Wanna be Built? Try Functional Food for Sports Recovery!

I’ve often wondered how whole food would stack up against sports recovery products in research; apparently, I’m not alone!

Typically, sports nutrition protein/carbohydrate or amino acid/carbohydrate blends are compared to carbohydrate only or non-caloric refreshment. The protein or amino acid always performs better than the placebo or control that is not providing the same nutrition.

Duh.

Apparently researchers presenting at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) had the same thought.

A whole grain cereal, in combination with skim milk, provides a complete post-workout recovery snack. Cereal and milk provide ample carbs for glycogen replacement. On top of that, dairy products are naturally high in the essential amino acid leucine, which has special muscle-building properties. Leucine actually helps "turn on" the reading of genes that eventually lead to synthesis of structural muscle proteins.

"We were surprised that blood lactate was lower after cereal, possibly due to glycogen storage," remarked Lynne Kammer from UT at Austin. "In addition, the muscle was ready to store additional glycogen after the cereal-and-milk regimen, even after glycogen had already been synthesized."

The total global market value for performance enhancement/recovery foods and drinks (the majority) was valued at US $19.37 billion last year by Leatherhead International. This is a 50% increase in growth over the last 5 years.

What’s the point? Many companies make a huge profit based on an athlete’s desire to have the best workout recovery nutrition, but plain old food will also do the trick, with a caveat. The food should be well-balanced and incorporate the components we know are important for workout recovery, based on science. A functional post-workout food should contain a complete protein source (preferably one that is high in BCAA) and sufficient carbohydrates. By these criteria, most sweetened dairy products or cereals with fat-free milk will do. To get important nutrient to the needy muscles quickly, the recovery food choice should also be low in fat, as fat delays the rate at which food is sent from the stomach to the small intestine. The issue of taste and convenience is also important, however.

"Sports drinks may have an advantage in convenience," Kammer highlighted. "We wanted to look at a realistic exercise scenario and test the effectiveness of whole foods that might be acceptable for muscle recovery."

The research group asked 12 fasted cyclists (8 of which were men) to perform a two-hour cycling routine. Following the exercise, the volunteers were provided with either a whole-wheat flake cereal with fat-free milk or a sports drink containing carbohydrate. Blood glucose and insulin levels were increased by both protocols, but cereal raised insulin to a significantly greater extent, blunted the rise in blood lactate, enhanced protein synthesis, and allowed for additional glycogen storage potential.

I gleaned the research (supported by yet another company that wants a chunk of your sports dollar: Wheaties and the General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition) info from quotes from NutraIngredients.com—the study has not yet been published because it was only presented at the conference, but the scientists seeking to expand the research.

Jean offers nutrition coaching for weight loss, muscle gain, or any of your personal goals at her office in the Alico building in downtown Waco, TX right in the heart of central Texas. She also offers personal training services at Ironhorse gym on the corner of Franklin and 17th, which is also very convenient to downtown Waco. Contact information can be found on her personal website.

High-Protein Vegetarian Chili

This recipe comes together in not time at all, so it is perfect for busy and fit people.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 10 oz package mushrooms, chopped
2 14 oz cans of chili-flavored diced tomatoes or 28 oz large salsa
½ 24 oz jar of low-fat spaghetti sauce
1 14 oz can black beans, drained, rinsed
1 14 oz can kidney beans, drained, rinsed
½ cup textured soy protein
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
2 tsp chili paste of choice
Water as needed

Instructions:
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or large pot on med-high

2. Sauté onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms for 5-10 minutes.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients in the recipe and heat to a simmer.

4. Set heat on low and allow chili to simmer for 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours.

5. Add water as needed.

Makes 6-8 servings

1/8 of recipe: 275 calories, 34 g protein, 47 g carbohydrates, 10 g fiber, 4.3 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol

Jean offers nutrition coaching for weight loss, muscle gain, or any of your personal goals at her office in the Alico building in downtown Waco, TX right in the heart of central Texas. She also offers personal training services at Ironhorse gym on the corner of Franklin and 17th, which is also very convenient to downtown Waco. Contact information can be found on her personal website.

Get Beefy! High-Protein, Low-Fat Meat Options

Most sources of meat and poultry are protein-packed and healthy, as long as you prepare the cuts low in saturated fat and cholesterol! Generally speaking, meat and poultry should be prepared with 1) the skin removed; 2) all visible fat trimmed off; 3) the meat cooked at home; and 4) minimal added fat, particularly butter.

