Recognising The Nutrients

Eat more wholesome, less processed food types. Also, try to maintain a balance in the kinds of food to increase your nutrient intake. The nutrients we consume can be categorised into six groups. Each nutrient contains a set amount of Kcal per gram:

1. Carbohydrate (4 Kcal per gram)

2. Fat (9 Kcal per gram)

3. Protein (4 Kcal per gram)

4. Vitamins (no Kcal)

5. Minerals (no Kcal)

6. Alcohol (7 Kcal per gram)

Recognising, more or less, what kind of macronutrient a food type is mainly, will help you keep a good balance in your diet. Although the above are the exact measures of Kcal in nutrients, I'm not suggesting Kcal counting and precision, just informed choices.

I want to help you identify the nutrients a given food type is rich in. For the purposes of estimating the nutrients you need, we will use three athlete categories:

1. The moderate athlete (training around one hour M every day, no harder than zone two).

2. The endurance athlete (training around one to three hours of M-HIIT per day).

3. The ultra athlete (training around four or five hours of M-HIIT per day).
   

The Kcal within the food you eat is measured through the combustion of each nutrient. Most foods will contain some or all the macronutrients, and most healthy, close-to-source foods will also contain many vitamins, minerals and fibre, which is good for you. However, recognising the main nutrient of a food type allows you to keep your meals packed with a good mix of the nutrients (1-5) listed above - alcohol is another aspect we will also examine separately (heads up, it's not helpful for endurance training. Nice but not helpful).

Firstly, vitamins:  There are 13 vitamins in total. Eight of these come from the B-group of vitamins. Vitamins and minerals are essential for bodily functions, such as helping to fight infections, wound healing, making our bones strong, and regulating hormones.  Whilst vitamins don't directly provide fuel (being zero Kcal), they can be poisonous if too much is consumed. Vitamins are either fat-soluble or water-soluble, which highlights the importance of staying adequately hydrated and consuming enough healthy fats daily; otherwise, these vitamins cannot be absorbed into the body. Eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and dairy products will provide your body with the vitamins and minerals it needs, in the right amounts and balance.

Minerals: There are heaps of different minerals. Minerals are divided into two categories: major and trace. The dose required in a healthy diet depends on the mineral in question. Generally speaking, major minerals are needed in large amounts. Some well-known major minerals include calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, sodium, chloride, and magnesium, but there are many more. Trace minerals are just as essential to keep in a healthy diet, but are required in smaller amounts. Trace minerals include elements such as iron, zinc, copper, manganese, iodine, and selenium.

Carbohydrates: The overall sports science literature recommends that moderate athletes (those who train but not excessively) require 5 to 7 grams per kilogram of body weight per day (g/kg/day) of carbohydrates. However, endurance athletes (who train for durations longer than most) who also incorporate high-intensity exercise and train for one to three hours per day should consume 6 to 10 g/kg/day. Men and women who engage in extremely high amounts of exercise and calorie burning, such as ultra athletes training for four hours a day, may need as much as eight to twelve grams per kilogram per day. However, women should also consider their menstrual cycle when deciding where on the range to aim for - higher amounts from day one to day 14 and lower carbohydrate intake (within the range), but maintaining a balanced Kcal intake using other nutrients is best from day 14 to day 28.

Protein: In recent years, sports science has changed its recommendations for protein intake. Not only has it increased, doubling in fact, but it is also recommended in shorter intervals than daily. This is because the protein ingested is metabolised and either used or excreted right away. So, having one meal with high protein a day can only help you recover shortly after eating that meal. While non-athletes are recommended to consume 0.8g/kg/day, it is now recommended for athletes to consume 1.4g-2.0g/kg/day of protein for both men and women. This should be spread throughout the day, with a minimum of 0.3g/kg every three to five hours, to be utilised to best effect. Athletes should use this guideline as a minimum and increase their target intake when following a strength or muscle-building phase. Women should consider their menstrual cycle when choosing how much to consume and aim for high in the range, particularly if pre- or postmenopausal; in this case, aim for 2g/kg/BW. Furthermore, ageing male athletes in their late 40s and older, as well as pre- or postmenopausal women, should aim high in the protein range and can afford to be lower (within the recommended range) in carbohydrates to maintain balance.

Fat: The advice is to first and foremost, continue consuming healthy, close-to-source choices, so the fats you eat are plentiful but also healthy carriers of vitamins and minerals. Firstly, use the above information to guide you in consuming enough carbohydrates and protein throughout the day. Top up the remaining Kcal needed for balance with fat. There are times when choosing to restrict fat can be helpful. As a rule, don't restrict fat to less than 20% of total Kcal intake, as this is likely to cause a vitamin or mineral deficiency.

To illustrate, let me take myself as an example. It was 2022 when I first wrote this blog. In a hydrated and rested state, I weighed 70kg. I fall into the moderately exercising athlete category, so I require ~6g of carbohydrates per kilogram, 1.4g of protein, and unrestricted fat based on Calorie balance. That is about:

420g carbohydrate (multiplied by 4 = 1680Kcal per day)

98g protein (multiplied by 4 = 392Kcal per day)

And no less than 518Kcal fat (divided by 9 = 58g per day)

A total daily minimum Kcal intake of 2590Kcal

In the image below, you can see examples of healthy options of high-carbohydrate foods (left), high-protein foods (middle) and high-healthy-fat foods (right). Try to keep your diet balanced...