Go Nuts With Your Nutrition

Stock Photo: Markus Mainka

I wouldn't say that I am a nut person, yet I do enjoy the occasional handful of these crunchy pieces of nutrient-dense foods. I also enjoy dried/desiccated fruits.

As an active endurance athlete, I use nuts as a supplementary source of nutrients. Here are how I eat them:

1) I sprinkle them over my raw salads. I enjoy pumpkin seeds, walnuts, almonds, cashews, chia seeds, dried fruit and raisins. They provide a protein boost to the pigmented leaves. I, sometimes, spruce up my nut count if I eat my salad at home.
2) Drink water when eating nut by itself. It can dry your throat.
3) The easiest way to consume nuts is from a bag. Ensure that unused nuts are kept in a resealable Ziploc bag.
4) Although nuts and dried fruits can be refrigerated to ensure shelf-life, consume them as soon as possible. The refrigerator is a dehumidifier, and may cause precious essential oils from the nuts to escape. The same goes for coffee powder.
5) I enjoy nuts as a snack, especially when I feel peckish on a long indoor-ride. I get a mild feeling of satiety or fullness, whilst enjoying the energy from the oils. I have also raced with nuts in Ironman races.
6) Certain nut oils complement the essential and stable cooking fats (extra-virgin olive oil, butter and coconut oil).
7) I developed an appreciation for nut butters (mainly peanut and almond) after I ate some during my time in the Boston Marathon 2014. A trip to Trader Joes convinced me of the relevance of buying a prepared version, or a home-made, bespoke recipe.
8) Invest in a powerful blender/grinder and make your own nut butter flavoured with Himalayan salt, raw honey, bee pollen, berries, and other oils.

Nuts and the nut oils are a relevant complement to our dietary needs as serious athletes. There are many nut-based products you can create in your kitchen like health-bars, smoothies, and spreads.

Nuts can vary in pricing, source, agricultural treatment and preparation. The website 'NUTS.COM' incorporates the expertise of a dietitian to recommend simple treats and solutions for your nutritional needs. Check it out to learn more about healthier solutions about nuts, dried fruit, and other tasty treats for your energy, recovery, and racing needs.

Feeding The Engine & Your Computer

As active professionals and amateur athletes, we spend a considerable amount of time stressing our minds and bodies. The Law of Conservation of Energy, as applied to our physiology of the human body, suggests that we balance the simple equation of input/output. When energy (calories) expenditure equals to energy intake, we tend to keep our bodyweight and meet our bodily needs for activity and normal functioning. This equation, obviously, shifts when you participate in endurance activities, be it work, sports, or sustained wakefulness.

With the plethora of television programs by celebrity medical practitioners (Dr Oz, The Doctors) we are introduced at an accelerated rate tips and factoids that are aimed at helping us ‘live longer and stay younger’. Nothing too complex as long as we avoid excessiveness, exercise discipline in our eating, sleep adequately (7 hours, at least), and manage our stress well.

Here are some of my learning and leanings in recent months:

1)    Increase your intake of antioxidant-loaded foods, especially if you indulge in endurance sports. Aerobic activities involve larger intakes of oxygen, and the pool of free radicals in your body (if unattended to, nutritionally) can accelerate the ‘aging’ process. Seek organic sources of fruit concentrate if you cannot get them straight from the fruit (for example, pomegranate juice and tart cherry are not as popular so are harder to get freshly pressed). Avoid watered-down versions of the juices. You are better off buying the organic version and diluting it yourself.

2)    Eat colourful vegetables. The traffic-lights remind us of eating veggies that are ‘red, green and yellow’: we can then enjoy plant pigments and natural chemicals from lycopene to chlorophyll to beta-carotene. Have a rainbow of colourful plants that include variations like purple, orange and blue.

3)    Drink clean water, regularly, in small amounts. It takes 24-48 hours to properly hydrate our body. Water is found both within and outside of our muscles. The intra-muscular (within) water is most critical to performing well at races, as well as a hectic corporate life. Ensure your water is as fresh as possible, and bottled water is not the best source as it is contained in plastic vessels, sitting for weeks or months on the retail shelves. Drink from a glass bottle.