Restaurants slather meat, poultry and seafood in fat with the addition of butter, cheese, and cream sauce. Even if the meat ordered is a “lean” cut, and it’s described as “grilled,” the meal is still jam-packed full O’ saturated fat.

For instance, a “petite” 9oz filet from Outback has more fat than protein: 44g and 40 grams, respectively. This steak contains about 70% calories from fat and only 30% calories from protein. In contrast, a 9oz filet made on the home grill would provide 20g fat and 73g of protein, and fat would contribute a moderate 37% of total calories. 63% of calories from the home-cooked steak would be in the form of iron-rich, muscle-building protein. In essence, it’s okay to indulge in red meat, but please, enjoy responsibly by firing up your own grill—the fresh air will do you some good :-)

The table includes meats with five grams of fat or less per four ounce serving. Even if your general diet is not low in fat, limit fat from meat to lower your intake of unhealthy saturated fat and cholesterol. Ensure that the name is exactly the as listed below. For example, a “sirloin tip” steak is not the same as a “top sirloin.”

Source	Lean
Chicken (w/o skin)	Breast, thigh
Beef	Eye round ~ top round ~ bottom round ~ sirloin tip side ~ top sirloin ~ brisket flat half ~ 96% lean ground beef
Pork	Tenderloin ~ top loin ~ sirloin roast
Turkey (w/o skin)	Breast ~ 95% lean ground ~ thigh ~ drumstick
Fish (Higher fat fish included for omega-3)	Lake trout ~ herring ~ sardines ~ albacore tuna ~ salmon. Limit high mercury fish like swordfish, shark, mackerel king, and tilefish to one 3 oz serving per week
Lamb	Leg shank half ~ loin
Veal	Sirloin ~ leg top round

Jean offers nutrition coaching for weight loss, muscle gain, or any of your personal goals at her office in the Alico building in downtown Waco, TX right in the heart of central Texas. She also offers personal training services at Ironhorse gym on the corner of Franklin and 17th, which is also very convenient to downtown Waco. Contact information can be found on her personal website.

Fajita Chicken Thighs with Garlic and Lime

A boneless, skinless 4 oz chicken thigh* only has only 110 Calories and 4 grams of fat, compared to 100 Calories and 1.5g of fat in a skinless breast*. The other ingredients in this recipe add a lot of extra flavor, but not a significant amount of calories, while the little extra fat in the thighs keeps the dish moist-- enjoy!

Ingredients
2 cloves pressed garlic
3 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
2 lbs chicken thighs, skinned, cut into bite-size pieces
¼ cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoons honey
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 lime wedges

Instructions
1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl; stir in 2 tablespoons juice.
2. Stir spices into chopped chicken.
3. Heat large skillet on medium heat; spray with cooking spray
4. Place chicken in the skillet and cook until well browned on all sides; do not burn!
5. Combine 1 tablespoon juice, chicken broth, and vinegar; pour over the chicken.
6. Continue to cook until no longer soupy .
7. Remove chicken from heat and stir in cilantro; serve with lime wedges.
8. Add to tortilla for fajitas, if desired

*Assume chicken is measured raw; 8 total servings

Jean offers nutrition coaching for weight loss, muscle gain, or any of your personal goals at her office in the Alico building in downtown Waco, TX right in the heart of central Texas. She also offers personal training services at Ironhorse gym on the corner of Franklin and 17th, which is also very convenient to downtown Waco. Contact information can be found on her personal website.

Built Beef and Lentil Stew: Bowl after Bowl of High-Protein Goodness

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound 96% lean ground beef
3 cups thinly sliced onions

1 teaspoon salt
6 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons dried powdered thyme
1 teaspoon dried sage
½ tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 bay leaves

1 cup dry sherry
4 cups beef broth or stock
1 pound brown lentils, sorted and rinsed
2 stalks celery, sliced thin
3 peeled and sliced large carrots
4 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped (stems removed)

2 springs fresh basil, leaves only, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
lemon juice to taste
1 cup thinly sliced green onions for garnish

Instructions
1. Heat olive oil on medium in a heavy stock pot
2. Add onion and salt, stir until turn deep golden, about 7 minutes.
3. Add ground beef and brown well
4. Add garlic, spices and herbs, and cook, stirring, until fragrant.
5. Pour in sherry and stir until nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan.
6. Stir in beef stock and boil.
7. Add lentils and the sliced/chopped vegetables. If needed, add more water to cover the lentils.
8. Cook the stew for about 1 to 1.5 hours until the lentils are very soft.
9. Remove bay leaves
10. Season to taste with salt, pepper, basil, and lemon juice
11. Top with green onions.
12. Enjoy; be built!

