Eat carbs. Don't eat carbs. Meat is good. Meat is bad. Eggs are bad for you. Eggs are good for you.  The only thing that changes faster than new technology for phones is nutrition ideologies and principles. Do you ever want to scream, "Can someone please help me figure this out?!" That's why we are here. With so much conflicting information, it is hard to know what is actually factual and what is just hype.

Our goal is to strip away all of the nonsense and provide you with easy to understand, factual information so you can make a truly informed choice about your future nutritional habits. We have broken nutrition down into its basic elements below to help you understand how to feed your body in the most optimal way possible. 

 

Macronutrients ("Food Groups")

When we look at food as an energy provider, we get our energy from three main sources: carbohydrates, protein and fat. Each of these sources has a distinct role and is responsible for various chemical reactions within the human body.

Macronutrients can be broken down into carbohydrates (4 calories per gram), protein (4 calories per gram) and fat (9 calories per gram). All foods within these groups require the exact same amount of calories to burn 1 gram of carbohydrate, fat and protein. This means that 1g of carbohydrate from table sugar and 1g of carbohydrate from an apple have the exact same amount of calories. This does not mean that the calories are treated equal by our body in regards to how they respond to the calories when ingested. 

Carbohydrates (CHO)

CHO has taken on many roles over the years, the savior and necessity of endurance athletes as well as the evil Satan that keeps us from achieving a strong, lean body. The truth is, CHO is not evil. It is actually needed for us to live and perform optimally. Our bodies literally run off of CHO. Our brains need it to function and our bodies need it to perform physical tasks. All digestible CHO is eventually reduced to ordinary glucose or triglycerides. The difference between different types of CHO is how they affect our insulin levels, which has a profound affect on our overall health and performance.

This is why it is important for us to focus on CHO that is as close to the Earth as possible. The more natural and less processed our CHO sources are, the more nutrients they will contain. If we eat an apple, which is 99% CHO, our body will have a different response versus eating a processed CHO source, like crackers. This is because the apple contains water and fiber, which slows the digestion and creates a lower insulin profile.

Our goal is make sure that the CHO choices we make are inline with our goals, i.e. eating nutrient dense food so our body receives the vitamins and minerals it needs for optimal health and performance. We want choices that provide us with BOTH stable energy and nutrients.

Protein (PRO)

Forever and ever the emphasis was put on CHO when it came to an athlete's daily diet. High CHO, low PRO was hammered into the head of every single endurance athlete since the 80’s. There is a huge misconception that you only need PRO if you are looking to add a lot of muscle to your frame. This is simply not true. Research illustrates that runners, cyclists, swimmers and triathletes sacrifice a lot of muscle during their training. Pound for pound endurance athletes may actually need more PRO than bodybuilders.

PRO has many roles in optimal health and performance. It provides crucial vitamins and minerals to our bodies, provides the amino acids needed for tissue repair, helps boost our metabolism and  keeps our immune system running strong. PRO also helps us create stable blood sugar and stable insulin levels. By combining PRO along with CHO, it slows the absorption of food giving us that stable energy profile we need and help keep us off of the blood sugar roller coaster. PRO also has the highest thermic response (the bodies reaction to digesting the food) of any of the macronutrients. 

Like CHO, our body reacts to various types of PRO differently. Different PRO sources have different ratings on how digestible and soluble the PRO is.

Whey Protein

Whey is one of two milk proteins and is the gold standard when it comes to your body being able to use it. The protein efficiency rating (PER) is based on a scale of 0 – 100 and whey scores off the charts at around 130. When whey is made, it is separated from casein (think of curds and whey) and starts out in liquid form. It then goes through a process to put it into an easy to use powder. Like all other things, you need to remember, you get what you pay for. If you are using a cheap whey, it is probably lower quality. A quality whey product will be 85% protein and 15% lactose, but you can get whey that is 95% protein. This means even if you have problems digesting lactose, you can probably take a quality whey powder. Another benefit of whey is that it is 25% branch chain amino acids (BCAAs) and also very high in essential amino acids. I would suggest that if you are a very active individual, your daily intake of whey should be around 25 – 50 grams.

Egg Protein

Before whey, egg was the king of proteins. The PER scoring system is actually based off of egg protein in which egg was given the score of 100. The cool and crazy thing is, if you take out the yolks, the PER drops to 88. This just goes to show that nature knows best when it comes to food. Aside from the PRO in eggs, there are also many vitamins and minerals as well.

Milk Protein (Casein)

If you don’t have issues digesting dairy, it can be a useful tool in your nutritional arsenal. Casein has a cool property, it is digested slowly by your body, giving you a steady supply of amino acids. For years body builders would eat it as an evening snack to give them a supply of amino acids while they slept. I will say to skip the casein powders and chose whole food sources like Greek Yogurt and cottage cheese. Make sure you stay away from flavored varieties as it has tons of extra sugar and go for 2% milk fat. This makes it more rounded in the macronutrient profile and will slow the absorption even more.

Meat and Fish Protein

Aside from PRO, meat and fish provide a lot of vitamins and minerals that are essential for optimal health and performance. With that being said, our bodies have a hard time digesting and processing large amounts at a single feeding. It is theorized one can only use about 20 - 30 grams of meat or fish protein for protein synthesis (regeneration) every few hours. This is why it may be important to use a variety of PRO sources and eat multiple times per day.

