Both exorcise and nutrition should be balanced as a team to
optimize the muscular growth process. Bodybuilders must be prepared to meet the
special demands they make on their bodies. This requires nutritious food and
sound eating habits.
The basics of nutritious food and sound eating habits begin
with a description of the essential nutrients.
NUTRIENTS
Some fifty different nutrients are found in foods, but they
can be grouped under six main headings: proteins, minerals, vitamins, fats,
carbohydrates, and water.
Proteins, fats, and carbohydrates are the energy-supplying
nutrients. Energy from food is typically measured as heat and expressed as
calories. Fat contains over twice as many calories as an equal amount of
protein and carbohydrate.
1 gram of fat= 9 calories
1 gram of protein = 4 calories
1 gram of carbohydrate = 4 calories
Although most foods contain more than one nutrient, no
single food contains all the nutrients In the amounts the body needs. That Is
why you need to eat a variety of foods each day.
PROTEINS
All humans require protein to sustain life. It is the chief
tissue builder and the basic substance of every cell in your body. You need
protein all through life for the maintenance and repair of body tissues.
Protein is made up of smaller units called amino acids. When
foods are digested, the proteins are broken down into amino acids, which are
then rearranged to form the many special and distinct proteins in your body.
The proteins in food are usually made up of eighteen or more
different kinds of amino acids. Your body can make its own supply of more than
half of these. The others, called essential amino acids, must come ready-made
from the foods you eat. The amino acid composition of protein determines Its
nutritional value. Highest in value are proteins that supply all the essential
amino acids in approximately the proportions needed by your body, generally,
these proteins are in foods of animal origin: meat, fish, poultry, egos, and
milk.
Proteins from grains, vegetables, and fruits supply valuable
amounts of many amino acids but fewer than do animal proteins. Proteins from
legumes, especially soybeans and chickpeas, are almost as good as proteins from
animal sources.
For a bodybuilder’s daily meals, only a portion of the
protein needs to come from animal sources. Combining cereal and vegetable foods
with a little meat or other sources of animal protein will improve the protein
value of the meal. Examples of nourishing combinations are cereal with milk,
rice with fish, spaghetti with meat sauce, and vegetable stew with meat. Or you
could simply have milk as a beverage along with foods of plant origin. It is
good to have some food from animal sources at each meal.
MINERALS
Many minerals are required by your body. They give strength
and rigidity to certain tissues and help with numerous vital functions.
- Calcium: Calcium is the most abundant mineral element in your body.
Teamed with phosphorus, it is largely responsible for the hardness of bones and
teeth. About 99 percent of the calcium in the body is found in these two
tissues.
The small amount of calcium in your body tissues and fluids aids in the proper functioning of your heart, muscles, and nerves, and helps your blood coagulate if you are bleeding.
Milk is an outstanding source of calcium. Appreciable amounts are contributed by cheese, especially Cheddar types. Calcium Is found In ice cream, col-lards, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, and canned salmon. - Iodine
People who live far away from the seacoast In areas where the soil is low in iodine sometimes fail to get an adequate supply of this mineral. An iodine deficiency can cause goiter, a swelling of the thyroid gland.
Iodized salt and seafoods are reliable sources of iodine. Regular use of iodized salt is the most practical way to put enough Iodine in your diet. - Iron:Iron is needed by your body in relatively small but vital
amounts. It combines with protein to make hemoglobin. which carries
oxygen from the lungs to body cells and removes carbon dioxide from the
ceils. Iron also helps the cells obtain energy from food.
Only a few foods contain much iron. Liver is a particularly good source. Lean meats, heart, kidney, shellfish, dry beans, dry peas, dark green vegetables, dried fruit, egg yolks, and molasses are also reliable sources. - Other Essential Minerals: Two other minerals with vitally important
functions are phosphorus and magnesium. Like calcium, they are found In
largest amounts in bones and teeth. Among their other functions, they
play an indispensable role in your body's use of food for energy.
Magnesium is found in adequate amounts in nuts, whole-grain products, dry beans, dry peas, and dark green vegetables. Phosphorus Is found in a variety of foods. If your meals contain foods that provide enough protein and calcium, you very likely will get enough phosphorus as well.
Ten or more additional minerals are essential in keeping your body functioning smoothly. These minerals, however, are usually obtained in satisfactory amounts by a well-chosen variety of foods.
Vitamins play a dynamic role In bodily processes. They take part in the release of energy from foods, promote normal growth of different kinds of tissue, and are essential to the proper functioning of nerves and muscles.
Thirteen separate, necessary vitamins have been identified. Should you consume vitamin pills to be sure you get enough of each one? As a rule the answer is no. A healthy athlete can get all the necessary vitamins from a properly selected and prepared diet.
Although concentrated vitamins are available at stores as pills or capsules, these should not be taken unless your doctor recommends them. If you take vitamins without your doctor's advice, you may be spending money needlessly. Your body can make use of only so much of each vitamin. Excesses either is excreted as wastes or may accumulate and be detrimental to your health.
Taking vitamins without medical advice may encourage you to rely on these vitamins to make your daily diet complete and thus to neglect those foods that contain not only vitamins but other valuable nutrients as well.
