Study Nutrition

It’s one of the most important things anyone can do, yet it seems no one cares to do it. I read books and studied the material. I am working on created a test on nutrition, on OKqupid.com. I will continue to read and learn more about nutrition. This was just an introductory foundation I’ve completed. Nutrition is as important as sleep, exercise and other mind-body topics that are vital for one to have a completely optimal healthy life. So, on to my next goal!

[If you don’t want to get the book or any book for that matter, which I highly recommend you should. I’ve taken some quotes from EAS Sports Nutrition Review that I found to be insightful and important. There are more examples, suggestions and important information than what I’ll be posting, which is why reading the book for your self is important. Any questions or suggestions, ask and you shall receive.]

• Although carbohydrates are now known to be muscles’ primary fuel and fat provides the most concentrated storage form of energy for the body, protein is essential for anyone concerned about performance. Depending upon how muscular you are, the majority of your body is derived from protein.

• Protein is a macronutrient like carbohydrates and fat. All macronutrients contain carbon, oxygen and hydrogen molecules. Protein differs from carbohydrates and fat in that it also contains nitrogen, sulfur and some minerals. When 100 or more amino acids link together, a protein is formed. Proteins are made fallowing specific genetic codes, so the amino acids are linked together in ways that turn on or off genes and code for specific proteins. There are over 10,000 different amino acids. Of the 20 amino acids, nine are considered essential because the body cannot produce them. Because the body needs a daily supply of these amino acids, protein is an essential nutrient that needs to be consumed daily.

Nine Essential Amino Acids
Histidine
Isoleucine (branched chain amino acid)
Leucine (branched chain amino acid)
Lysine (branched chain amino acid)
Methionine
Phenylalanine
Threonine
Tryptophan
Valine

Nonessential Amino Acids
Alanine
Arginine
Asparagine
Aspartic acid
Cystine
Glutamic acid
Glutamine
Glycine
Proline
Serine
Tyosine

• Proteins have more roles than just repairing and building muscles.
• Producing antibodies for the immune system.
• Manufacturing hormones and enzymes that are involved in most reactions in your body.
• Aiding in the digestion and absorption of food
• Being source fuel when muscle glycogen levels are low
• Maximizing the transport of oxygen to tissues
• Providing structure for muscles, tendons, ligaments, organs, bones, hair, skin and all other tissues

• About 90 percent of the protein you eat is broken down into amino acids and becomes part of the amino acid “pool” that the body draws upon when it needs to build or repair muscles or other tissues or to do any of the other roles that the amino acids play. (The body excretes the other 10 percent.)

• Amino acids have no form of storage in the body, so it’s important to have some protein every day.

• The protein molecule is broken down in the mouth and small intestine into its amino acids. Once this happens there are three possible outcomes.

1.Converted into glucose

2.Converted into triglycerides and stored as body fat

3.Released into the blood stream as the plasma protein or free amino acids to be used as energy.

• When it comes to protein, if you’re not at equilibrium, if you don’t eat enough protein, protein (usually from the muscles) is broken down to fulfill the amino acids “pool.” If you consume more protein than your body needs, the excess amino acids are broken down further and the nitrogen, ammonia, uric acid and creatine are secreted in urine, and part of the amino acid remaining can either be stored as body fat or muscle.

• Protein requirements appear to be affected by a variety of factors, including age, sex exercise type, intensity and duration, training history, total calorie intake and timing of the meals.

• When beginning a training program, the body uses a lot of additional protein until the body adapts to the exercise program, usually happening in two or three weeks. If you’re trying to lose weight, protein needs per pound of body weight are also increased. This happens because as you lose weight, muscle protein is broken down as an energy source.

Protein Requirements for Active Individuals (Use 1 Gram/Pound)

Moderate Strength Training and Primarily Aerobic Exercise
1.2 to 1.4 grams/pounds per day .5 to .64 gram/pound

Competitive Athletes, Adults
1.2 to 1.8 grams/pounds per day .5 to .82 gram/pound

Competitive Athletes, Children
1.8 to 2.0 grams/pounds per day .82 to .91 gram/pound

Heavy Strength Training
1.6 to 1.8 grams/pounds per day .73 to .82 gram/pound

Athletes Restricting Calories
1.4 to 2.0 grams/pounds per day .64 to .91 gram/pound

• Pre- and post-exercise meals containing some essential amino acids result in greater gains in muscle mass compared to gain from training alone.

• Post-exercise protein recommendations suggest eating a ratio of protein to carbohydrates of 1:3. What that means is that for every 3 grams of carbohydrates you have a gram of protein.

