Don’t Eat Smarties, Just Eat Smart!
“The food you eat can either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison” Ann Wigmore
Lots of people like to give lots of conflicting advice about nutrition and what you should or should not be eating to achieve optimal health. Many new diets that hit the market every day claiming to be “revolutionary”, “never seen before”, “secret”, or based on “new scientific research!” The reality is people create them in this way because they need you to notice them so that you purchase their “unique” diet. To be different, they develop fad diets that encourage people to think and act in a particular way. I mean, no one would purchase a programme that simply said eat more fruit and vegetables would they?
In the age of the internet, these fad diets have grown exponentially, but the reality is very few (if any at all) will be designed with you and your health in mind. Why? The answer is because selling new diet plans is big business!
That is why I believe the best approach to diet is in taking a healthy, common sense approach to nutrition. My way of doing this is by following a colourful approach to food. This method will work for you regardless of your religion or your eating preferences. If you are a vegan vegetarian or a meat eater, this article is not designed to tackle your individual macronutrient requirements. I do not believe a blanket approach to protein, carbohydrate and fat consumption works when you are advising the masses. Macronutrient requirements are highly individual and, therefore, any recommendations require an individualised nutritional plan that is unique to you.
Eating a balanced, colourful diet ensures that your body gets the many essential nutrients it needs (by essential, I refer to nutrients that cannot be created by the body) to work optimally. If your diet lacks vital nutrients, then your body will be unable to function optimally and it will subsequently put increased strain on many cellular processes resulting in oxidative stress. Colourful Fruits and Vegetables are high in many antioxidants that inhibit the oxidation of molecules in your body. Oxidation refers to chemical reactions that produce free radicals that in turn cause chain reactions in your cells which can damage or even kill cells.
Antioxidants prevent these chain reactions (oxidative stress) by removing free radicals and inhibiting their oxidation reactions. Oxidative stress is related to coronary heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases and cancer so it is vital that you try and consume a range of colourful foods. Oxidative stress can increase when we are undertaking significant cardiovascular activities and so it is essential that we counteract this with our antioxidant defence system. This system relies on you to reinforce it with the consumption of dietary antioxidants. A colourful fruit and vegetable diet will ensure that your body receives optimum intakes of assorted nutrients and antioxidants as well as other healthy substances such as flavonoids, phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals, folic acid carotenoids and omega-3 fatty acids.
When we workout we are encouraging our bodies to adapt to change. We are asking our muscles to work harder, our respiratory systems to respond more economically, our nervous systems to react and adapt accordingly. For these changes to occur efficiently, our bodies demand more nutrients from our diets. Providing your body with plenty of nutrients allows it to recover faster, adapt quicker and improve. We brave the dreaded burpees day in day out because we want to see positive change. We undertake the Goliaz challenges because we wish to see progress and witness new PB’s with our improved fitness gains. If you are genuinely committed to change and achieving optimal health then doing the workouts is only 50% of the game. The other 50% is ensuring you feed your body with the nutrients it craves. Once you start to do this, the results become super-charged. Remember, there is no diet that will do what healthy eating does.
Fortunately, nature has a clever way of highlighting the nutrients in foods by the colours they produce. I have highlighted some examples below, but this is in no way an exhaustive list. The key is to remember that if nature has given food a colour, this colour has developed due to the make-up of its containing nutrients!
Bright Red – Lycopene turns tomatoes red and it can help protect against prostate and breast cancers
Deep Red – Trimethylglycine is found in Beetroot and this nutrient enhances liver and joint repair and increases muscle strength and power. Beetroots also contain nitrates that have been proven to improve performance by increasing your blood’s ability to transport oxygen.
Blue – Anthocyanins and proanthocyanins turn blueberries blue and they keep your heart and brain healthy
Green – Vegetables such as broccoli and kale provide compounds called indoles and isothiocyanates that help prevent cancers by removing potentially carcinogenic compounds. Green apples and Spinach are also an excellent source of glutamine, the amino acid utilised by the body for lean muscle growth, strength and endurance.
Yellow – Lutein and zeaxanthin are phytochemicals that are prominent in yellow vegetables such as summer squashes and chard that help prevent age-related degenerative problems
Orange – The well-known beta-carotene found in carrots and oranges can help keep bones strong, eyes healthy and boost your immune system. Oranges also contribute to promoting muscle growth, strength and endurance, especially when eaten before workouts!
Unfortunately, most diets tend to be rich in beige foods because they are typically quick, easy and convenient (such as chips, bread and biscuits). Does this sound like your diet? The reality is that beige foods are often high in fat and highly processed and, therefore, offer minimal nutritional value. Filling up on these types of foods may help cravings now, but you will likely pay for it with poor health and weight gain in the future. People who cannot find time to eat healthily now will probably have to find time to fight illness later. So the next time you feel tempted by beige coloured junk food, ask yourself this – Do you want the junk food you crave now at the expense of the body you have craved for a lifetime?
Remember that eating a colourful diet does not mean go and gorge on a bowl of mixed coloured Smarties either!
Planning ahead by taking notice of colourful foods when shopping can undoubtedly help. Challenge yourself to select multiple coloured foods and swap similar colours for another colour. For example, if you have strawberries and raspberries in your trolley, swap one of them for blueberries. If you keep good colourful foods in your fridge, you will eat good colourful food! Making small changes such as this will help you to achieve success. It really could be the difference between post-Goliaz challenge aches and pains to energy and recovery!
Every time you eat you are either fighting ill-health of feeding it. If you are a free athlete reading this who wants to achieve a new healthy looking physique and optimal fitness by undertaking Goliaz style workouts then bear in mind that a healthy outside starts from the inside.
You are what you eat – so don’t eat Smarties, just eat smart.
Nick Day, Goliaz Athlete
SAC Dip. (Sports Nutrition), SNHS Dip. (Sports Nutrition), AfN Certified Diet Specialist (Level 4) BTA (British Triathlon Association) Level 2 Coach
“Go Beyond”
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