The value of eating naturally and simply to boost health and fitness for sport
To keep our bodies healthy and functioning properly we need a combination of protein, carbohydrate, fat, fibre, vitamins, minerals and water every day. Carbohydrate, which so often gets a bad rap, is for energy, protein builds and repairs tissue, including muscles, and fat is important so our nerves can work properly and to help the body absorb some of the nutrients we eat as well as being a valuable source of energy. Minerals and vitamins are there to keep everything happy and functioning well, and fibre keeps the digestive system flowing smoothly. Water is essential for most processes, so drink plenty.
Unless you are an elite athlete, then being sensible and including each of these elements into your diet everyday will keep you fit and able to work out/run/play sports/compete at a high level. Sure information is power, but sports science has become such a “thing” that you can literally bog yourself down with the sheer amount of information available. Elite athletes or those aspiring to those lofty heights should seek professional advice from a sports nutritionist as they can design a specific diet suitable to your body type and exercise/training needs.
“Keep it real! Don’t eat anything your granny wouldn’t recognise!”
One useful rule of thumb for healthy eating is to ‘keep it real’. In other words, avoid heavily processed foods. The closer to the way the earth produces something, the better. If it looks nothing like something that may exist in nature, then you probably shouldn’t be consuming it. Don’t eat anything your granny wouldn’t recognise! For example: crisps that bear no resemblance to a potato, or fruit cereals which are brightly coloured and don’t have a single ounce of actual fruit in them. Real food tells us when it’s right to eat, processed food can’t as it has been silenced with lots of chemicals to keep it available for much longer.
Similarly, if a food product has had to travel thousands of miles to reach your plate then it is probably nutritionally depleted. Every country has local products which follow a season and are delicious eaten within that season.
“It isn’t easier or cheaper to eat fresh and real, but it is worth it.”
It isn’t easier or cheaper to eat fresh and real, but it is worth it. Real, unprocessed food very simply cooked needs very little to improve what nature has perfected. Keeping it real also means sampling widely from what is available. If you pick the most wholesome food product and eat a reasonable amount in relation to your energy needs then you’re winning. So you can eat bread or whatever else you consider naughty, just make it full of whole grains, nuts and seeds, rather than processed to make it softer/sweeter/whiter.
Keeping it real is good for you, good for the planet and will help you enjoy your food while stay healthy and fit to pursue your favourite sport.