Serves 10

Nutrition: 260 Calories, 22 g protein, 33 g carbs, 12g fiber, 4 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 6mg iron (40% RDA); also high in many other vitamins and minerals!

Jean offers nutrition coaching for weight loss, muscle gain, or any of your personal goals at her office in the Alico building in downtown Waco, TX right in the heart of central Texas. She also offers personal training services at Ironhorse gym on the corner of Franklin and 17th, which is also very convenient to downtown Waco. Contact information can be found on her personal website.

Fixin’ to Fast?

I recently received the following set of questions from a reporter; she seemed to think that fasting is a swell idea for college-aged people. Her leading inquires seemed to ask for support for a meal plan that does not involve food. Unfortunately, many college students take this counter-productive approach when quickly trying to drop several pounds for spring break, a formal, or other event. Names have been removed to protect the guilty.

Hello Jean,
My name is Xxxxxx Xxxx and I am a staff writer for The Xxxxx. I am writing an article regarding fasting, and I was hoping you could answer some questions.

1. What happens to the body when someone fasts?

During a true fast, no energy (Calories) enter the body. However, the body needs a certain amount of energy to function and cannot burn only fat to meet these energy needs; the brain, kidney, and other organs need a certain amount of sugar to function. During the first several, the body will rely on the breakdown of limited carbohydrate stores (glycogen) in the liver to meet sugar requirements. However, after liver glycogen is exhausted, the body will destroy muscles to make sugar. YOU CANNOT MAKE SUGAR FROM FAT. There's a little molecule that holds fat in place that make a tiny amount of sugar, but the fatty acid itself cannot be converted into sugar. Never, No, Nada. During a fast, working muscles rely on muscle glycogen and protein breakdown (yes, fasting turns your muscles into little cannibals), and fat oxidation.

Glycogen is used up completely within a day, and for the remainder of the fast, the body will use exclusively protein and fat to make energy. Fasting is very complex and the body will break down more body fat or muscle depending on how long one fasts.

Muscle Breakdown: Muscle is eaten up to provide sugar at a much faster rate during the beginning of a fast. The body still needs a lot of sugar to feed the muscles because it is not "used to" using other fuels yet. As a result, a short fast burn a whole lot of muscle mass. Muscle protein breaks down to its little parts, which are the amino acids (AA). Some AA can be used to make sugar and some make products that are more like fat.

Fat Breakdown: Fat can be used for energy in some areas of the body, like the muscle; however, the organs cannot use regular-strength fat for energy. As a person continues to fast, the body gets scared because it is loosing a lot of muscle to feed the organs. As a result, it starts to spare some muscle by turning the fat in to ketones. Organs, like the brain and kidneys, "learn" to use ketones and use less sugar as a result. The brain will ALWAYS need some sugar, however, so a person will ALWAYS be breaking down muscle if she does not eat!

After several days of fasting, like in the case of a hunger strike, the body will do several things to protect itself and extend life: 1) slow metabolism; certain "non-essential" functions will be sacrificed as a result, including, but not limited to: sexual desire/menstrual function, immunity to diseases, hair and skin renewal, and thyroid hormone production; 2) the body slows the rate muscle breakdown. You will die once you loose a certain percentage of your muscle mass (there are calculations for this!). Your body is trying to allow to live in a starving state for as long as possible; and 3) the body will also use more fat, both to burn fat itself and to make ketones to feed the organs.

2. What are the benefits of fasting?

Some individuals consider fasting important for religious purposes. If there is not a spiritual reason for fasting, I would never recommend it. I am a dietitian and never fast, unless very ill.

Some research shows benefits for individuals following a prolonged low-energy diet, but after a prolonged fast, all the evidence shows that it predictably leads to death.

3. If you decide to fast, are there any specific things someone should do?

If one chooses to fast for religious reasons, try to consume some liquid energy, if that would still allow one to be compliant with the religious guidelines. Even a small amount of sugar or amino acids (100-150g/day, providing about 600 kcal in energy) in a liquid during a fast will help to preserve muscle mass. Furthermore, I would recommend ample water and a multivitamin.

4. How often do you recommend fasting?

Never, as stated above. If your goal is to loose weight, there are better and more effective ways of going about it. Fasting quickly gives the body signals that it is starving-- this will result in a dramatic reduction of calorie-burning. For weight loss, I would recommend: 1) eating 5-6 small snack-type "meals" per day; 2) eating lean proteins during least three meals. Lean protein sources include chicken breast, tuna, 95% lean ground beef, top round steak, egg whites, whey and soy protein powders, to name a few; 3) Base all of your meals on fruits and vegetables; 4) Limit all processed foods. For instance, if it is shelf-stable and sealed in a wrapper, it will not be helpful for your long-term weight loss efforts.