• Your muscle is primarily water, and contains up to 20 percent protein by weight. Here is how a pound of muscle down into components:

Water: 70 to 75 percent

Protein: 15 to 20 Percent

Fat, glycogen, minerals: 5 to 7 percent

• Protein is classified as complete or incomplete, depending upon its amino acid profile. If the protein contains all the amino acids needed to construct new proteins, it’s considered a complete protein. Animal sources of protein such as meat, poultry, fish and dairy products are complete proteins. Other Protein sources may lack one or more of the essential amino acids and are therefore called incomplete proteins. Incomplete proteins come from plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts. One exception is soy protein because it contains all of the essential amino acids.

Food Sources of Protein and Grams of Protein
Fish, poultry or lean meat, cooked (cooked) 20 to 30 grams
Tofu, firm (1/2 cup) 20 grams
Cottage cheese, low-fat (1/2 cup) 15 grams
Yogurt, low-fat (6 to 8 ounces) 10 to 12 grams
Lentils, cooked (1/2 cup) 9 grams
Kashi GoLean cereal (3/4 cup) 8 grams
Milk, 1 percent or skim (8 ounces) 8 grams
Peanut butter (2 tablespoons) 8 grams
Cheese (1 ounce) 7 grams
Peanuts (1 ounce or 28 nuts) 7 grams
Egg (1) 6 grams*
Baked potato (1) 5 grams
Pasta, cooked (1 cup) 5 grams
Hummus (1/4 cup) 3 grams
Vegetables, cooked (1/2 cup) 2 grams

Facts about Fat[For anyone sensitive to weight gain or anyone that can’t seem to ever gain an ounce, you may want to have your thyroid gland checked (its located in the neck). It’s responsible for your metabolism, amongst other things. A simple blood test can determine if you are Hyperthyroid (Underweight) or Hypothyroid (overweight)]

• The fats in food are referred to as lipids, from the Greek word “lipos” which means fat. Lipids are all made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, similar to carbohydrates and protein. They are either oils (liquid at room temperature), fats (solids at room temperature) or waxes and other related compounds. Cellular membranes are made up of lipids.
  

• The fat in food is an essential nutrient, just like carbohydrates, protein, vitamin C, E or any other essential nutrients. Fat is the most concentrated energy source of any of the macronutrients. It’s also necessary to digest and absorb vitamins A, D, E, and K and hundreds of beneficial carotenoids, such as lycopene and lutein. Fats also provide the body with essential fatty acids, linoleic and linolenic acids, that help to maintain the immune system, strong nails, shiny hair and clear skin. Fatty acids produce hormones that affect everything from hunger and sex drive to your moods.

• There are “good” and “bad” fats that either help protect you from diseases or increase your risk for chronic conditions. The so-called healthy fats are monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats and the bad fats are saturated fats or trans fats. When monos or polys are substituted for saturated fat or trans fats in the diet, they lower total blood cholesterol and triglycerides and raise healthy, HDL-cholesterol levels in the blood. They also improve insulin sensitivity and blood pressure. Saturated fat and trans fats may promote heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers and obesity because they raise LDL cholesterol levels, aggravate inflammation in the arteries, elevate triglycerides and trans fats lower healthy HDL cholesterol levels.

• Fat is broken down into short, medium or long-chain fatty acids and glycerol and then is further metabolized into triglycerides, which are the storage form of lipids in the body. Triglycerides are stored in the liver, muscles or fat tissue for use as energy at a later time. The body can store unlimited amounts of fat (as body fat).

• Fat stores contain at least 100 times more available energy compared to stored carbohydrates. All this stored triglyceride can be burned for fuel during exercise; however, the amount of fat versus carbohydrate burned during exercise depends upon the duration and intensity of your workouts. At low intensities, fat oxidation provides the bulk of the energy to the muscle but as intensity increases, the percentage of carbohydrates oxidized for fuel increases. Once you reach 70 percent to 80 percent of your VO2 max, fat oxidation is limited and carbohydrate provides 70 to 80 percent of the energy. Compared to burning one glucose molecule for energy, a fatty acid creates nearly four times as much energy; however, fat oxidation requires more oxygen than carbohydrate oxidation, so when you start breathing hard, your ability to burn fat as fuel diminishes. (Aerobic training will train your body to be more efficient by increasing the enzymes that are necessary to turn fatty acids into energy, thus allowing a higher percentage of fat to be used as fuel at the same previous percentage of VO2 max.)