4)    Have a healthy breakfast. This is, perhaps, the most important meal of the day after a night of ‘fasting’. A whey protein drink is a convenient and effective form of restoring your blood sugar level to normal. Otherwise, consume low glycemic index (GI) foods with protein added. Eggs are natural foods that should not be avoided as it has all the metabolisers within to digest this complete food. Great news: An avalanche of recent reports indicates that coffee is touted to be loaded with antioxidants and may deflect some major illnesses including some forms of mental disease. I drink a cup 2-3 hours before a race, as it helps me be alert, and metabolises fatty acids.

5)    Eat a small nutritious snack within 30-60 minutes after exercising. The window of opportunity for recovery is determined by this period of cessation of activity, when your body needs to repair damaged cells and restore its energy sources (glycogen, blood sugar). Whey protein (which is closest to mother’s milk) is a useful ingredient during this time. Choose a whey protein with no artificial sweeteners (as these are toxic and carcinogenic in large consumptions).

6)    Avoid whey protein during a race as it builds up nitrogen that is best kept after a race. Instead, use a soy-based protein as it reduces this fatigue build-up, and keeps your appetite sated. Focus on proteins which are complete (all 22 amino acids, with the Essential Eight). Branched-Chained Amino Acids (BCAAs) are most vital after strenuous endurance or strength activity.

7)    Our bodies take a slump around 1-3pm. Stand up, and take a walk! Activity reduces release of your serotonin levels. Serotonin, long thought to be encouraged by high-carbohydrate meals and certain foods (like turkey, because of its natural-occurring tryptophan) it is just ‘that time of the day’.

8)    Reduce your intake of table sugar and simple sugars. Whether you seek a sleek set of washboard abdominals, or want to perform to the best of your athletic ability, reduce your intake of high-GI carbohydrates. Snack foods and breakfast cereals contain lots of the cheap flavour enhancer, corn syrup. Even sports-gels and drinks contain this energy-sapping sweetener.

Do You Take Enough Of Such Nutrients?

In the sports of endurance, our body undergoes much physical and mental stress. Complete rest (mainly sleep) and full recovery is one of the major keys to progress and performance. Nutrition is the other crucial leg in the tripod of sporting performance, if we are to continue to improve and attain our personal bests. Longevity is the goal of many lifestyle athletes, as well as serious amateur athletes.

In these processed-food-dense times, there are 12 key nutrients that can help us retard the premature aging process. These include:

1)    Vitamin D

2)    Astaxanthin (from a microalgae)

3)    Ubiquinol (Co-enzyme Q10)

4)    Fermented foods/Probiotics

5)    Krill Oil

6)    Vitamin K2

7)    Magnesium

8)    Polyphenols

9)    Folate (Vitamin B9, or Folic Acid)

10) Vitamin B12

11) Curcumin (Tumeric)

12)Vitamin A

How many of these anti-aging nutrients are you consuming? How much of your foods are natural-based? How deliberate are you in reducing your processed food intake? Defy the hands of time, and reverse your chronological clock!

First Aid & Post-Recovery Strategies

Most people will skip this post thinking that it is a feature on medical first-aid. In fact, it is more. It also pertains to your leadership.

Having healed from injuries, and suffering a few residual ones (stiffness, inflexibility, rheumatism) I have learnt a few useful techniques about self-healing (versus self-medication, which I do not condone especially if you have an existing disease or medical condition or are under medical supervision) that may help you accelerate or exacerbate the painful symptoms of physical injury or trauma.

The sports-aid methodology of RICES holds. RICES is Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation and Support. It helps reduce further damage to the injured part, and treats mostly the symptoms; in most case, this is the preferred result when you are suffering from pain. Pain indicates something is wrong, so pay heed to the source of pain. Is it localized? How wide is the area of impact? Which visible signs of injury can you detect?

1)    With immediate injury from bruising or physical contact, use ice as soon as you can. Ice-therapy reduces the temperature of the injured area, reduces further inflammation, tissue damage, and lessens pain.

2)    A day or two after injury, you can apply deep tissue self-massage to relieve the tightness. One trick is to apply enough pressure on the sore or tender area, for about 5-10 seconds. You can feel it relax. Acupressure – using the fingers as acupuncture needles – can help provide relieve to the tensed muscle. Upon suffering trauma, most muscles tighten into ‘knots’ that are tender spots, and can be gradually softened with direct manual or mechanical contact.