5. What happens if you binge eat after fasting?

There are some potential benefits to eating more healthy foods after a fast. You will stimulate your metabolism, provide needed nutrients to your body, and increase circulation of the hormones that tell your body you are NOT starving anymore (e.g. leptin). On the other hand, you may get used to eating too much and store a good amount of the extra food as fat. A "binge" of high-energy, low-nutrition foods (junk food) will amplify the fat storage.

6. Is fasting recommended at all for college students? How would students specifically benefit?

Students need food to fuel their brains and bodies and should focus on eating regularly spaced meals that have vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains.

Clearly I'm not a fan of fasting. If you want to loose weight for an event, please do your body a favor and give yourself at least 5 weeks to loose 10 pounds (2 lb per week). Exercise more, eat better, and you will be able to sustain your weight loss for long after your trip!

All-Natural, Gluten-Free Date Soy Cups

Though I tend to include artificial sweeteners in my “dessert” recipes, I am aware that many people choose not to consume artificial chemicals! With my all-natural readers in mind, I developed the following recipe. The nutrition is comparable to a packaged bar, but the result is infinitely healthier, since there are no artificial sweeteners, no gluten, and no lactose. Furthermore, this recipe boasts 5g of fiber and only 1.5g of saturated fat. If it were not for the addition of one egg, the recipe would be vegan; it would also be easy to make with all organic ingredients. Enjoy!

Ingredients
¼ cup organic pumpkin seeds, unsalted
16 medium Mejool Dates
2 scoops Elemental Nutrtition Vanilla Soy Protein
3 Tbsp unsweetened soy milk
2 ½ Tbsp regular Molasses
1 large egg
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp cloves
½ tsp ginger
1 tsp natural vanilla flavor
juice from 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 F

Instructions
1. Toast pumpkin seeds for 3-5 minutes, until light golden brown (if raw)
2. Process next ten ingredients in a food processor
3. Pour batter into equal parts into 8 muffin container* spaces
4. Top each with one Tbsp of toasted pumpkin seeds
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes until completely set

Nutrition
235 Calories, 11 g protein, 7 g fat, 1.5 g sat fat, 36 g carbs, 5 g fiber

*I used silicone containers because they do not have to be greased. If using a aluminum container, spray with cooking spray or use paper holders.

Guilt-Free Mock Mocha

I remember in college when I ordered a Starbucks Grande (20 oz) White Chocolate Mocha drinks made with whole milk on a daily basis-- that indulgence has a nutrient profile that looks like this:

557 Calories, 20 g fat, 13 g sat fat, 41 mg cholesterol, 77g carbs (73 g sugar), 18 g protein

Guzzle this sugar-laden java and you've exceeded half of your saturated fat allotment for the day... and that's without whipped cream! I needed a mocha-like alternative that was in harmony with my healthy eating lifestyle, so I came up with this:

Guilt-Free Mock Mocha
1 Packet Diet Hot Cocoa (I use Swiss Miss, 25 Calories)

1/2 cup No Sugar Added Vanilla Soy Milk (I like Westsoy (not refrigerated) or Silk)

1 cup very strong coffee

2 packets Splenda 2 packets Sweet N' Low

3 Drops Vanilla Extract

The modified version is only 75 Calories, 2 g fat, 9 g carbs, 5.5 g protein, and even has 2 g fiber!

I also carry diet hot cocoa packets in my purse in case I go out to get coffee. That way, I'm equipped to doctor java on the go.

Here are some suggestions:

Order a Tall Americano with lots of room, add your cocoa packet, 1/2 cup 2% milk and a variety of artificial sweeteners to your heart's content; also use a little of the extra chocolate shaker.

85 Calories, 6 g protein, 1 g fiber, 7 g carbs, 2.5 g fat

Alternatively, order latte made with non-fat milk and add your cocoa packet and sweeteners as suggested above.

150 kcal, 12 g protein, 1 g fiber, 22 g carbs, 0 g fat

Mmm, mmm good

I suggested both the Splenda (yellow packet) and Sweet N' Low (pink packet) because combining artificial sweeteners tends to have a synergistic effect, specifically sweeter and less bitter, e.g. more like the real deal.

4th Place Finish at Arnold Amateur!