Keep Fit in Winter
August 16, 2018
Some Advice About the Use of Nutritional Supplements
Generally, our grandparents enjoyed a healthier diet whilst growing up than the parents and children of today. A diet of fresh vegetables, grown naturally and cooked at home in combination with fresh meat or fish ensured an adequate intake of all the essential nutrients, minerals, and vitamins essential for health and an active lifestyle. That it has since become necessary to provide these micronutrients in the form of man-made preparations and instructions regarding their use and their importance, is a serious indictment of the modern trend to favour processed foods.
Many of the missing nutrients are essential for various metabolic processes and can be particularly important in helping to maintain the body’s performance during exercise, regardless of whether the goal is weight loss, toning, or bulking. Fitness training is generally far more intensive than typical day-to-day activities, placing correspondingly greater demands on the body’s reserves. While most people become conscious of the need to keep adequately hydrated quite quickly, nutritional deficiencies may go unnoticed until they have consequences. Clearly, nutritional supplements can be especially important for bodybuilders, athletes, and anyone engaged in regular exercise workouts.
That said, these are the products of an industry notorious for false claims and placebos. Among the trash, however, here are a few gems. Creatine, for example, acts to boost ATP production, which is essential for muscle growth. The branched-chain amino acids, valine, leucine, and iso-leucine are invaluable in the post-workout phase to speed recovery and muscle repair, and are best taken at intervals throughout the day.
Fish oil is a natural anti-inflammatory and also great for respiratory and cardiac health. One useful snippet that is worth remembering is that exercise consumes glutamine, which you really should replace. Because muscle fatigue is the natural result of strenuous exercise, beta-alanine will promote the production of extra carnosine needed to combat that fatigue. Finally, while protein supplements abound, the main intake should be from your food.
