Optimizing Performance And Growth For The Young Athlete

When it comes to young athletes, meeting nutritional requirements whilst maintaining adequate growth and development can be tricky.  To maintain health and optimize growth as well as excel in athletic performance, young athletes need to consume an appropriate diet that has adequate amounts of nutrients and energy in it. This is important to maintain health, growth and maturation as well as minimize injury and optimize sports performance.

In sports that require athletes to be a certain weight, such as athletics, boxing and gymnastics, for example, young athletes strive to achieve a lower body weight or boy fat content and this may increase their risk of delayed growth and maturation, amenorrhea (missed periods), reduced bone density and eating disorders.

When children and young athletes are exposed to diet or training regimens that are too rigorous for their age, level of maturation or individual limits, the benefits of sports participation may be eliminated or even detrimental (American Academy Of Pediatrics 2001a).

An appropriate dietary intake rather than the use of supplements is recommended to ensure young athlete participate fully and safely in sport. The effect of intense, long hours of exercise for your child is not to be over looking and adequate nutrition is of vital importance.

What foods are important when it comes to young athletes?

Carbohydrate-containing foods are generally important in the diet of young athletes to maintain health. Wholegrains, fruits, vegetables and milk/yogurt are nutritious sources of carbohydrate. Carbohydrates ensure adequate energy reserves for optimal performance. They also provide other key nutrients including, vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre.

Fat is important in children as children seem to oxidise relatively more fat than carbohydrate when compared to adults during exercise at a given relative intensity. Children need essential fatty acids (essential meaning they have to be provided from food and the body cannot make them) for optimal brain development and growth. Fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K are important for hormone development and growth.

When it comes to protein, children and adolescents have higher protein needs than adults to support growth. Ensuring adequate intake of animal proteins such as chicken, fish, meat, milk and eggs as well plant based sources such as legumes and beans are beneficial to growth and muscle synthesis for these children.

There are a few micronutrients, that are of concern to the young athlete. It is important to ensure we are meeting the requirements for Iron, Calcium and Vitamin D specifically.

Why?

Iron: Iron is important for oxygen delivery to body tissues. During adolescence, more iron is required to support growth as well as increases in blood volume and lean muscle mass. Boys and girls nine to 13 years of age should ingest 8 mg/day to avoid depletion of iron stores and iron-deficiency anaemia.

Adolescents 14 to 18 years of age require more iron, up to 11 mg/day for males and 15 mg/day for females. Iron depletion is common in athletes because of diets poor in meat, fish and poultry, or increased iron losses in urine, faeces, sweat or menstrual blood. Therefore, athletes, particularly female athletes, vegetarians and distance runners should be screened periodically for iron status.

Medically supervised supplementation may sometimes be required. Iron-rich foods include eggs, leafy green vegetables, fortified whole grains and lean meat (Canadian Paediatric Society, Paediatric Sports and Exercise Medicine, 2013).

Calcium: Calcium is important for bone health, normal enzyme activity and muscle contraction. The daily recommended intake of calcium is 1000 mg/day for four- to eight-year-olds and 1300 mg/day for nine- to 18-year-olds. Calcium is contained in a variety of foods and beverages, including milk, yogurt, cheese, broccoli, spinach and fortified grain products (Canadian Paediatric Society, Paediatric Sports and Exercise Medicine, 2013).

Vitamin D: Vitamin D is necessary for bone health and is involved in the absorption and regulation of calcium. Current recommendations suggest 600 IU/day for four- to 18-year-olds. Normal values of vitamin D also vary depending on geographical location and race. Athletes living in northern latitudes or who train indoors (eg, figure skaters, gymnasts, dancers) are more likely to be vitamin D deficient.

Sources of vitamin D include fortified foods, such as milk, and sun exposure. Dairy products other than milk, such as yogurt, do not contain vitamin D(Canadian Paediatric Society, Paediatric Sports and Exercise Medicine, 2013).

Lastly, young athletes who perform prolonged or intense, intermittent exercise can present with dehydration (greater sweat loss than fluid intake), which may affect performance and health After exercise, water and sodium should be actively replaced if significant losses have occurred.  

Children and adolescents have specific nutritional needs, and although the principles of sports nutrition are similar to adults, there are some important differences. During this life stage, particularly in girls, there is an increased risk for inadequate dietary intake secondary to dieting to optimise physique. This increases the risk for energy deficiency, disordered eating, menstrual irregularity and reduced bone density.

Appropriate nutrition is critical during these growing years to maintain health, growth and the development of athletic potential.

