So, you've bought all your supplements, bought endless amounts of chicken and protein, maybe even some good sources of carbs, you're not dehydrated and you have an excellent workout plan lined up that you're motivated enough to stick with, you think you're all sorted before you say to your trainer one of the following things.....
- I don't eat fruit or vege
- I don't like fruit or vegetables so I won't eat them
- I don't eat rabbit food
- I'm well aware of the fact that we have co-evolved over millions of years with these fruits and vegetables and I'm well aware of all the micronutrients, minerals and antioxidants with all the vital roles in energy production, recovery, hormone production and utilisation, yes, I'm well aware of all these things and think it's not going to be detrimental to my hard earned progress if I don't eat fruit or vegetables
The point is: If fruit and vegetables aren't a significant part of your daily nutrition then you are behaving like an idiot.
Whether to cook or eat vegetables raw is beyond the scope of today's article, but either Jen or myself will be covering this issue at a later date, as well going into the debate of whether organic food is actually any better for you than the commercial, processed, pesticide ridden fruits and vegetables you find in the supermarkets. Jen will also soon be coming out with a range of healthy recipes for you to try out with hopefully an open mind. So with that caveat, let's have a look at a range of common fruits and vegetables in order to go into what you're body is missing out on.
Vegetables
Dictionary.com has this definition of the humble vegetable:
noun
Vitamin C is an essential nutrient for many animal species, a large percentage of these animals produce it within their own bodies, humans, however, must get their Vitamin C through diet and nutrition.
It is also an excellent antioxidant and helps to prevent oxidative damage in the body (another reason bodybuilders should be hammering foods containing vitamin C)
It is involved in the reactions of many enzymes and metabolic reactions within the body, and is massively involved in the recovery of wounds and injuries. Vitamin C also helps prevent bleeding from the capillaries, so one can see how important it is for bodybuilders in particular to take in plenty of this vitamin. Anyway, if you don't get enough, you end up with scurvy which = BAD TIMES (and bad teeth).
Vitamin A
This is a vitamin essential for the retina and the maintenance of low light and colour vision, so, my bodybuilding friends, if you want to keep on seeing those sculpted guns, by scoffing these leafy vegetables, you're doing yourself a massive favour.
Folate
Folate is essential to the human body for a number of reasons, including playing a massively important role in DNA synthesis and the repair of DNA. Folate is integral for the production of healthy red blood cells, therefore helps in preventing anemia, which in turn will make your body more likely to grow through training due to having a plentiful oxygen supply due to the health of the red blood cells.
Conclusion
Do yourself a favour and consume a significant amount and a varied selection of fruits and vegetables, there are so many ways of cooking them, ways in which you may never even have considered, so to say "I don't like" this fruit or this vegetable is ridiculous, try them in combination with other foods, prepare it in different ways or just try getting your foods from a farmers market instead of a supermarket and I promise you will find a huge selection that you will come to know and love.
If you are consuming a variety of these foods every day you have absolutely no reason to worry about recommended daily allowances or deficiencies in any of the micronutrients, you will be obtaining them all, and by not using a large array of vitamin supplements, there is very little chance of you taking in any micronutrient to the point where they become toxic.
Make your training worthwhile, aid your recovery and eat for health as well as enjoyment. Get it done my friends!
Training (and now eating) to inspire!
CJK
Level 3 Personal Trainer
Kettlebell Instructor
Co-founder of C and J Fitness and Personal Training
1. Any plant whose fruit, seeds, roots, tubers, bulbs, stems, leaves, or flower parts are used as food, as the tomato, bean, beet, potato, onion, asparagus, spinach, or cauliflower.
2. The edible part of such a plant, as the tuber of the potato.
So by the most general definition, a vegetable is an edible part of a plant, which has been a staple of our diet since the before the dawn of man. So what are you missing out on?
Reconstruction of 3 Neatherthal skulls
Considered by many a bodybuilder to be the king of the vegetable kingdom, Broccoli is an excellent source of Protein, Thiamin, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium and Phosphorus, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium and Manganese.
Asparagus
Asparagus
Another superhero of the food world, THE MIGHTY ASPARAGUS is a good source of Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc and Selenium, Protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Iron, Phosphorus, Potassium, Copper and Manganese.
My vegetable of choice for the past few months, vegetable titan Spinach is a good source of Niacin and Zinc, and a very good source of Protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Copper and Manganese.
Fruit
Fruit
noun
1. Any product of plant growth useful to humans or animals.
2. the developed ovary of a seed plant with its contents and accessory parts, as the pea pod, nut, tomato, or pineapple.
3. The edible part of a plant developed from a flower, with any accessory tissues, as the peach, mulberry, or banana.
Ah, the fruit, being a sucker for everything Haribo, I've had to replace them with something equally tasty. I'd happily eat fruit all day if i could, here's what you're missing in 3 popular fruits.
Banana
The ever-conquering Banana, high in Vitamin C, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Vitamin B6.
An excellent source of Vitamin C!
The fruit supremo the Orange! A good source of Thiamin, Folate and Potassium, and a very good source of Vitamin C.
So we've been through a selection of fruits and vegetables, now for a limited selection of the specific micronutrients that form the composite parts of these amazing foods.
Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)
So we've been through a selection of fruits and vegetables, now for a limited selection of the specific micronutrients that form the composite parts of these amazing foods.
Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)
It is also an excellent antioxidant and helps to prevent oxidative damage in the body (another reason bodybuilders should be hammering foods containing vitamin C)
It is involved in the reactions of many enzymes and metabolic reactions within the body, and is massively involved in the recovery of wounds and injuries. Vitamin C also helps prevent bleeding from the capillaries, so one can see how important it is for bodybuilders in particular to take in plenty of this vitamin. Anyway, if you don't get enough, you end up with scurvy which = BAD TIMES (and bad teeth).
Vitamin A
This is a vitamin essential for the retina and the maintenance of low light and colour vision, so, my bodybuilding friends, if you want to keep on seeing those sculpted guns, by scoffing these leafy vegetables, you're doing yourself a massive favour.
Folate
Folate is essential to the human body for a number of reasons, including playing a massively important role in DNA synthesis and the repair of DNA. Folate is integral for the production of healthy red blood cells, therefore helps in preventing anemia, which in turn will make your body more likely to grow through training due to having a plentiful oxygen supply due to the health of the red blood cells.
Conclusion
Do yourself a favour and consume a significant amount and a varied selection of fruits and vegetables, there are so many ways of cooking them, ways in which you may never even have considered, so to say "I don't like" this fruit or this vegetable is ridiculous, try them in combination with other foods, prepare it in different ways or just try getting your foods from a farmers market instead of a supermarket and I promise you will find a huge selection that you will come to know and love.
If you are consuming a variety of these foods every day you have absolutely no reason to worry about recommended daily allowances or deficiencies in any of the micronutrients, you will be obtaining them all, and by not using a large array of vitamin supplements, there is very little chance of you taking in any micronutrient to the point where they become toxic.
Make your training worthwhile, aid your recovery and eat for health as well as enjoyment. Get it done my friends!
Training (and now eating) to inspire!
CJK
Level 3 Personal Trainer
Kettlebell Instructor
Co-founder of C and J Fitness and Personal Training
No comments:
Post a Comment