• A percentage of 20-35 percent of total calories should be placed with emphasis on healthier types of fats. (Fat contains 9 calories per gram. Carbohydrates and Proteins contain 4 calories per gram.)

Fats and How much

Monounsaturated fats10 to 15 percent of calories.

Olive, canola, peanut oils; nuts and avocados

Polyunsaturated fatsUp to 10 percent of calories.

omega-6: Corn, safflower, sesame, soy and sunflower oils (and in margarines, salad dressings and mayonnaise made with these oils nuts and seeds.)

omega-3: Cold-water fish like herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines and tuna; flax seed, canola oil and walnuts.

Saturated fatsUp to 10 percent of calories.
Meat, poultry, butter, cheese, cream and whole milk; coconut, palm and palm kernel oils; processed foods such as cookies, crackers, chips and other baked goods.

Trans fats As little as possible.
Stick margarines, shortening, packaged baked goods such as cookies, pastries and crackers, candy, snack foods, French fries and other fried foods. A very small amount also occurs naturally in meat, poultry and dairy products.

• Avoid foods made with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, a major source of fats and choose soft or liquid margarine instead of hard or stick margarines.

Definitions:

1. Amino Acids: A group of nitrogen-containing, carbon-based organic compounds that serve as the building block from which protein (and muscle) is made.
2. Complete Proteins: These are proteins that contain all the essential amino acids in the right balance.
3. Calories: An energy-producing unit that is contained in food and released upon oxidation by the body.
4. Carbohydrates: These are organic compounds containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. They’re a very effective fuel source for the body. The different types of carbohydrates include starches, sugars and fibers and are classified into three groups-monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides. Carbohydrates contain four calories per gram. Glucose-blood sugar-is a carbohydrate used by every cell in the body as fuel.
5. VO2 Max: The maximum rate of oxygen consumption in an individual.

Up next: Vitamins and Minerals: What they are, what they do and why we need them!

[If you don’t want to get the book or any book for that matter, which I highly recommend you should. I’ve taken some quotes from EAS Sports Nutrition Review that I found to be insightful and important. There are more examples, suggestions and important information than what I’ll be posting, which is why reading the book for your self is important. Any questions or suggestions, ask and you shall receive.]

1. Understanding macronutrients: Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat

• Carbohydrates are made of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen through a process in plants that absorbs energy from the sun and converts it to carbohydrates that the uses for energy and stores within itself.

• Carbohydrates are the only source of energy that the brain central nervous system use.

• Monosaccharides are single unit carbohydrates; disaccharides are two monosaccharides linked together; and polysaccharides are carbohydrates with multiple single unit sugar molecules linked together to form one long-chain carbohydrate. Generally, most experts refer to carbohydrates as either simple, meaning one or two unit molecules, or complex, for the long-chain polymers. With some exceptions to the rule, simple carbohydrates are usually sugars or sweeteners and complex carbohydrates are starches or fibers.

Simple Carbs

Glucose(monosaccharides, converted carbohydrates)

Sucrose(Brown/Cane sugar, maple syrup, honey)

Fructose(Fruits and some Vegetables, honey, high-fructose corn syrup)

Lactose(dairy)

Complex Carbs:

fibers and starches, bread, grain, pasta, beans, potatoes, corn other vegetables.

• (Fat) At lower intensities, (<60 percent VO² max), fat oxidation can supply enough energy for exercise, but at higher intensities, carbohydrates are essential. (Longer less intense workouts burn off fat while shorter more intense workouts burn off carbs.)

• (Carbohydrates) When working at an intensity over 60 percent of VO² max, carbohydrates supply the majority of energy for exercising muscles.

• Carbohydrates are broken down into Glucose and stored in the muscles, liver and blood as glycogen.

(Importance of Carbohydrates) Without adequate carbohydrates in your diet, you may experience tiredness, staleness and lack of motivation to train. Carbohydrates are essential for mental acuity as well, so if you need to be sharp in your sport, don’t skimp on carbohydrates. In addition, consuming carbohydrates during endurance activity helps reduce fatigue and even helps us perceive the exercise as being easier. Chronic training with lack of carbohydrates has been linked to overtraining and may even compromise your immune system, increasing your chances of developing colds and other infections.

• Carbohydrates should supply about 40 percent of your total daily calories, although marathon runners or triathletes, who are exercising for hours most days a week, may even need up to 70 percent of their calories as carbohydrates. (Daily: 3 to 4.5 grams carbohydrates per pound of body weight.)