Blog source: https://nutritionsynergy.co.uk/optimizing-performance-and-growth-for-the-young-athlete/

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Three Universal Benefits of Healthy Diets

Everyone’s needs are unique. This is as true when focusing on hobbies, as it is when focusing on what we eat, as well as its effects on men’s and women’s health. Dietitians often disagree with what constitutes the perfect diet, however, diets that are likely to work on a long term basis have three main core benefits.

Portion Control

How much you eat can matter a great deal, as alluring as fad diets that promise that “you can eat anything” can be. The diets that work best however work on the principle that you use more energy than you consume. The more you succeed on a diet, the better you get at working out exactly what you need without either underfilling or overfilling your plate.

Discipline

The biggest benefit of any successful diet is the discipline you need to succeed in it. Biologically we do struggle with keeping weight off due to the way our body stores energy. Our body enters a state where it suppresses thermogenesis (heat production, essentially the way the body burns energy without doing anything) and so it will rapidly store energy when you eat after that.

This is known as the Summer matter cycle and is why so many people plateau. Maintaining your diet and exercising during this will counteract this principle and ensure the weight loss sticks.

Nutrition

The more you focus on your diet, the more knowledgeable you get about what foods are best for you. Even if the overall diet is not completely beneficial for you, you will get a better knowledge of your nutritional requirements and with the help of a dietitian can develop a more personalized plan.

Blog source: https://nutritionsynergy.co.uk/three-universal-benefits-of-healthy-diets/

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There is No One-Size-Fits-All Diet

 It seems like not a day goes by without a new diet fad sweeping the nation, promising rapid weight loss and a healthier lifestyle. Just as quickly these diets seem to disappear.

The truth about healthy eating, however, is that trying to offer a diet that works for every single person is simply not going to work, as reported by New Scientist recently but something clear to online dieticians across the world.

Why is this? There are a few reasons that we have seen as to why certain prescriptive diets just do not work.

Everybody Responds to Foods Differently

There are plenty of foods that are rich in certain nutrients that diet makers latch onto as foods that should be part of everyone’s diet. However, because our bodies react to food in effectively unique ways, not every superfood is best for every person.

This also works the other way around. There are certain foods that can be considered unhealthy, like white bread, which for certain people have a lot of health benefits.

The best way to work is to target foods that are beneficial to individuals and create personalised diet plans.

Many Diets Rely on Questionable Science

Targeted diet plans and working with nutrition experts are usually the best way to guarantee sustainable, healthy weight loss that lasts.

Many one-size-fits-all diets rely on scientific principles that are somewhat suspect at best. After all, we have seen diets in the past where you sleep to avoid eating, diets where complex carbohydrates and proteins are banned in the same meal, and diets where you eat meats and fat instead of carbohydrates based on dubious scientific reasoning.

Ultimately, it is best to ask an online expert in nutrition and set up a more personalised diet plan based on sound nutritional principles.

Blog source: https://nutritionsynergy.co.uk/there-is-no-one-size-fits-all-diet/

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Pandemic ‘Negatively Affecting Those With Eating Disorders

The global Covid-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on many people, but now new research shows that it is proving particularly challenging for those suffering from eating disorders.

Research carried out by the Department of Psychology at Northumbria University found that the pandemic and isolation as a result of the lockdown, have introduced “additional, unique challenges” for people who are battling with an eating disorder.

In a survey conducted among those currently experiencing or in recovery from an eating disorder, 87 per cent stated that their symptoms had worsened due to the pandemic.

Among the negative impacts identified by the researchers were a decrease in the level of control people felt, feeling increasingly socially isolated, having low feelings about social support and rising levels of rumination about disordered eating.

Research associate on the study Dr Dawn Branley-Bell commented: “Individuals with experience of eating disorders will likely experience a long-term effect on their symptoms and recovery [as a result of the pandemic].”

She added that making sure the required support is provided to these patients will be essential to help them as they continue to recover.

The government recently launched its new Better Health strategy to encourage people in the UK to lose weight as obesity is a risk factor for so many diseases. However, as CNN reported, there is concern among many who suffer from or are recovering from eating disorders about some of the proposals.

One that could be triggering for the 1.25 million people living with eating disorders in the UK is including calories on menus. This is still at the proposal stage, but many have expressed worries about this approach.

If you’re looking for the support of a qualified dietician to help you as you recover from any eating disorder, get in touch with us to find out how we can help you as an eating disorder nutritionist.

Blog source: https://nutritionsynergy.co.uk/pandemic-negatively-affecting-those-with-eating-disorders/

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What Is Vitamin B12 & Why Do We Need It?

 Whenever you make any big dietary changes, it’s important that you do all the necessary research first to make sure that you’re plying your body with all the nutrients and vitamins it needs to keep you healthy and in excellent working order.

