Excerpts
from Barbara Russi Sarnataro recent article on WebMD.
Original article was reviewed By
Michael Smith, MD
Neither Sarnatoro nor Smith
reviewed our added comments (red colored text).
It's not an uncommon site. Runners at the starting line of a race guzzling down
the last few drops of Ultra Fuel, unwrapping a PowerBar or carefully storing
small packets of Goo energy gel in the micro pockets of their running shorts.
Novice racers and runners are looking around thinking, "This is what I should be
doing. This is how I will sustain my energy and run a better race."
But is it?
According to Lisa Cooper, registered dietitian who has worked with many
athletes, food is more than something that quells hunger; it is fuel composed of
nutrients essential for maintaining optimal health and top performance during an
endurance event like a race.
So if bars, drinks, and gels claim to give you that, should they replace whole
foods when it comes to performance?
"Whole foods have other substances in them that benefit the body," says Cooper,
"I would choose a whole food."
Industry experts tend to agree.
Body
Balance is a whole food nutrtitional supplement.
The goal for everyone, athletes and
non-athletes alike, should be to get a balanced diet, says nutritionist Philip
Goglia, co-founder of Performance Fitness Concepts, a nutrition and wellness
consulting company in Los Angeles. A diet rich in a healthy combination fruits,
vegetables, nuts, whole grains, and fish or chicken would be enough to get
someone through a race or a day at work.
"Supplements are just that," says Jeff Stout, exercise physiologist and
co-author of five books on sports nutrition.
"I always prefer that the majority of the calories come from [whole] food," says
Stout, a fellow at the American College of Sports Medicine. "The body is made
that way. Supplements supplement the diet when foods don't do enough."
Body
Balance provides a whole food balanced nutritional supplement.
To get energy from whole foods, it is important to be educated about what we eat
and when.
Before a run, then, says Goglia,
"have a piece of fruit and peanut butter or oatmeal. Eat whole foods and let
your body digest them. That's what it wants to do.
If you're a body builder, or a
training athlete, says Goglia, and you're using a supplement as an aid to your
balanced diet for convenience, that's OK, he says.
Besides replacing depleted carbohydrates or balancing the diet with a vitamin
and mineral fortified bar, a sports drink or gel might be a good choice when an
athlete cannot digest whole foods, says Cooper, right before or during
performance.
Not all carbohydrates are created
equal, however. Some enter the bloodstream more quickly than others and they are
considered to have a high glycemic index. Baked potatoes and raisins are
examples. These are best eaten right before, during or right after exercise,
whereas moderate (orange juice or a sweet potato) and low (apple or pear)
glycemic index carbohydrates enter the bloodstream more slowly and are best
consumed in the hours before a workout.
Stout advises athletes in training to start eating whole foods four hours before
an event, building their carbohydrate stores for performance. He suggests
building into the high glycemic index carbs with different choices of whole
foods depending on how much time you have before a race.
Body Balance is a LIQUID
supplement which is 98% absorbed into your system.
Immediately post race, he says, a sports supplement drink is a good way to
replenish what was depleted because the body absorbs it quickly.
For elite athletes, who depend on the timing of food intake for performance,
energy bars and sports drinks are convenient. They provide a handy source of
fuel for someone burning more than they can keep up with.
That doesn't mean because you did 25 minutes on the treadmill before work, you
need to replenish your body's fuel with an energy bar. Some of these convenience
foods are also packed with calories.
"You need to look at the calorie and
the fat content," warns Cooper. "Some of these bars can have as much as a candy
bar. Find one with nutritional value, low in saturated fat."
Published April 7, 2003.
SOURCES: Lisa Cooper, registered dietitian. Philip Goglia, co-founder,
Performance Fitness Concepts. Jeff Stout, exercise physiologist; fellow,
American College of Sports Medicine
Why Body Balance?
Body Balance contains 121 essential
nutrients that work at the cellular level. As your cells duplicate, they
typically degenerate rather than regenerate. Body Balance promotes healthy
regeneration. It also helps balance your body’s electrical impulses so you feel
like all your circuits are plugged in!
This easy-to-swallow drink provides
a broad-spectrum of liquid nutritional supplements and antioxidants. One
drink and you're done! You get all your vitamins and much more.
Body Balance provides your body with virtually every vitamin,
macro-mineral, micro-mineral, ultra trace minerals, amino
acids, essential fatty acids, and enzymes needed for your
optimal health.
Together, with Aloe Vera, black cherry, honey and an exclusive blend of 9 sea
vegetables, you get over 121 vital essential nutrients per ounce:
74 minerals
23 vitamins
3 essential fatty acids
21 amino acids
7 enzymes and nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen
Body Balance even provides you with dietary fiber.
Because Body Balance a liquid supplement, it is absorbed within a matter of
minutes.
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