Vegetable Protein

All vegetables contain a bit of PRO. If you are using a vegetarian based diet, you need to pay close attention to your PRO intake as it is difficult to provide your body with all essential amino acids. You will have to combine sources like beans, lentils, rice, etc to cover all of your needs. To make it a bit easier, there are now many vegetable PRO powders to choose from. The downside is that they can be a bit expensive, but just like with whey, you will get what you pay for. I will say this, when choosing a vegan PRO powder, I highly recommend staying away from soy. There aren’t many things I will say you should omit from your diet, but soy is one of them, especially GMO fermented soy products. If you are going to eat soy, make sure it is organic, fermented soy.

If you are an active individual who is looking for optimal health and performance, you need to pay close attention to your PRO intake. It is very easy to become PRO deficient, which will lead to amino acid deficiency. My PRO recommendations might be a bit atypical, but my goal is to show you what is optimal from increased health and performance and nothing will keep your from your goals faster than lack of amino acids for recovery. 

Fat (FAT)

More publicity has been given to FAT and its effect on overall health than the other two macronutrients. Like CHO, mainstream media has been all over the board on whether or not we should consume FAT, and if we do eat it, how much we should ingest. This has led most athletes to all but omit FAT from their diet which has caused many athletes to become FAT deficient.

When it comes to optimal performance, the research on FAT pales in comparison to that of CHO and PRO. While the anecdotal evidence on FAT as a performance enhancer is not great, we do know that FAT plays a tremendous role in optimal health and recovery which in turn will lead to better performance. FAT, like PRO helps slow absorption of the food we eat, providing stable energy. It is also essential for hormone production and the absorption of some vitamins.

FAT can be broken down into two types: saturated and unsaturated.

Saturated Fat

This is fat that is solid at room temperature like cheese, meat fat, coconut oil, palm oil and cocoa butter. Saturated FAT is usually linked to higher cholesterol and heart disease. While it is necessary to consume some saturated FAT, it should make up only about 20% of your total FAT intake.

A nasty off-shoot of saturated FAT is Trans Fat. This is FAT that has been modified through hydrogenation to increase the shelf life of the FAT. This type of FAT is what is generally used in process foods like cookies, crackers, chips and a host of other shelf bought food. This is yet another reason we should eat food that is as close to the Earth as possible.

Unsaturated Fat

This is the second group of FATS and these are liquid at room temperature. This group is comprised of oils that come from plants and may help reduce our risk of high cholesterol and heart disease. Unsaturated fats can be broken down in two subtypes:

Monounsaturated fat: This is found in things like canola, peanut and olive oil and can help raise our levels of good cholesterol (HDL).

Polyunsaturated fat: This is the bread and butter of fat and where we can find the greatest benefits for optimal health and performance. Polyunsaturated fat is comprised of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids.

Omega-6’s are found in vegetable oils like sunflower, soybean, cottonseed and corn oils. While these are better choices than saturated fat, our diet is out of balance when it comes to Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids. Our diet should be at least 4:1 Omega-3 to Omega-6, but instead it is just the opposite.

Omega-3’s have tremendous benefits when it comes to optimal health and performance. They are great for improving brain function and their anti-inflammatory properties. Omega-3’s can be found in salmon, shellfish, anchovies, sardines, herring, trout and mackerel, as well as dark green leafy vegetables, chia seeds and flax seeds. You can also get it from grass fed meat and eggs from grass fed chickens.

 

Micronutrients (Vitamins and Minerals)

Each of the larger macronutrients are broken down in our bodies into smaller, essential chemical compounds that our body uses to perform hundreds of roles. These essential compounds are called micronutrients and are made up of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and zoochemicals. These micronutrients are what feed our bodies on a cellular level and help ensure everything from a beating heart to a faster recovery time from workouts. When we chose macronutrients that have a higher micronutrient content, we are eating what is called nutrient dense food. Our goal is to choose the most nutrient dense food possible as this will promote optimal health and recovery.

For example:

Magnesium (mineral):

  • Energy production
  • Structural development of bone
  • Protein synthesis
  • Muscle Function
  • Blood pressure regulation
  • Transport of calcium and potassium (other minerals)

Vitamin C:

  • Form protein to make skin, ligaments and blood vessels
  • Heal wounds and form scar tissue
  • Repair and maintain
  • Antioxidant Activity

Lycopene (phytonutrient):

  • Antioxidant activity
  • Prevention of cardiovascular disease
  • Prevention of Cancer
  • Prevention of Obesity

Creatine (zoochemical):

  • Energy storehouse for the entire body
  • Required for all physical and mental exertion

PHYTOCHEMICALS

Phytochemicals are a large group of plant-derived compounds that may have many benefits for optimal health and performance.

Phytochemicals are broken down into several major categories:

  • flavonoids
  • phenolic acids
  • stilbenes/lignans
  • Isoflavones (found in soy foods
  • Catechins (found in tea).

Phytochemicals have been shown to:

  • Protect against free radicals
  • Protect against cancer
  • Decrease risk of heart disease
  • Reduce overall mortality

ZOOCHEMICALS

Zoochemicals are the animal equivalent of phytochemicals. These are compounds found in animal sources that are crucial for optimal health and performance. Zoochemicals have not been given near the publicity of phytochemicals and they have not been structured in varying classes like their plant cousin. Zoochemicals are basically made up of vitamins, minerals, lipids (fats) and antioxidants. While some of the zoochemicals can be found in plants as well, they are more abundant in animal based protein.

There are some zoochemicals that are exclusive to animal based protein like creatine, vitamin K2, carnosine and conjugated linoleic acid that while not considered essential nutrients, but do have a direct impact on optimal health and performance. If you follow a vegan-based diet, it is a good idea so supplement your diet with these compounds.