Veganism and plant-based diets have grown in popularity over the last few years, which is certainly something worth applauding from both an environmental and human health perspective – but you do need to make sure that you know you’re getting the right quantities of everything from your diet.

Vitamin B12 is a very important nutrient and one that you need to make sure you’re getting consistently each day, which a vegan diet can make difficult because it is the only vitamin that cannot be reliably supplied from a varied plant-based diet of lots of fruit and veg, and sun exposure.

If you don’t get enough of this particular vitamin, you can give yourself anaemia (when your body produces abnormally large red blood cells that don’t work properly) or even damage your nervous system.

Those of you considering switching to a plant-based diet should make sure that you eat foods fortified with B12 a couple of times a day so you know you’re getting enough. Or, for peace of mind and to make food shopping a bit easier, you could always just take a B12 supplement instead, providing you with at least ten micrograms.

Familiarise yourself with the symptoms of a B12 deficiency so you know what to look out for. These include vision problems, a sore tongue, confusion, lack of energy, numbness and tingling, among others.

Looking for a vegan dietitian? Get in touch with Nutrition Synergy today.

Blog source: https://nutritionsynergy.co.uk/what-is-vitamin-b12-why-do-we-need-it/

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Constipation in toddler hood

As a parent, we often feel helpless when it comes to our children’s bowel habits and what we can perhaps do to prevent them from suffering from constipation. Here I discuss some simple, practical ways to help with your child’s bowel habits and what could be the culprit when it comes to irregular stool passing.

What is classified as constipation in children?

Constipation is the passing of small, hard, irregular stools. This can cause tummy pains and a poor appetite in young children. ‘Normal’ bowel frequency can vary greatly between children. Regardless of their frequency, normal stools should be soft, formed and easy to pass.

A number of different things can affect your child’s bowels:

• Poor eating habits
• Lack of structure and routine with meal times
• Intake of refined carbohydrates such as sweets, chocolates and chips.
• Poor fibre intake
• Lack of physical activity
• Irregular toileting routine, ‘holding on’ too long

Be cautious when it comes to making changes as too many changes all at once can upset your childs stomach .

Foods that help with constipation

1.Fibre

Fibre is important for healthy bowels. It absorbs water as it travels through the digestive system and helps to make stools softer and bulkier. Fibre is found mainly in fruit,

vegetables, pulses (such as beans and lentils), whole-grain cereals and breads. Include one high fibre starchy food with each meal.  If you followed a low fibre diet before, you need to gradually introduce high fibre items to avoid bloating and discomfort. Choose from the list below

• Weetbix, Nutrifix, Allbran Flakes, Jungle Oats,  Muesli
• High fibre white bread, Brown bread, Whole-wheat bread, Provitas
• Rice, Pasta, Potatoes, Sweet potatoes (keep the skin on)

Be sure to encourage water after meals, as increasing fibre without increasing liquids can have the reverse effect again.

Options for healthy between meal snacks

• 1 Fruit (fresh or dried)
• Raw vegetable sticks
• 1 bowl of popcorn (age dependant- choking hazard)
• ½ cup Fruit yoghurt
• 1-2 slices Brown bread with peanut butter or cheese or marmite
• Handful Peanuts and raisins or mixed nuts
• 2 Wholewheat or muesli rusks
• 1 Bran muffin

2. Include dried beans, pulses and legumes twice a week

• Lentils can be mixed with white rice to increase the fibre content
• Dried or canned beans can replace ½ of protein portion e.g. mix mince with beans
• Try baked beans on toast with cheese as a small meal
• Include 3-bean salad or baked bean salad with the main meal

3. Aim for 5 a day

• Add vegetables to soups, pastas, casseroles, meatballs, pizzas etc.
  Include more pulses e.g. baked beans on toast, lentils or beans added to casseroles, soups, salads etc.
• Add chopped, dried or stewed fruit to desserts and breakfast cereals e.g. rice pudding, jelly, porridge etc.
• Offer chopped fruits and vegetables as snacks
• Liven up meals and lunch boxes using a variety of different coloured fruits and vegetables.

4. Regular exercise and activity

Children may become constipated because they are ‘picky eaters’ or eat irregularly. Snacking all day can result in poor intake at main meals. This can lead to constipation because a full tummy encourages bowel movement.

If this is the case, limit snacks and drinks between meals to encourage an appetite for main meals. This can be difficult at first if your child is used to lots of snacks and drinks but it is important to persevere.

5. Regular toileting routine

Small children often forget to go to the toilet or would rather be playing than making time to go to the toilet. This ’holding on’ can easily lead to constipation.

