Macronutrients They are types of food that are require a lot of nutrients especially protein, carbohydrates and fat in a diet. Carbohydrates They are foods and living tissues that consist of sugars, starch, and cellulose. They have hydrogen and oxygen in the same ratio as water (2:1), which can be broken down to release energy. Complex carbohydrates are found in foods such as peas, beans, whole grains, and vegetables. Simple carbohydrates are broken down quickly by the body so that they can be used as energy. Simple carbohydrates are normally found in fruits, milk, and milk products. On top of that, they are also found in processed and refined sugars such as candy, table sugar, syrups, and soft drinks. After that, both simple and complex carbohydrates turn to glucose (blood sugar) in the body and they end up being used as energy.
Also, glucose is used in the cells of the body as well as in the brain. Proteins One of the substances that are found in meat, cheese, fish, or eggs. Their main use is to build muscle as well as gaining muscular strength. It is also very important for optimal health and physical performance. This is because our muscles, organs, and immune system are mainly made up of protein. The smallest units of proteins are amino acids, in which our body requires 20 of them for protein synthesis to occur so that we have optimal growth and functioning. This is because different proteins have different amount of amino acids.Fats Fats contain butter, oil, nuts, meat, fish, and some dairy products.
The body uses fat as a fuel source, and fat is the one that normally stores the form of energy in the body. Saturated fat is the type of fat that has a lot of fatty acid molecules without double bonds, considered to be less healthy in the diet than unsaturated fat. Unsaturated fat is the type of fat that has a lot of fatty acid molecules with at least one double bond, which should be healthier in the diet than saturated fat.Micronutrients Substance that are needed in certain amounts for the normal growth and development of living organisms.Vitamins Group of organic compounds that are important for your growth and nutrition. They are not needed too much in your diet as they are not able to be synthesized by the body. Fat-soluble vitamins are found in oily parts of food and when they begin to get digested, they are absorbed and transported in the lymph, which reaches the blood. Water-soluble vitamin consist of vitamin B and C.
Vitamin B normally make use of energy in your body. If it goes over the limit, it will be excreted through the urine so your body has only limited stores, which means you need to take it regularly.Minerals They are non-caloric nutrients, which are needed in small amounts like vitamins. It is found in foods that are important for your health and growth. A lot of micro minerals such as calcium are needed and could go up to a few hundreds of milligrams a day. Trace elements with the likes of copper and selenium are needed in smaller amounts and they are calculated in micrograms. They are also very important to health and have a important component to our bone, connective tissue, enzyme and hormones.
The levels of minerals are also very carefully looked at by absorption and excretion so that there is not too much build-up.Fibre They are complex carbohydrates that cannot be digested. It is found in fruits, vegetables, grains, and legume. Their responsibility includes helping the blood cholesterol decrease as well as preventing diabetes and heart disease. Food with fiber make us feel full, aiming to discourages overeating. Also, fiber itself has no calories, and it helps move food through the digestive system, which helps increase healthy bowel function as well as protecting against constipation. Soluble fiber partially dissolves in water and has been shown to lower cholesterol. However, Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water, but they are the reason why it helps with constipation.
Nutritional Requirements This is the amount of each nutrients we need, but it depends on our age, sex, level of activity as well as our health status. Some nutrients are important for different stages of life such as taking calcium when you are a child and iron when a women is pregnanct Essential & Non-Essential CarbohydratesAround 50-60% of your calories should be carbohydrates (mostly from strachy sources) to support health and performance. This is equivalent to 250g per day for females and 300g for males. Athletes will most likely need more intakes such as long distance runners needing 65-70% of their total energy from carbohydrates. Essential & Non-Essential Protein Protein intake should normally be around 12-15% of your total daily energy intake. However, some athlete will need more protein to promote tissue and growth in order to prepare for their training and competitions. Additionally, our body requires all 20 amino acids for protein synthesis to happen so that we have optimal growth and functioning.
Different proteins have different amount of amino acids. The eight amino acids in our body are not capable of making are essential amino acids as they are very important for our diet. The rest of the amino acids are non- essential, in which our body can synthesis if all of the essential ones are there.
