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What Mom Didn’t Tell You, Because She Didn’t
Know; WHY you need to eat your (fruits)
and vegetables
Remember sitting at the dinner table and Mom
saying, “Now (insert your nickname here) eat
all your vegetables; they are good for you.”
Mom was right! And as the years have gone by,
and research has progressed, we are learning
more and more about the health benefits of
fruits and vegetables; ESPECIALLY FOR
ATHLETES!
Fruits and vegetables, along with whole
grains, nuts and legumes, contain valuable
nutrients called phytochemicals. Phyto
(meaning plant) chemicals are naturally
occurring chemicals that have been associated
with the prevention of cancer, heart disease,
diabetes and high blood pressure (to name a
few.) Athletes may be at high risk for these
diseases, because of a process called
oxidation. Oxygen is, of course, essential for
life, but a small percent of it may become
harmful as it is transformed into free
radicals. Free radicals are very unstable. As
these free radicals try to stabilize
themselves, damage is done to cellular and
molecular structures. This damage is called
oxidation. When oxidation occurs, the cells
lose their protective cell membrane, putting
our bodies at risk for disease.
So
why are athletes at a higher risk, you ask.
Great question! Think about your last training
run. Remember breathing harder than usual? The
harder breathing is causing you to take in
more oxygen to accommodate and increase your
lung capacity. That is the purpose of a
training run, right? Right! However, along
with the training benefits, some of the
additional oxygen is also being changed into
those nasty free radicals…A more immediate
result you may see (feel) is inflammation
(sore muscles, joint pain, etc)! Inflammation
is also a result of oxidative damage to your
cells. What is an athlete to do? Eat more
fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and
legumes!
Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and
legumes are antioxidants. Antioxidants are
free radical scavengers; molecules that
stabilize the free radicals. That is a good
thing! The next question, is how many? The
general recommendation for is 4-5 fruits, 4-5
vegetables, and 11-13 (or more) servings of
WHOLE grains a day. Add in nuts and legumes
for a balanced food plan. On hard training
days, throw in a few more fruits and
vegetables, immediately following your
work-out! What kind? Try to eat a rainbow of
colors. The different colors of fruits and
vegetables, along with the vitamins and
minerals, actually contribute to the
preventative properties. So, variety is the
key…
The book, Superfoods Rx by Pratt and Matthews,
lists these “foods as dramatically better than
others for health and longevity:” beans,
blueberries, broccoli, oats, oranges, pumpkin,
soy, spinach, tomatoes, and walnuts (along
with salmon, turkey, tea and yogurt). These
are great foods to include as often as
possible, but not to exclude others.
My
challenge for you is to eat as many different
colors and varieties of fruits and vegetables
as you can this next month. Next month we will
talk more specifically about the health
benefits of each group.
Until then-Play hard and Eat well!
Love,
Janet
p.s. Don’t forget to thank your mom!
For more information, I welcome you to
contact me.
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