Food's primary role is to provide nourishment and growth to our bodies.


Got yourself confused about nutrition and eating?  Not sure what to eat and when?  Frustrated with the extra weight you are carrying?
Disappointed that you haven't lost any weight since you've started running?


Come along on Monday Dec 6th to the clubhouse for an information session about nutritional basics.
6:30pm all GGG's welcome

Healthy Smoothie

Homemade smoothies are a great way to have a nutritional snack.  Enjoy a smoothie for morning or afternoon tea.  Why not pack it with extra nutrition by adding some greens, its a great way to get more leafy greens into your diet and you won't even taste them in your smoothie - try this

1/2 water or skim milk
2 tblsp yohurt
2 tblsp protein powder (optional)
1 tblsp linseeds (flaxseeds - its omega 3)
1 tblsp wheatgerm
1 tblsp oat bran

add some greens such as

• hand ful of spinach
• 1 cluster of boy choy or similar leafy green
• some sprouts
• celery

add your choice of fresh or frozen fruit (why not try a combo of  two)

•  frozen blueberries
•  kiwi fruit
• strawberries
• mango
• pineapple
• pear
• banana (if freeze adds a nice creamy texture to smoothie)

Place in a blender or use a blender stick and blend until smooth, pour into a large cup, sit down and enjoy!

The smoothie will be thicker, colder and creamier if you use some frozen fruits such as berries.  Berries also add an antioxidant punch.

Glycemic Index - GI

Is a numerical system that measures how much of a rise in circulating blood sugar a carbohydrate triggers. GI is simply a measure of carbohydrate quality.

 The higher the number the greater the blood sugar response.
    GI of  70 or more is HIGH
    GI   56-69 - MEDIUM
     GI   55 or less - LOW

A knowledge and appreciation of GI will help you to choose the right amount of carbohydrate and the right sort of carbohydrate for your health and wellbeing.

You should aim to eat more low GI foods to keep blood sugar levels stable - this way it is easier to maintain your weight or to perhaps lose weight.  Less blood sugar spikes less cravings! Plus consuming low GI foods is associated with a lower risk of  Type 2 Diabetes and coronary heart disease.

Thyroid

It is an important gland in our body that secrets hormones which controls the way you metabolise food, in other words the way you use energy.  The thyroid influences how you lose or gain weight and also how well or poorly you sleep. The thyroid hormones helps produce body heat.  The thyroid uses specific vitamins and minerals to carry out it's daily functions. 

• Iodine
• Selenium
• Zinc, Copper, Iron
• Antioxidants & B Vitamins
• Omega 3

A simple blood test can see how your thyroid is functioning.

Focus on Protein

Proteins are the basic building blocks of the human body. Many of our bodies' important chemicals - enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, and even our DNA -are at least partially made up of protein.

Proteins are made up of amino acids and help build muscles, blood, skin, hair, nails and internal organs. Next to water, protein is the most plentiful substance in the body, and most of it is located in the skeletal muscles (60% -70%).

There are 20 amino acids that are required for growth by the human body and all but eight can be produced in your body.

These eight amino acids, called essential amino acids, must be supplied by food and/or supplements.

Foods that contain all of the essential amino acids are called complete proteins. These foods include beef, chicken, fish, pork,eggs, milk and just about anything else derived from animal sources.

 

Incomplete proteins don't have all of the essential amino acids and generally include vegetables, fruits, grains, seeds and nuts.

 

 During exercise, you are causing microtrauma to the worked muscles. Microtrauma is essentially tiny "wounds" that the body will have to repair to restore you to your original state. Thus, exercising is generally a catabolic process-you are breaking down muscle tissue faster than it can be repaired, but to a specific purpose.

 This is why  athletes typically have higher protein requirements than sedentary individual because they are breaking down and rebuilding far more muscle on a day to day basis. Eating after a workout curbs the process of catabolism and restarts the process of anabolism (building/repairing). By giving your body protein, you are essentially giving the go-ahead to begin work on repairing the damaged caused through the workout.

How to calculate the amount of protein you need:

 

 Weight in kg x 0.8-1.8 gm/kg = protein gram.