Here is a summary of the vitamins, including some of their functions and a list of foods that are dependable sources.
- Vitamin A: Vitamin A is present only in foods of animal origin. Many vegetables and fruits, however, particularly green and yellow ones, contain a substance called carotene that your body can change into vitamin A.
Liver is an outstanding source of vitamin A. Important amounts are also found in eggs, butter, margarine, whole milk, and cheese made with whole milk. Carotene is found in largest amounts in dark green vegetables and deep yellow vegetables and fruits. - B Vitamins: Three of the B vitamins, thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin, play a central role in the release of energy from food. They also help with proper functioning of nerves, normal appetite, good digestion, and healthy skin.
Foods in the meat group are leading sources of these vitamins. Whole-nram and enriched bread and cereals supply smaller nut important amounts. A few foods are outstanding sources: milk (or riboflavin, lean pork for thiamin, and organ meats for all three.
Getting enough niacin is not a problem if enough protein is included in daily meals. An essential amino acid, tryptophan is present in protein and can be changed by the body into niacin.
Other B vitamins, B6 and particularly B12 and folic acid, help prevent anemia, vitamin B12 is found only in foods of animal origin. Folic acid is present in largest amounts in organ meats and dark green leafy vegetables. Good sources of vitamin B6 include meats, whole-grain cereals, dry beans, potatoes, and dark green leafy vegetables. - Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid): Ascorbic acid helps form and maintain cementing material that holds your body cells together and strengthens the walls of blood vessels. It also assists in normal tooth and bone formation and aids in healing wounds.
Oranges, grapefruit, lemons( and fresh strawberries are rich in ascorbic acid. Other important sources Include tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, cantaloupe, cauliflower, green and red peppers, some dark green leafy vegetables, and watermelon. - Vitamin 0: Vitamin D is important in building strong bones and teeth because it enables your body to use the calcium and phosphorus supplied by food.
Few foods contain much vitamin 0 naturally. Milk with vitamin 0 added is a practical source. Small amounts of vitamin D are present in egg yolks, butter, and liver. Larger amounts are present in sardines, salmon, herring, and tuna.
Another source is the vitamin D produced by the chemical reaction of direct sunlight on your skin. - Other Vitamins: Combinations of food that sufficiently provide for the vitamins above are likely to furnish enough of the other vitamins not specified.
Weight for weight, fats provide more than twice as much energy, or calories, as either carbohydrates or proteins. They also carry the fat-soluble vitamins A, 0, E, and K, and they perform the following functions:
- Make up part of the structure of cells.
- Form a protective cushion around vital organs.
- Spare protein for bodybuilding and repair by Srovidlng energy.
- Supply an essential fatty-linoleic acid.
In cooking, fats add flavor and variety to many foods. Fats also make foods and meals satisfying because they digest slowly and delay the feeling of hunger.
Common sources of fats are butter, margarine, shortening, cooking and salad oils, cream, most cheeses, mayonnaise, salad dressing, nuts, bacon, and other fatty meats. Meats, whole milk, eggs, and chocolate contain some fat naturally. Many popular snacks, baked noods, pastries, and other desserts are made with fat or are cooked with It.
CARBOHYDRATES
Foods supply carbohydrates chiefly in three forms: starches, sugars, and cellulose, or fibrous, materials. Starches and sugars are major sources of energy for humans. Cellulose furnish bulk in the diet.
Glucose, commonly called blood sugar, is the main form in which starches and sugars are used by cells to furnish energy for bodily processes and to support activity and growth. This spares the proteins for tissue building and repair and for other special lobs. Carbohydrates also help your body to digest fats efficiently.
The chief sources of starch are grains such as wheat, oats, corn, and rice. Starches made from grains are flour, macaroni, spaghetti, noodles, grits, breads, and breakfast cereals. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and dry beans and peas are also good sources of starch.
Most other vegetables, fruits, and fruit juices contain smaller amounts of carbohydrates. In vegetables, the carbohydrate Is mainly in the form of starches; in fruits, it Is chiefly sugars. Cane and beet sugars, jellies, jam, candy and other sweets, honey, molasses, and syrups are concentrated sources of sugar.
WATER
Water is essential for life. It ranks next to air, or oxygen, in importance. Your body's need for water even exceeds your need for food. You can live for days, even weeks, without food, but only a few days without water.
About one-half to two-thirds of your body is made up of water. Water is the medium of body fluids, secretions, and excretions. It carries food materials from one part of your body to the other.
Water is also the solvent for all products of digestion, which move through your intestinal wall m a water solution, passing into the bloodstream for use throughout your body. Water also carries wastes from your body. Your body temperature is regulated by the evaporation of water through your skin and lungs.
It takes a regular and generous intake of water to perform all these jobs. Your body gets water from many sources. The most obvious is the water you drink, but this often represents only a small part of the total intake. Water also comes in coffee, tea, juice, soft drinks, milk, and soups. Foods, such as vegetables, fruits, meat, and even bread and dry cereal, contain some water. And water Is formed when your body uses food for energy.
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