3)    Some physical activity, however mild, draws nutrient-rich blood to the injured area. You can do supported, low-impact activity in the swimming pool or do light, high-cadence, spinning on the stationary-bike or walk.

4)    We are what we eat. GIGO: Garbage in, garbage out. Focus on higher quality foods that provide all the six major nutrients: carbohydrates, protein, fats, water, vitamins and minerals. Herbs can help by accelerating the cleansing and repair processes, however seek a trained TCM specialist for consultation.

5)    Because repair of damaged tissues take precedence, consume slightly more protein for the next few days. Also, consume more antioxidant-filled foods like juices of pomegranate, tart cherry, concord grape and blueberries. If you can consume the fruit all the better.

6)    Monitor the injured area for prolonged pain, or expanded pain. Seek immediate medical attention when you detect peculiarities such discolouration of skin, sharp pains, and reduced mobility (broken bones and fractures can impede movement and breathing).

7)    Sprained (torn) and strained (pulled or over-stretched) muscles take longer to heal because these are soft tissues. Use ice to reduce muscle swelling and when stretching do not exceed its flexibility or you will trigger the stretch reflex.

10 Post-Training Recovery Methods

What happens after training is as important as what occurs before it. Recovery methods help us ready ourselves for the next session. In the hours leading up to the next strenuous session, what we do can spell the difference between a good or better session.
1)    Hydrate and rehydrate. Water is a key nutrient for recovery. It is one of the six nutrients required for life. Many biochemical reactions in our body rely on water as a medium. Be mindful that you can be dehydrated during long swim sessions.
2)    Within 30-60 minutes of cessation of exercise, consume ample quantities of carbohydrates and protein. Cellular repair and glycogen replenishment begins as soon as you stop all strenuous activity.
3)    Quick-fixes for carbohydrate-protein meals after exercise include chocolate milk, meat-based rice porridge, fruit and yoghurt, or a whey protein shake (like Muscle Milk). Power-gels or a Power-Bar is a good stand-by source of ready-to-eat nutrients. 
4)    Load up on natural sources of antioxidant-laden food like fruit and nuts. Polyphenols, found in fruit juices like pomegranate, concord grape, blueberries and tart cherry can help reduce muscle soreness. Chocolate and red wine also contain these natural chemicals. You can buy these from major supermarkets like Giant and NTUC in the organic, health-food section. 
5)    If you are into popping of pills, then a multi-vitamin and mineral blend helps. Vitamins A, C and E are useful anti-oxidation nutrients that also protect the heart.
6)    Smaller meals comprising carbohydrates and protein are probably more useful than humungous meals that bog you down.
7)    Raise your feet up – against the wall. Gravity delivers the residual lactic acid back to your liver for reprocessing. This was a favourite passive recovery method of competitive cyclist, Greg Lemonde.
8)    Spinning on a stationary-bicycle can be most rewarding as it recycles the lactic acid that dwells in muscles, and flushes impurities and toxins out of fatigued muscles.
9)    Sleep is under-rated. Aim for uninterrupted sleep, in a dark room, with temperature set to cool. The nutrient melatonin may be useful if you still are experiencing a buzz from an evening workout.
10) Stretching, yoga and self-massage may aid recovery. It puts the muscles in a relaxed and less tensed state. Why deny your self of relief from pain and discomfort?

Taking Care of Risky Business

After a week of stress-inducing disappointments from my online travel-ticketing agent, I managed to amend my flight details. I now arrive one day later than planned, and three days before the Big Event in Lanzarote. Such is life and we learn to accept it with initial frustration and annoyance.

It is official that the inaugural Ironman China in Tianjing has now cancelled its swim leg. Having experienced my first non-starter in the watery stage at Ironman New Zealand in 2006 (90-100kph winds) and IM Korea 2006 (choppy, white-water, sea conditions), I have learnt to live with emergencies and exigencies. Peter Principle is always operating in the background. Guano happens! Time to convert it into manure or organic fertilizer! With the additional day, I can ensure I leave no stone garden unturned in my packing list, and enjoy another good night’s sleep (and naps) on my own bed at home.