This is how much protein is in the following foods:

*100g lean meat - 30grams protein

*160g fish - 18grams

*130g chicken - 23grams

•Egg, large - 6 grams

•Milk, 1 cup - 8 grams

•Yogurt, 1 cup – usually 8-12 grams, check label

•Peanut butter, 2 Tablespoons - 8 grams protein

•Almonds, ¼ cup – 8 grams

•Cashews, ¼ cup – 5 grams

•Pecans, ¼ cup – 2.5 grams

•Sunflower seeds, ¼ cup – 6 grams

•Pumpkin seeds, ¼ cup – 8 grams

•Flax seeds – ¼ cup – 8 grams

Protein needs to be consumed with carbohydrate foods to maximise the rebuilding process.  Carbohydrate intake stimulates an insulin response which  improves the uptake of protein for  rebuilding.

Examples of carbo/protein snacks include - wholemeal pita bread topped with refried beans, mashed avocado, diced tomatoes, dollop of sour cream and  a sprinkle of paprika.  Ryvita's topped with tomato, avocado and slice of cheese or peanut butter and banana.  Add a sliced boiled egg to your salad sandwich.  Homemade musueli (oats, bran's, seeds, nuts, grains) layered with berries and vanilla yohurt. Tin  salmon on toast with a chickpea spread (mashed chickpeas, lemon juice and mint)

Prune Bars - into a food processor - 2/3 cup prunes, 1/3 cup dried apple, 1 tbsp sunflower seeds, 1/2 cup  wheat flake, 1/2 cup bran, 1 cup rolled oats, 1/2 cup powdered skim milk - Turn on the processor and add 1tbs vanilla, 1/3 cup unsweetned fruit juice until just combined. Add 2 teasp finely grated lemon rind.  Press into a slice tin and refrigerate for several hours before cutting into bars.

The low down on alcohol

Every drinking session will set you back

2 weeks

 in your aerobic capacity.

We could not move our bodies without the contraction of muscle.  In order for muscle to contract - ATP - andenosine triphospate - a chemical energy must be available.  It's like fuel for your muscles.  In each muscle there is only a small amount of ATP available to use and this stored ATP lasts only a few minutes.  Hence more ATP must be continually manufactured. 

To make ATP the muscles use carbohydrates, fats or proteins.  Carbohydrates make ATP the fastest ie. carbohydrates are broken down and used as energy. When the body doesn't need to use the carbohydrates for energy, it stores them in the liver and muscles. Stored carbohydrates in your liver and muscles,  is called glycogen.

Carbohydrates are divided into 2 groups: simple and complex.

Simple carbohydrates are also called simple sugars. Simple carbohydrates include: fructose (fruit sugar), sucrose (table sugar) and lactose (milk sugar), as well as several other sugars. Simple carbohydrates are great sources of quick energy. For example  when choosing something to eat  before a long run

Complex carbohydrates include fibre and starches. They can be found in vegetables, bread, rice, oatmeal, whole grains, peas and beans. Complex carbohydrates take longer to be digested, so your body needs more time to release these carbs into your blood as glucose.

Our bodies need a constant supply of energy to function properly and a lack of carbohydrates in the diet can cause tiredness or fatigue, poor mental function and lack of endurance and stamina.

Carbohydrates are also important for the correct function of our brain, heart and nervous, digestive and immune systems.

Fibre, which is also a form of carbohydrate, is essential for the elimination of waste materials and toxins from the body and helps to keep the intestines disease-free and clean.

Carbohydrates are an essential part of a healthy diet and should make up 50% of our daily calorie intake. The majority should come from complex carbohydrates, preferably the wholemeal varieties, as well as a large intake of fruit and vegetables.

Great carbohydrates choices include:

Bran, wheat germ, wholemeal bread, brown rice, potatoes, all forms of pasta but especially wholemeal pasta, barley, oats, lentils, chickpeas, beans, peas, corn, sweet potatoes, wholegrain cereals such as  muesli , brown breads, root vegetables such as carrots, turnips and leeks.

