berries and other dark pigmented fruits and vegetables are the greatest sources of antioxidants. Some research has even shown that an antioxidant-rich diet may be able to prevent exercise-induced muscle soreness.

Makes sense to me.

Reason #3 – Fruits and vegetables are water-rich

It’s no secret that athletes lose a lot of water through sweat. Aside from drinking liters of good quality water, fruits and vegetables can provide a lot of water along with phenomenal nutrients needed for optimal performance and recovery.

If you want more insight into how athletes should eat, then grab a copy of EATING FOR ENERGY – an entire chapter is dedicated to this subject.

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Posted in Food For Thought

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Mono Meals?

October 27th, 2009

Recently I’ve been doing some reading on the proposed benefits of eating mono meals.

If you don’t know what mono meals are they are basically a type of meal where only 1 type of food is eaten.

For instance, a meal could consist of several apples. Another meal could be 4 bananas. And so forth.

As you can probably tell, mono meals are heavily promoted by fruitarians – those who eat almost exclusively fruit – as a means of bettering digestion, absorption of nutrients, and overall good health.

Fruitarianism and mono meals are also a fairly substantial component of the “natural hygiene” approach to foods and healthy living.

Blood Sugar Concerns?

I’ve just started to experiment with eating only one type of food at a time. To me it goes against everything I’ve learned about stabilizing blood sugar.

We’ve heard it all before…

Eat a protein and healthy fat with all your meals to slowdown the blood sugar response.

Yet, this very recommendation goes against most food combining principles which tell you to avoid combining heavy proteins and starchy carbs.

It’s no wonder the world of nutrition is a very confusing place. Even I’m perplexed.

Sure I’ve got my own views, but they are not set in stone and they are constantly evolving as I learn and experiment to find out what suits my body the best.

After all, the most important thing is find a way of eating that suits your body. No one approach can suit all people all the time.

Back to the blood sugar issue…

As I write this post, I’m sipping on a banana and date smoothie which you’d think would send me blood sugar through the roof.

And that’s one of the concerns I initially had with having more than 80% of your diet come from fruit and most of your meals as single food items.

But for me, it hasn’t really affected my blood sugar. I don’t feel the up and down roller coaster that comes with eating high sugar foods like donuts and refined garbage.

Furthermore, more and more authorities that I’m learning from have moved from a traditional raw food diet to one that is more fruit-centric.

Now, I’m not saying that I’m going to become a fruitarian but I’m going to keep a close eye on how eating mono meals, and predominantly fruit, affects my digestion and overall vitality.

If you have any experience with mono means and fruitarianism I’d love to hear your thoughts.

I’ll keep you posted on my experiments.

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Posted in Raw Foods

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Health Benefits of Fasting

October 22nd, 2009

Yesterday, I had an interesting conversation with my girlfriend, Amy.

We were discussing the health benefits of fasting. She should know firsthand since she completed a 30-day water fast in Panama 2 years ago.

When most people hear this they think, “Oh my god, you shouldn’t do that. It’s not good for your health, etc…”

But the reality is that fasting is one of the greatest gifts you can give your body. Maybe doing a 30-day water is extreme for most people but even a 1-day fast can have marked benefits to your health and ability to lose weight.

Amy’s had some pretty bad eczema on her hands for the last few years – eventhough she eats as clean a diet as you can get.

She mentioned that during her water fast her hands had cleared up and become softer than ever after just 4 or 5 days!

For most people, fasting goes against the paradigm that says that nutrients from food provides what you need to grow and thrive.

Yet, why is it that so many people benefit from fasting?

Even Hippocrates, the great grandfather of modern medicine, refused to work with any of his proteges until they had completed a 60-day water fast!

His reasoning…

When you fast, you clear your body and your mind. As a result, you are more focused, can think more clearly, and act accordingly.

The reality is that if you’ve never fasted, you really have no idea about what it’s all about. Sharing your point of view is really a waste of time because you haven’t experienced it firsthand and have not experienced the incredible body and mind transformations that can occur when your body doesn’t have to worry about digesting food.

Fasting (for any length of time) is healthful because it allows your body to focus its energy on breaking down “problems” within it and regenerating what needs to be repaired.

Usually, when we stuff our body with food throughout the day, most of our body’s vital energy is spent on digestion. In most cases, up to 80% of our energy is spent on this laborious process.

That doesn’t leave much time or energy for the body to go through its much needed maintenance and repair.

So I know it sounds counter-intuitive but the reality is that fasting has been around since the beginning of time and is even practiced by every single religion in the world.

If you’re new to fasting, you’ll obviously want to double check with your physician (knowing that they’ll most likely tell you that you’re crazy) before starting.

I would recommend beginning with a simple 1-day water fast. Eat and drink nothing but water for just one day.

If you feel better throughout the day or even the next day, that’s a good sign.

If you feel crappy, it could be related to blood sugar problems or caffeine withdrawal.

Remember, fasting is not easy. It requires commitment and determination. But if you are up for a challenge that can dramatically better your health then give it a shot.

A good place to start is with a great book called Eat Stop Eat. The author Brad Pilon does a good job at showing you the benefits of intermittent fasting and makes it very easy to apply. Check it out here.

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Posted in General Nutrition

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