A High-Performance Diet

By Judith Cobb

Gold medal swimming machine Michael Phelps reported having an atrocious diet that did not include even one serving of vegetables or fruit in his 12,000 calories each day. There was no mention made of taking vitamin or mineral supplements, either. Here are six things you can start doing today to have a healthier diet than Michael Phelps and give you a leg up on the competition – if you aren’t blessed with Olympian genetics.

1 Eat veggies. Very fresh veggies contain antioxidants and minerals that are important to energy production and recovery. During intense or long workouts athletes generate more free radicals (molecules that damage tissue) which lead to inflammation and slower recovery. Antioxidants are molecules that neutralize free radicals.

How many servings of very fresh veggies do you need? The Canada food guide suggests a range of between seven and 10 half-cup servings per day depending on your gender and age. Try modifying that to one fist-sized serving of veggies for every 25 pounds of body weight.

Be sure to eat a variety of colors of vegetables every day to get a variety of minerals.

2 Avoid coffee, tea, and caffeine. I know there are studies that show athletes have better endurance and recover their energy faster with caffeine. We haven’t seen studies on the long-term impact of caffeine use on the adrenal glands while the body is under stress. Caffeine stimulates the adrenals, and if those adrenals are tired from over-training or stress in life, revving them is only going to aggravate their recovery. Dr. Christiane Northrup in The Wisdom of Menopause talks about another negative impact of coffee and tea – on bone density. Coffee and tea are very acid-forming. These acids slow down healing of tissues and increase the calcium demand to neutralize the acid thus directing calcium away from the bones. You can be bone and adrenal friendly by eliminating coffee, tea, and caffeine. To help clear acid out of the body drink a few ounces of black cherry juice after solid workouts.

3 Protein is important for tissue repair, but too much stresses the kidneys and can build acid that can aggravate inflammation. How much do you need? Six servings the size of one-half of your palm, with at least three of them being vegetarian-source proteins, will do for most people. One of these should be within one hour of completing your heavy workout for the day.

4 Replace all refined carbohydrates with complex carbohydrates. Refined carbs (white flour, white sugar, white rice) provide only empty calories and use up valuable nutrients in the digestion process. As an athlete, the more you train the more nutrients and calories your body requires. Whole grains in the form of cooked grains (e.g. brown rice, quinoa), hot cereals (e.g. Sunny Boy, 7-grain, Kasha) provide B vitamins, iron, magnesium, and the antioxidants vitamin E, zinc and selenium in addition to fibre for bowel health.

5 Water IS the beverage of choice. Replace pop, coffee, tea, juice (except for post-training black cherry juice) and excessive alcohol with water. Flavoured waters and pop are filled with chemicals (including artificial sweeteners) we just don’t need. Drink ½ ounce of water for each pound of body weight on a sedentary day. On active days you’ll need to hydrate over and above your base intake. Choose your electrolyte drinks carefully, avoiding those with caffeine, artificial sweeteners, and artificial flavours.

6 Many athletes are ‘fat-conscious.’ Do everything you can to avoid foods labelled with ‘no fat’ or ‘low fat.’ We need healthy fats for energy, hormone balance, immune function, nerve function, and healthy skin. Coconut oil and butter are excellent for cooking. Flax oil and olive oil are excellent for cold use. Try combining equal parts coconut oil, butter and flax oil. Store this in the fridge in a glass jar with a tight lid. Increase the flax oil as needed to produce a spreadable product for use on steamed veggies, rice, and sprouted-grain bread. (Do not use this blend for sautéing or frying.) As an athlete, you not only need calories to support your training habit, you also need increased amounts of vitamins and minerals to support your metabolism, including tissue repair. Improving your food choices will enhance your vitamin and mineral intake. If in doubt, consult with a wellness practitioner to see if the addition of specific vitamins and minerals might be good ideas to support you in your athletic endeavours.

Judith Cobb is a master herbalist, certified iridologist and nutritional consultant practitioner in Calgary, who runs half-marathons and Olympic distance triathlons.

January/February 2011 Issue