Essential & Non-Essential Fats The average diet is about 40% of calories of fat, which is over the limit. Therefore, it is recommended that the intakes should be around 30-35% instead with around 70g per day for females and 90g for males with 6-10% from saturated fats. However, athletes will most likely need to reduce their fat intake to 25-30% of their energy consumed so that they can have a good amount of carbohydrate intakes.
Nutrition TerminologyRecommended Daily Allowance (RDA) This dietary standard has been used in the UK since World War II. Its aim is to avoid nutritional deficiency and by doing that it normally suggests one intake target per nutrient. It can also be used for different nutrient intake values, which consists of reference nutrient intake, estimated average requirements, lower reference nutrient intake and safe intake.Optimum Level This depends on some of the individual requirements, lifestyle and circumstances with the likes of smoking and stress. Also, sometimes there are recommended nutrients that are either too high or too low. Therefore, in order to know someone’s optimum nutrient intake level, it will need biochemical screening through analysing blood or urine, even though it is not a normal practice.Safe Intake (SI) This is to show the intake of a nutrient where there is not enough scientific information to predict the distribution of requirements within a population. It stands for an intake that is enough for most people’s need but they also have to remember that it cannot be too high as it can be unhealthy.
Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) They are the normally used in testing the requirement of energy. A lot of people need more than the EAR and a lot more also require less. This depends on a lot of different factors- height, age, sex, weight and aim in particular.
For example, if you aim to gain weight then you will have more diets, which means more nutrients in your diet and vise versa.Components of a Balanced DietCarbohydratesThey are macronutrients found in both healthy and unhealthy foods such as bread, beans, milk, popcorn, potatoes, cookies, spaghetti, soft drinks, corn, and cherry pie. The ones that come up the most are normally sugars, fibers, and starches. They are the body’s main source of fuel, needed for physical activity, brain function and operation of the organs. All the cells and tissues in your body need carbohydrates, and they are also important for intestinal health and waste elimination. They are also readily stored in your muscles for energy and they allow you to get the most of the protein you consume to be used for tissue synthesis (especially with muscle building) rather than fuel.FatsMacronutrients that contain butter, oil, nuts, meat, fish, and some dairy products. The function to is body is to give sources of energy and forming your body’s biggest potential energy store.
Even if you are someone very lean, you will need a lot of energy stored as fat as it is twice as energy-dense as other macronutrient, which yields 9 calories per gram. It is important to include this in your diet because it protects and cushions your vital organs. By doing this it gives the structural material for cells as well as acting as an insulator. ProteinsMacronutrients that include fish, meat, chicken and smoked salon.
They are small units of protein are amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins. What they do is by having all 20 amino acids for protein synthesis to happen as well as sustaining optimal growth and functioning. It is important to include it in your diet because it helps build and repair tissues. It can also be used as a secondary sources of energy when fat and carbohydrates are not enough, which tends to happen in long endurance events or during a lot of energy restriction.Water They are macronutrients that do not provide energy. Drinking Water helps balance of fluids as your body is contained with around 60% water. The functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature, which also helps with your calorie control.
Water helps energize muscles- if cells don’t keep their balance of fluids, muscle fatigue will happen. Therefore, having a sufficient amount of water is absolutely essential.FibreMicronutrients that are obtained from wholegrain cereals, nuts, pulses, fruits and vegetables.
It helps prevent and treat diseases such as cancer of the colon, diabetes, heart disease and irritable bowel syndrome. There are also two types of fibre, which are soluble and insoluble. Soluble fibre involve oats, rye, barley, beans, peas, fruits, lentils and vegetables- helping your blood glucose control and cholesterol. Meanwhile, insoluble fibre is found in whole wheat bread, rice and pasta, cereals as well as fruits and vegetables- which helps prevent bowel disorders. On top of that, a healthy diet will need you to have both fibres (around 18 gram a day).
