Tell You How Important the Nutrition for Children

For a considerable amount of time,
nutrition has not played a prominent role in the life of many martial artists, police, and military personnel as a means of improving performance. Top athletes are always looking for an edge. Although the martial arts are more of a way of life and a life style than a sport per se, the needs of the martial artist are the same as that of the elite athlete. Mental aspects not withstanding (i.e. mental awareness, strategy, cunning, etc.), the need for speed, agility, strength, flexibility, and the ability to recuperate from tough workouts (and unforgiving sparing partners) is paramount to the success of athletes and martial artists alike. Police and military personnel can also have unique requirements that require them to perform at peak physical and or psychological levels.

Protein

Proteins are made up of amino acids which are the structural units of the protein molecule. There are approximately 20 amino acids. Eight of them are considered “essential” because the human body cannot make them on its own - which is the definition of an essential nutrient. Link a few amino acids together and you get a peptide. Link a bunch of peptides together and you get a protein. The shape of the individual amino acids (and resulting proteins) is unique and highly specific, so I won't go into great detail about it here. Suffice it to say, proteins are an essential part of virtually every function in our body from the muscles, to certain hormones, to our immune system(s) and a whole lot more. In particular, the amino acids known as the “branched chain” amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, and valine) and the amino acid L-glutamine are of particular interest to active people as they are anti-catabolic (muscle sparing) and immune enhancing, to name only a few functions and benefits of these particular amino acids.

Though the RDA for protein is generally sufficient for couch potatoes (with some debate) the majority of athletes and/or highly active people will benefit from higher intakes of high quality proteins. Proteins with the highest biological value (BV) are the proteins that should constitute the majority of the active person's diet, as they are superior for maintaining positive nitrogen balance, reducing recuperation time from workouts, improving immune function, etc. Whey protein concentrate (WPC) and isolates (WPI) have the highest BV of any protein, is almost 50% branched chain amino acids, and is high in L-glutamine, which is why I recommend several servings a day of WPC/WPI to all the athletes/martial artists/police I work with.

There are several brands of WPC/WPI on the market. Other high quality proteins such as skinless chicken, fish, eggs, soy, and lean red meats, have relatively high BV values and are good proteins. Another point that is important to know, the higher quality the protein, the less the person has to eat and this allows the person to keep total calories lower by sticking to these high BV proteins.

Vitamins/Minerals

Obviously a full description of every vitamin and mineral and all their functions would take several large text books, so I won't even attempt it here. A good multi vitamin is an insurance plan to make sure we get all the major vitamins and minerals that for what ever reason we failed to get from our food on any given day. There is not a single cell in our entire body that does not require the use, or interaction with, some vitamin, mineral, or biological function that is dependent on the above nutrients in adequate amounts. If you think we get all the vitamins and minerals we need from our highly processed food supply (as some health professionals maintain), than I have a bridge in Brooklyn I would like to sell you. Some (but not all) nutritionists and other health related professionals will often say something like “vitamins supplements just cause expensive urine.”

The last time I checked, chemo therapy, heart bypass operations, and hundreds of other medical treatments cost considerably more than the average multi vitamin. If the intake of vitamins were to prevent any major disease in say one out of a 100,000 people, it would have been worth every cent in my book. In my opinion, the correct use of vitamins, minerals, herbs, essential fatty acids, and many other nutritional based compounds, is the best route to optimal health and performance. Any major brand of multi vitamin from such manufacturers as Twin Lab, Solgar, or Nature's Best, to name only a few good brands, would be fine.

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