Neither super restrictive food nor exhausting training routines alone guarantee the best result. If your goal is to have a healthy and energetic body, balance is critical. Healthy eating and physical activity go hand in hand for gains in quality of life. After all, both are essential for the proper functioning of the body and influence each other.
Want to find out how? So read on and understand the link between eating nutritious foods and exercising for good health.
Food And Physical Activity
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), you must practice at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week. However, the recurrent practice of concomitant muscle-strengthening exercises is also recommended.
And where does the food come in? Well, it is one of the most critical factors to ensure good performance in your physical activity. That is, the menu of those who exercise must be complete, balanced and balanced with all the nutrients that adequately meet nutritional and energy needs.
It is essential to point out that correct nutrition guarantees excellent performance for your workouts. In addition to reducing fatigue, it assists in the recovery period and decreases the risk of injury. In summary, those who do not eat well and strategically run the risk of impairing muscle recovery after exercise. It also has the possibility of developing nutritional deficiencies.
Therefore, there is no need to exclude any food group from your routine. Healthy eating is essential for physical activity and should be accompanied by a nutritionist. This way, the nutritional needs will be adjusted according to the practiced activity. Just as exercise is essential for a healthy life, it is also vital to have the follow-up of a physical education professional for this. After all, this balance will improve performance and boost your results.
Importance Of Food For Exercise
To do the job, your body needs an adequate nutritional supply of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. A piece of complex machinery works best with the harmony of these nutrients.
Caloric consumption must be adjusted so that there is no loss of performance or body composition of those who practice the activity. Maintaining a reasonable proportion between fat x lean mass through a healthy routine ensures a better quality of life in the long term. It works to prevent a series of non-transmissible chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular diseases, among others.
Therefore, the nutritional strategy not only improves training performance but also facilitates the process of gaining muscle mass and losing fat.
The Role Of Each Group Of Macronutrients And Micronutrients
And to understand a little deeper how your diet impacts your physical activity routine, learn about the fundamental food groups for our body.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrate is a macronutrient directly related to physical performance. After all, it is the primary source of energy used during the practice of physical exercises. We store carbohydrates as glycogen, stored mainly in the muscles and liver.
Muscle glycogen is primarily used as an energy source during physical activity, but its storage capacity is limited. Therefore, a carbohydrate-deficient diet can impair performance in training. Therefore, remember the importance of this nutrient so as not to impair the intensity of training or reduce the function of your immune system, for example.
Proteins
They can be found in foods of plant or animal origin. After ingestion, they are broken down into amino acids and absorbed by our intestines. And from their absorption, amino acids are directed to their functions, such as skin growth and repair, participation in bone health, formation of connective tissues, and hormone production.
It is known that protein intake should be increased for regular physical activity practitioners due to greater metabolic demand (mainly for muscle tissue repair, synthesis of new tissues, etc.). The need for proteins should be discussed with the nutritionist, as consumption can vary between 0.8 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of weight and changes according to the modality practiced.
In summary, this macronutrient is essential in several aspects, regardless of aesthetic goals.
Fats
Despite being seen as villains in a healthy diet, they are also essential in our diet, provided that they are consumed in the right measure and come from adequate sources.
Fats are necessary for the absorption of vitamins A, D, E and K, and they also participate in a series of other processes of our metabolism, such as the production of hormones.
There are two types of fats: saturated and unsaturated. Among unsaturated fats, we have monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Of all the fats consumed in our day, these should be the majority (nuts, peanuts, olive oil, avocado, etc.) since they have antioxidant functions and help cardiovascular health.
Vitamins And Minerals
As vitamins and minerals are part of basically all chemical reactions in our metabolism, we must prioritize the consumption of these nutrients. The proper functioning of the immune system, collagen production, antioxidant actions, and healing capacity, among other processes, are linked to micronutrients.
Also, some vitamins are water-soluble and not stored in our bodies. Therefore, regular consumption of fruits and vegetables is essential, which are abundant sources of these nutrients.
Also Read: Physical Activity And Healthy Eating: Allies Of Quality Of Life