Poor choice carbohydrates are simple carbohydrates of the refined kind. They have no nutritional value and are generally high in sugars and fats. These  include sweets, sugary breakfast cereals, cakes, pastries, syrup, table sugar (sucrose), fizzy drinks, biscuits, chocolate.

Hydration is essential in a runner's program. Apart from the obvious reasons here's one we may not necessarily consider - the health of our teeth.  A dehydrated mouth becomes acidic and can cause damage to our teeth and gums... Another reason why its important to sip water often and from early in your run to keep your mouth moist.

"Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils" - avoid foods that list this ingredient - mostly found in foods such as cakes, biscuits, pastries, snacks and fast food.

Why?  Trans fats have no nutritional value and are only included in foods, for the benefit of the manufacturers - to increase shelf life.

However what they do your body, you must consider -trans fats contribute to the development of coronary heart disease. 

Do you know many countries have banned trans fats including Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, New York and California.

Trans fats increase bad cholesterol and lower the good kind.

If Australia won't yet take up the cause to ban trans fats, there is no reason why you can't decide to ban them for your diet and your families'...

Facts about Water

Water is the ultimate nutrient for our body's.  Do you know roughly 3/4's of your body weight is water.


Water's functions include

• help digest food through salvia and stomach secretions
• lubricate joints and cushion organs
• tranport nutrients, hormones and oxygen through the blood to our working muscles
• remove waste products such as lactic acid and carbon dioxide
• through urine, water carries waste products out to the body
• through sweat, helps to regulate body temperature during exercise

Want to improve your diet?

Where to start?  Change to wholegrains - eat multi-grain bread, brown rice, wholemeal pasta, nutritious high fibre multi grains cereals.

Why? Attaching Fibre to your carbohydrate choices means it takes longer for your body to break it down so your blood sugar levels remain more constant.

That's what you are aiming for -  constant blood sugar levels rather than fluatation levels that peak high and bottom out low - this is what cravings are all about - this is what causes that running out of energy feeling.

Eating processed white "foods" - simple carbohydrates - these products  are broken down quickly into simple sugars - so your blood sugar levels elevate quickly, peak and drop - umm feel hunger again?  Or you begin to crave for something sweet?  Or you could just go a small snack or treat?

So make better choices - choice wholegrains - add fibre to your daily food supply- grains & seeds - Fibre also ensures the digestive and bowel tract keeps moving - no stagnate wastes building up as toxins in your body.

Never entertain the thought of  cutting carbs from your daily food supply BECAUSE your brain needs carbohydrates to function!!

Each time you eat - ask yourself - Is this the most nutritious food I could be eating right now?

There is no big secret to successful daily eating - we all know the Food Pyramid - eat a wide variety of whole foods each day so your body obtains all the nutrients, minerals and vitamins it needs to function  and to function well.  Love yourself, Love your body. 

Food Swaps

Losing weight could be as easy as substituting  some foods for a healthier choice such as

• replace one cup of cooked rice with the same amount of barley - will give you less kj's, more fibre, iron and protein.  Barley is also a low gi option
• skip grapes try berries instead.  Half your kj's and increase fibre, vitamin C, folate and antioxidants
• replace couscous with Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) - it has way more nutritional value than couscous - fibre, protein and iron
• skip potatoes and eat beans! Beans are a great protein source, significantly boost your iron and magnesium levels plus make you feel fuller for longer
• forget commercial pasta sauce and use tin roma tomatoes instead. Its cheaper and you can add your own garlic and fresh/dried herbs.  Plus greatly reduce your sugar intake.
• say no to marshmallows and yes to dried apricots.  You may think marshmallows are fat free but they offer zero nutrition.  Replace 10 marshmallows with 10  dried apricots and you will increase your fibre, iron, betacarotene, potassium and folate intake.
• try greek yohurt instead of sour cream - less fat and more calcium.
• forget diet softdrink (research suggests they do not help with weight loss) drink water or sparkling mineral water if you want a tiggle!
• skip choc-chip cookies and try dark chocolate.  If you need a fix, go for quality.  Dark chocolate has a range of health benefits!