Nutrition affects how your body works. Get the right fuel for your personal machine and you'll be more resistant to illness. You'll think more clearly and you'll feel better. But feed yourself low-quality food, or improper quantities of food, and your body will have more of a challenge to continue firing on all cylinders. To use nutrition to give your body even more of an extra edge for a competition where you'll need to call on your body to perform at its best, you can pay extra attention to what you eat and use timing, quantity and quality of particular foods for an extra boost.
Breakfast
According to research on the role this meal plays in helping kids stay healthy and perform well, getting a good breakfast can really pay off. Researchers found that kids who eat breakfast generally have "nutritionally-superior" profiles compared to kids who skip breakfast. They also found that while breakfast eaters generally ate more calories every day, they were less likely to be overweight, and that eating breakfast improved memory and testing abilities as well as attendance rates. These results would seem to indicate breakfast can help you maintain a healthy weight and improve your mental performance.
Athletes
A review of nutrition research related to sports performance suggested how nutrition can benefit athletes during their training cycles. The review, which was published in the New Zealand journal "Sports Medicine," confirmed tests showing that salt, potassium, magnesium and iron are lost in nutritionally significant amounts in sweat. Iron loss in sweat was found to possibly explain the higher rates of anemia seen in endurance athletes. Red meat and legumes are good sources of iron, while bananas and Portobello mushrooms are great ways to deliver potassium.
Cognitive Development
Research published in the "Journal of Nutrition" in 1999 indicated poor nutrition can affect a child's cognitive development and performance. The research, which was carried out in the Philippines, showed that 8- and 11-year-old children stunted by malnutrition between birth and age 2 had significantly lower test scores than nonstunted children. Researchers found that stunted children often had lower scores because of reduced schooling. Stunted children often had started school late and had higher absenteeism and repeated years. The results demonstrate the importance of adequate nutrition in the early years and also of providing schooling to disadvantaged kids to help them perform at the same level as those whose early years hadn't been spent nutritionally deprived.
Public Health
According to nutrition experts cited in a 2009 National Public Radio news article on a school in China supplementing school meals with micronutrients, a public health action providing micronutrients in developing countries is an exceptionally intelligent way to help people get the most out of their lives. "Without enough micronutrients -- vitamin A and zinc, for example -- you might live, but not long or well," says the article. The program of micronutrient intervention, which involved giving students three supplemented meals a day for eight months, was carried out in cooperation with China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Blood tests before and after the experiment showed "a vast improvement in the students' levels of nutrients, including vitamins A, B-1, iron and zinc."
Whole Grains
Researchers at the University of Minnesota found evidence to support the belief that whole grains can protect against cardiovascular disease and cancers, especially cancers of the colon and gastric system. Because foods like whole-grain breads and pastas are usually high in carbohydrates, athletes can eat whole grain for preventative health as well as for fueling up to be able to compete well. Whole grains also have protective compounds that function as antioxidants.
References
- "Journal Of The American Dietetic Association"; Breakfast Habits, Nutritional Status, Body Weight, and Academic Performance In Children And Adolescents; Gail Rampersaud et al.; May 2005.
- "Sports Medicine"; Nutrition and Sports Performance; J.R. Brotherhood; Sept.-Oct. 1984.
- "Journal of Nutrition"; Severity and Timing Of Stunting In The First Two Years Of Life Affect Performance On Cognitive Tests In Late Childhood; Michelle Mendez and Linda Adair; 1999.
- National Public Radio: Nutrition Program Boosts Poor Students In China
- "Nutrition and Cancer"; Whole-grain Consumption And Chronic Disease: Protective Mechanisms; Joanne Slavin et al.; 1997.