Over five years of Ironman and marathon racing, I have learnt to bring extra, just-in-case stuff (nutrients and equipment). Other than flammable or potentially-explosive items like CO2 cartridges, I bring all my equipment and food I need for race-day. The costs for buying forgotten items at race-fairs may be punitive. In a foreign land, with no other nationals racing with you, you may have to travel with a tyre-pump, patch-kits, and your own assembly tools (traveling with a Frequent Flyer who has 20kg excess baggage certainly helps!). You are your own bike mechanic, race advisor and meal planner. If you have peculiar race rituals or eating habits (or condiments) prior to the race, ensure that you bring enough and clear with custom officials as you enter the immigration gate. Declare or denounce – that is the convention.

I now bring my own race-day food as I may not agree entirely with that offered at aid-stations. Energy gels and Special Needs food are your personal preference. Use what you trained with and bring enough. Apply the Plus-20 Percent Factor: on a particularly bad day, your need for energy and nutrients will increase. You tend to consume more calories in cold climates, raining days, rolling terrain and a bad section of the race.

Through years of planning, organising, directing and control (PODC) I have learnt that we can implement entry and exit strategies. We create options for ourselves when we also factor in seemingly uncontrolled factors. There is no stopping Acts of God, cancelled flights, baggage theft, and staff going on lunch-breaks or union-led strikes. We do what we can do under the circumstances, and seek assistance wherever we can. I am sure we know enough people, within our span of Six Degrees of Separation, to be able to consider our next route of advance or retreat. There is always a solution, or somebody with a solution.

The weeks leading to (and possibly after) an ultra-endurance race such as marathons, Ironman triathlons and ultra-marathons can be risky. Our immune system may be compromised and we can get ill. Colds, coughs and flu may be the repercussive effects of taxing our body’s stress hormones. Increase slightly your intake of vitamin C, B-vitamins (to calm us down), zinc, antioxidants (from natural sources), water, L-glutamine, and protein. Reduce stress as much as you can – however, avoid getting fussed and flustered in the process.

As we load up on training, we need to ensure a corresponding increase in nutrients and sleep. There is no one single Secret Formula, however there may be many formulae we can apply in this mega-formula. Stick to the Basics, and then some. Go back to nature – that is, eat natural foods, cooked within your control, and not tainted by the glamour of food science. You don’t have to be vegan to learn useful things from them. Learn how to eat fresh, prepare safely, and eat wisely. Avoid biting off more than you can chew. Anything more than a mouthful is a waste! But I digress…

If it is your first time as a triathlete…live and learn!

The Importance of Anecdotal Evidence Versus Scientific Evidence

Do you trust the science or the word? Although the bark may be worst than the bite, the hype can be more expensive. Look at the popular brands of bikes, swim-goggles, tri-suits, running shoes, sunglasses and your next race – it is quite obvious that influence plays a big part in building brands.

Many advertisements today, tout their products, with gleaming scientific references. Referencing to research can be a powerful process, as according to Robert B. Cialdini, PhD., Social Proof gives us ample reason to justify our purchases. When champions or leading age-groupers promote products through their endorsements, we may be easily swayed by their preferences or biases. Social media 2.0 are active agents of promotion or demotion; they can make or break brand reputations, and also bust our wallets.

How often have you been influenced by your friends? How often have you responded to recommendations by your podium-placing sporting buddies? Like it, or like it more, we are influenced by people’s feedback.

Some of the cloudy areas of product science in endurance sports are:

1)    Use of compression sports for racing.

2)    Use of ornamental aids that claim to have promote passive healing or health benefits (example: use of titanium powder or titanium strips, magnets, or copper).

3)    Use of singular nutrients that have ergogenic (sports-enhancing) properties and impact on the body. These include caffeine, Co-enzyme Q10, antioxidant-loaded foods, quinoa, wheat-grass, glucosamine, etc.

4)    Types of shoes that are designed to be minimalist (Examples: Vibram Five Fingers, running sandals, etc).

5)    Recovery methods like ice-baths, deep-tissue massage, chiropractic and compression-wear.

Despite in conclusion evidence at this point in time, the caveat stands: If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it! If it makes you feel good, keep doing it. The study on placebos and the Placebo Effect is huge and voluminous. Mind-over-body coupled with medicine and nutrients seem to be the most synergistic and complementary.

However, protect your eyes and skin! Never compromise the largest organ on your body, and the most observant ones. Slap on the high SPF and wear those sunnies!