Carbohydrates: Glycemic index(GI) and Glycemic Load(GL)

• The Glycemic index is a measurement to rank how fast carbohydrates are digested and absorbed, resulting in a rise in blood sugar levels. (Gram for gram ‘50-gram’ [1.75 ounces] portion of food) Carbohydrates that break down quickly have the highest glycemic indexes. Carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the blood stream, have low glycemic indexes.

• The Glycemic load provides a better indication of food choices because it is based on the total carbohydrate of a typical serving of the food. The glycemic load equals the Glycemic index of a food multiplied by the carbohydrate content. (Diabetics strive for a lower glycemic load because of poor blood sugar control.)

• Fiber, fat, protein, acidity and other factors found in food may blunt the glycemic response. Since we often eat carbohydrates as part of a meal, the Glycemic Index does not apply to meals, only to the specific food tested.

• A diet rich in foods that elevate blood sugar levels are thought to be linked to obesity, high triglycerides in the blood, lower HDL “good” cholesterol, insulin resistance, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and even colon and breast cancer. However, because fiber, fat, protein and other factors affect Glycemic Index and glycemic load, it is not always practical or beneficial to use the index for planning meals; for example, ice cream and corn ships are lower on the Glycemic index and glycemic load because of their fat content, but that doesn’t necessarily make them healthier choices than lower-fat options.

• Glycogen Supercompensation. It’s a technique used to stimulate the muscles to store more carbohydrates by manipulating training and diet composition for a week prior to an endurance event. (For shorter events carb-loading is not recommended, more glycogen stores water and makes athletes feel heavy and bloated. Later phases of an endurance event outweigh the feeling of heaviness.)

In the next post I will talk about protein and fat. These postings are quotes and key points taken directly from EAS sports nutrition review, I highly recommend buying this book along with others to further your education as am I. If the auther was only able to capture a certain percent of the knowledge and publish it, lets say 100 percent of what they studdied they are able to sum up in 10 percent and then I read and interpret it and sum up key points in about 10 percent of what they wrote this leaves you reading this with 1 percent of the information to trully sink in, which is why reading it and studing it for yourself is important.

Two Thumbs Up!

I’ve been reading ‘Eas Sports Nutrition Review’, even though it’s distributed by a nutrition company EAS it is incredibly informative; and RIGHTFULLY SO! What a better source of knowledge than a company funded to study it completely?! I started reading it completely this time about a week ago and I’m nearly halfway done, its 305 pages with pictures diagrams notes and an credible amount of resources to further your study. This book is PERFECT for everyone, as a starting point for a solid foundation to someone wanting to refresh and strengthen their knowledge about nutrition, exercise and mental health along with goal setting amongst other things.

I’ve read parts of it before about muscle and strength gain and now as I read the section on fat loss and basic nutrition I cannot believe I overlooked the importance of the two sections. They explain insulin, carb. effects in terms of energy etc and leptin along with so much more. It is highly dense in information on not just describing what’s happening in the body but giving examples, explanations and suggestions.

I’m highlighting key points as I read it and compiling questions along the way so that I can quiz myself on the material to seriously retain the knowledge. I believe so strongly on this subject that it should be taught in schools as a necessity. I would advice EVERYONE to pick up a copy of this book and study it, not just read it but STUDY it! The knowledge and implementing of it is priceless.

For anyone that has ever gone through a diet, tried to lose weight or try to gain muscle and strength once you read this book your eyes will be open to a whole new world. This book is very cheap on amazon.com. You can get a copy used in great condition for as little as a few dollars. SERIOUSLY once you read this book you will have so many “Ah-Hah!” moments, where something in your mind will click. There are so many good points I could share with you about this book, I wish I could, so just read the book and see what I’m talking about.

Everything from how the food you eat effects insulin (also how to jump start insulin production, my dad is a type two diabetic and I have been noticing dozens of ways and combinations to almost ‘cure’ him of his diabetes! If there ever was a cure it is through nutrition!) production and energy storage to how fat cells work and what happens to your muscle cells and BRAIN when you are lacking energy from carbs, muscles get broken down into amino acids to supply the body with energy to the effects of lack of carbs and energy with brain function and concentration, not to forget the importance of water as well….

There is so much good stuff in this book! This book is all about optimizing your nutrition and well being I don’t think it should be limited to health enthusiasts, IT SHOULD BE TAUGHT TO EVERYONE! It should be taught in school as a mandatory subject for everyone. I don’t mean the average nutrition class one might take in high school I mean an in depth seriously important insight, one that this book greatly supplies.