A healthy diet & nutrition is as essential for a body as fuel for vehicles. This responsibility increases if one is an athlete or labour, a spokesperson, etc. Nutritionists, dieticians, coaches in case of spokesperson provides one with the best possible regimen. They help them to improve their lifestyle is the best way & slowly & gradually this lifestyle becomes a part and parcel of their life, their food habits which reflect in their personality. It’s needless to mention that along with the best nutrition diet it’s equally important to consume them in their scientifically & naturally assigned part of the day.
Let’s take a dig into 5 top performance food which most probably you, me & almost every one of us have ignored & been ignoring.
- Fats & oils- basically most sports people believe in cutting cuts & oils to maintain a healthy weight or to avoid any weight-related diseases. But in wake of maintaining weight & avoiding fats & oils what’s the biggest mistake which spokesperson or athlete commits is that they propose absolutely “no-fats” intake. And why it’s their biggest mistake lies because it comes with many health benefits. As it’s safely quoted many times just like machinery needs to be oiled for their smooth functioning our body is a machine indeed, which needs to be oiled repeatedly for their healthy working.
Oils & sugary touch enhance the taste & colour of food, & provide an excellent source of energy. It’s very obvious that while it’s important for sports people also to take in fats and oils, it’s equally important to know their inevitable types. But the mistake which most of us commit is that we over-consume unhealthy fats & oils & completely ignore the healthy ones.
It saturates the fats which are wrongly consumed & Trans-fatty acids. Sources of saturated fats are dairy & meat products, coconut & palm oils, deep-fried fruits, pastry items, confectionaries, biscuits, and snack foods. Both these saturated and trans-fats give birth to bad cholesterol known as LDL or low-density Lipoprotein & result in a decrease of good cholesterol or HDL (High- Density Lipoprotein. That’s why a proper watch of our correct types must be worked on.
Now, what’s the perfect fats & oils? Well, polyunsaturated & monounsaturated fats which have found its source in vegetable oil & animals fats, olive oil, peanut oils, nuts, avocados. Another member of this family is Omega 3- fats, which offers tremendous health benefits. It works well on the immune system & deals in curing diseases such as asthma, skin diseases, bone diseases & bowel diseases. Besides it, Omega-6 fats source from sunflower oil, whole grain cereals & nuts. Fats and oils store in it the double of protein & carbohydrates source of energy.
- Carbohydrates rich food- There are many features of carbohydrates rich food but it’s better to consider some basics here, viz. Total nutritional value, the effect on blood glucose and practical issues. Most nutritionists define them separately as nutrient-dense & refined. Nutrient-dense sources from vitamins, minerals, protein, or fiber, while the refined ones are those foods & drinks processed much & their nutrition density has removed the touch extent. Fiber is an important component of carbohydrate, which has its source from fruits and vegetables. The best way to have fiber is as it occurs naturally.
- Water- Water is essential to life. Most times, the complete absence of this utmost essential fluid in our body, scientifically termed as dehydration, does put life at risk. A perfect example of a disease related to the loss of water is diarrhoea, which in most cases leads to hospitalisation to replenish the loss. By the way, as much essential, this fluid is for life equivalent to this had been its ignorance, especially in winter. As the body feels less quenched, so we believe it that water is not required. But the fact is water is needed anytime & every time whether or not our body cries for it loud, our internal organs call out for it.
It has been cited in many places, “drink plenty of water”, or to be more precise “drink at least 8 glasses of water every day”. Water loss from our body occurs in many forms, viz., sweat, urine, and stool. Therefore, to replenish this daily loss, 8 glasses are our requirement, while under certain conditions, extensive exercise, strenuous work, continuous walking, cycling & in hotter climatic conditions, the requirement increases.
Now the liquid intake has many sources and milk, some juicy fruit and some vegetables, soups, ice cream, aerated drinks, yogurt etc. as well which adds to the surplus of fluid intake.
- Salts (electrolytes) – sodium & potassium are the two most important electrolytes which serve as the inner & outer coverings of cells. Sodium regulates the blood circulation of the body. Overdose of the same interrupts the calcium balance. While in most cases it’s seen that the proper amount of sodium intake is ignored by many.
- Grilled or baked fish- Fish like salmon, is a package of lean muscle-building protein, with a surplus of Omega-3 fatty acids which reduces inflammation, cleanses the arteries, & reduces heart risk. We see that most active & health-conscious people ignore this diet. The reason may vary from person to person. But we must take it in different forms like salads, or burgers, to extract 8-ounce benefit from it per week.
Needless to comment here that the list is broad enough to categorize each performance food. But that’s a very common tendency among the young, old and middle generation to ignore the foods which are in very tact terms called ‘ healthy’. Well, many quotes that what’s tasty is far from healthy.
To be more generous, let’s discuss some rules of proper eating habits
- First, almost everyone ignores the calories in the food one intake. Simply, it means nobody counts the calories in their meals, but yes, that’s a must.
- Second, as it’s mentioned in the details above, 8 glasses of water is a must to keep yourself hydrated.
- Third, one must remember the 3 white poison in this universe, 1) white sugar, 2) Maida, 3) Non-iodised salt if eaten raw.
- Fourthly, one must never dare to skip meals. That’s a big NO.
- Fifthly, another very important rule of food habit, which everyone must inculcate in their lifestyle, is to feed oneself with the position of The Sun. This means that breakfast should be strong, lunch should be the richest meal of the day as the Sun is high above the horizon so is our digestion. As the sun sets our digestive system also starts drooping & last, our dinner should be the lightest of all. This is the guru mantra to keep one’s digestive system, bowel system sound & stable.
- Sixthly, though damn tough especially for the youngsters, No junk food. It sounds next to impossible in the world, where the tongue kisses the lips once the nose smells the aroma of such foods.
The rule book is never-ending so is the list of performance foods which many ignore while many follow as well. But the fact here lies health is next to wealth, so everything will fall at its place if one gives equal importance to one’s health as to other priorities in life.