Children may withhold stools intentionally because of pain caused by hard stools. The longer stools remain in the bowel the harder they become to pass. This can make the constipation harder to resolve.

Teach your child good habits by having a set routine and reminding them to visit the toilet regularly. After a meal is the best time.

Here at nutrition Synergy, we help to identify the problem areas in your child’s diet and develop an individualized plan for your child to ensure that he/she is meeting their nutritional requirements to ensure age appropriate growth and development.

Blog source: https://nutritionsynergy.co.uk/constipation-in-toddlerhood/

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Sustainable Weight loss

What works in the long term?

Finding a quick easy solution to loosing weight, is something that a lot of people fall victim to. It is important to remember, that anything that sounds ‘too good to be true’, probably is. We need to shift our mindset from ‘quick fix’ to ‘sustainable lifestyle change’ mindset. These diets that eliminate food groups, promise rapid weight loss of more than 4kg per week, recommend magical fat burning effects of foods, ‘detox’ diets and those that recommend the same diet for everyone without accounting for specific needs are what we refer to as a FAD diet.

According to the BDA ;

“A fad diet is the kind of plan where you eat a very restrictive diet with few foods or an unusual combination of foods for a short period of time and often lose weight very quickly”. They often promise short quick fixes and are certainly not sustainable for the long run…

So why is it that we are looking for the next crave when it comes to nutrition and weight loss. We tend to over complicate it so much, where it really should be easy , practical steps to follow for the rest of our lives.

We need to stop looking at food as the enemy, but rather view food as nourishment for our bodies. To fuel our bodies, to have energy, for concentration, to sleep well, to increase our confidence and most of all to enjoy the food we eat.

So when it comes to weight loss? What actually works?

Here are my top 8 tips for achieving sustainable weight loss:

1. Set small, achievable goals every week.

• Choose three changes per week you’re going to focus on. Focusing on too many changes at once can be overwhelming and create a barrier in achieving long term success.

2. Consume healthy balanced meals.

I love Canada’s food guide, it is a powerful visual on how the distribution of food groups on your plate should look like for lunch and dinner.

• A balanced meal is one that incorporates all the macronutrients: proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Aim to fill ½ your plate with vegetable, ¼ with lean proteins / plant proteins , ¼ wholegrain carbohydrates and choose healthy fat options such as olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds.

• A balanced meal will ensure that you have a steady blood sugar release, which will avoid any energy ‘crashes’ you might be experiencing. It will ensure that you are getting in your daily recommendations of micronutrients and energy to fuel your day.

3. Increase fibre intake

• What is fibre ?
  • Fibre is made up of the indigestible parts of plants which goes  through our stomach and intestines. Fibre plays an important role in maintaining a healthy gut as it has the ability to act as a prebiotic (substances that alter the types and activities of the ‘good’ bacteria that live inside the gut) .
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• Recommendations : The daily recommendation for fibre intake is between 25-30g per day. Food sources that are high in fibre include ; Wholegrains, fruit (leave skin on) , vegetables, legumes such as beans and peas and potato (leave skin on).

4. Portion sizes

• Ultimately we could be eating the healthiest foods, but at a quantity that is far too much and exceeds our daily energy requirements. It is important to seek out for help from a registered dietitianl to ensure that you know what quantities of foods you should be eating at each meal. Every individual is different, and requirements differ from individual to individual.
• As a general rule of thumb,  you can use the hand model ; The portion control hand method suggest a palm portion of protein and a fist full of vegetables, fresh or frozen. When it comes to carbs, one fist serving is recommended and 1 thumb serving of fats.

Source of picture : Invictus blog (back to basics ; portion control) https://www.crossfitinvictus.com/blog/back-basics-portion-control/

5. Be careful with liquid calories

• These up the calories without us even realising . Lets not drink our calories but rather eat them from nourishing food sources.

6. View food as nutrients, not calories.

• When we change the way we view food, our relationship with it improves. Lets look at food as a means to fuel our body and not punish it. Food is there to be enjoyed.

7. Increase physical activity

• Physical activity is so important when it comes to our mood, weight loss journey, longevity and confidence. Physical activity helps to create an energy deficit which is needed when it comes to weight loss. Find an activity that you enjoy, and slowly increase the duration and frequency over time. Try ti aim for 30 minutes of activity 5 times per week.

8. Seek advice from a Registered Dietitian

• Registered Dietitians are there to help and guide you every step of the way , in an evidence based manner. Another benefit from seeking out to a dietitian is that it holds you accountable . Here at Nutrition Synergy we are with you every step of the way on your journey!

Blog source: https://nutritionsynergy.co.uk/sustainable-weight-loss/

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