Having lots of fibre and fluid helps keep your bowel functioning well. It also helps with weight control by achieving fullness.VitaminsThey are micronutrients that can be found different plant and animal sources as well as grouped depending on what kind of soluble they are (fat/water).
Also, fish oils and liver contain vitamin A; meat, grains and leafy green vegetables are found in B vitamin; vitamin C include fruits such as oranges; vitamin D and vitamin E involves fish oils and nut oils; leafy green vegetables are also examples of a good source of vitamin K. It involves a lot of metabolic processes in your body especially the ones that help release energy. Additionally, they help with growth and the immune and nervous system functions.
Some of them also help produce hormones. MineralsThey are micronutrients that include calcium and they are needed in huge amounts, up to a few hundred milligrams per day. Meanwhile, copper and selenium require less amount. Additionally, they are all very important to your health and form bone, connective tissue, enzyme and hormones.
Complete a one-day food log for a selected elite sports performerAthlete Name: Eddie HallSport: StrongmanMeal 1Flavoured rice and an apple with ½ litre of waterMeal 2Cheese and beans on toast and an orange Meal 3Chicken and potatoes, yoghurt, a chocolate bar and a litre of water Meal 4Steak and chips with saladSnack 1A packet of nutsSnack 2A tuna sandwich and ½ litre of waterSnack 3An apple and a flapjackSnack 4A packet of chips and a plumSnack 5Waffles and ice cream Pre- WorkoutA carb shake with creatinePost- WorkoutA protein shake with BCAAsHydrationTwo litres of water- ½ for breakfast, 1 for lunch & ½ for snackAn athlete’s diet will be very different from an average person’s balanced diet since they have different goals that they want to achieve. For my elite sports performance Eddie Hall, a strongman, his ultimate aim is to lift the heaviest weights possible so that optimal performance is ensured as well as building his strength. Therefore, his diet will involve a lot of protein so that he is able to build muscular strength and endurance. In order to achieve that, Eddie Hall has a carb shake with creatine before he works out and a protein shake with BCAAs after his workout. Whereas, an average person’s diet would be different because they only need those nutrients to stay healthy and active. This means an average person would have way less macronutrients than a strongman like Eddie Hall. An average person would have around 0.
8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, which leads to 56 grams per day for men and 46 grams per day for women. For carbohydrates, it is recommended 45 to 65% of your total calories that you have each day depending on the amount of calories you have each day. Therefore, if you have around 2,000 calories a day, then 900 to 1,300 of your calories should involve carbohydrates. This then means you should be having around between 225 and 325 grams of carbohydrates a day. In terms of fat, it will be from 4 to 5 grams per pound of how much you want to weigh.
For example, if you are aiming to weigh 180 pounds, this means you are able to eat as much as 90 grams of fat per day if you want to. However, for Eddie Strong, he will need to have at least 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight because he is building muscular strength and endurance, which then leads to around 356 grams of protein a day for him since he weighs 178 kilogram. In terms of carbohydrates, Eddie Hall will need around 597 grams of carbohydrates a day since he weighs 178 kilogram and will need around 3.4 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight. This is because they help fuel Eddie Hall’s workouts, and provide ample energy for the day so that movement and brain function are enabled.Involving carbohydrates before Eddie Strong’s workout is essential because carbohydrates helps with fuel energy and without it it means he will fatigue sooner in his weightlifting workout.
Involving proteins after his workout is also essential because protein helps build muscles. Protein is made up of amino acids- which are the building blocks of your muscles and body. Without having protein (amino acids) in your diet, it would be impossible for athletes to build, repair or even keep up with their muscle tissue.Additionally, hydration is absolutely essential for everyone especially for Eddie Strong since he is a strongman. Water helps energize muscles (especially athletes), if cells don’t keep their balance of fluids, it can lead to muscle fatigue as well as worsening performance.
Therefore, having a sufficient amount of water during Eddie Hall’s workout is important when exercising. 17 ounces of fluid about two hours before exercise is recommended. During exercise, it is suggested that people keep hydrated regularly during your exercise so that they are able to replace fluids that have been lost by sweating.