Vigour – Health and Sports Nutrition

Along with protein and fats, adequate carbohydrate intake is essential for fueling the body for performance and growth.

Carbohydrates in our diet are categorised as either simple or complex carbohydrates.
Simple carbohydrates are absorbed quickly and easily by the body to be converted into a rapid source of energy. Foods such as fruit or those containing sugar will be examples of this.
Complex carbohydrates take far longer to breakdown to be absorbed in the body and therefore provide a slower release of energy. Staple foods such as bread, rice and pasta will provide this far more beneficial source of carbohydrate.

Starch is also recognised as an important energy source as it is broken down and stored as glycogen. Foods high in starch include whole grain breads, cereals, pasta, and grains.
Carbohydrate stored as glycogen is an easily accessible and most common source of energy for exercise. These glycogen stores will need to be replenished regularly especially if taking part in frequent exercise.
Complex carbohydrates can also be consumed easily as a sports supplement. These supplements can provide a simple solution to gaining sufficient carbohydrates.

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Sports supplements are nutritional products used to enhance athletic performance. They represent a range of substances – including vitamins, minerals, herbs, plant extracts, amino acids, and hormones and come in a variety of forms.

These ergogenic aids are widely used among athletes of all types to assist in providing the necessary capacity for increases in energy, power, endurance, and muscle mass to compete effectively.

Athletic performance notwithstanding, the ability to recover – maintaining and re-establishing normal physiological function, is readily improved with the use of supplements.

In the market today there is a huge range of sports supplements available to meet every possible nutritional and goal requirement.

However, at the core of any exercise or sporting regime the key elements of nutritional consumption revolve around sufficient protein, carbohydrates and fats.

Under intense exercise, the body requires far more protein than the body can readily consume through food alone to develop at an accelerated and efficient rate. The use of a protein powder or protein supplements is the most effective way for the body to gain sufficient protein for lean muscle gains.

Athletes will also need to consume complex carbohydrates and good fats alongside their protein intake in the correct ratio.

Creatine is also an important element to assist in muscle gains and the synthesis of protein. Creatine is naturally produced in the human body from amino acids primarily in the kidney and liver with approximately 95% of the human body’s total creatine located in skeletal muscle.

Those who are involved in regular and vigourous exercise will be in need of a constant supply of creatine to ensure the body can supply the need for an increased energy output.
Creatine supplementation will allow the muscles to exercise longer and harder by creating the required abundance that is unavailable through food consumption. This abundance of creatine subsequently stored in the muscle promotes the synthesis of protein as well as deter the breakdown of protein required to build muscle mass.

There are a number of forms of creatine with the most common being creatine monohydrate (creatine complexed with a molecule of water) and Creatine ethyl ester (CEE).

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A seed is a mature fertilized plant ovule enclosed in a covering called the seed coat. It consists of an embryo and stored food. Many seeds are edible and they make rich dietary sources of essential nutrients. Examples of edible seeds include nuts, legumes and whole grains.

Seeds contain amino acids, vitamins, carbohydrates, fibre, minerals, oils, lignans, mucilage and antioxidants. The protein in seeds is easily digested and helps add lean mass to your body. The fibre in seeds helps cleanse the metabolic waste and dried mucus in gut and protects against the risks of constipation and colon cancer. Lignans in seeds exhibit anticancer, antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties. The B vitamins in seeds help release energy from food, improve immune system, promote cell growth and reproduction, and help maintain the health of your skin.

If you find it difficult to consume seeds on a regular basis due to your hectic lifestyle, then you should eat 9Bar Nutty Seed Bar because it makes a unique mix of seeds, nuts (almonds, cashew nuts, hazelnuts, pistachio nuts) and honey. This delicious bar contains around 27% nuts and 31% seeds with the usual carob topping (soya, vegetable fat, sunflower lecithin, sugar). Nutty 9Bar makes an excellent dietary source of vitamin B3 that is essential for the skin and good mood. It also contains folic acid that helps maintain the health of your heart and protects against the risk of cardiovascular diseases. It makes a unique combination of flavours that blend together to give a chunky energy.

Skipping breakfast is a common practice among people who do have a hectic lifestyle or who are trying to lose weight. Skipping breakfast does not make a smart idea because it may lead to over-eating or consumption of unhealthy foods for the rest of the day. A recent research has revealed that eating breakfast helps lose weight.

A healthy and nutritious breakfast keeps your metabolism active and provides you with the energy that you need to perform routine life activities. Make sure that your breakfast is comprised of protein, carbohydrates and plenty of fibre. Not only will this combination keep you feeling full until lunch time, but it will also satisfy your hunger. Excellent dietary sources of protein include low-fat meat, low-fat dairy products, eggs, cereals and nuts. Whole-grains, vegetables, wheat germ and fruits make good food sources of fibre. Make sure that you avoid consumption of foods high in sodium, sugars, calories and saturated fats. Certain types of meat particularly pork and bacon are high in sodium and saturated fat.

In case you skip your breakfast due to any reason, make sure that you use a meal replacement supplement. Maximuscle Promax Sachets Meal Replacement is a popular brand on the market that is suitable for anyone wanting the quality nutrition, protein and carbohydrate. It is an advanced meal replacement that provides protein with very low complex carbs. Maximuscle Promax makes an excellent gift for busy people who need an easy-to-mix, high quality, great tasting and low carb meal during the day. Mix one sachet with 300-350 ml of water and drink immediately.

Cell volumisers are those nutritional supplements that tend to increase the cell volume and tissue mass. They make an excellent gift for people who want to increase the size of their skeletal muscles and improve stamina in a minimum possible time. These supplements are designed to boost explosive muscle power and deliver more intense training pumps.

Cell volumisers make use of the most powerful workout nutrients such as carbohydrates, nitric oxide, niacinamide, alpha ketoglutarate, citrulline mallate, creatine, beta alanine, histidine, protein, and magnesium to deliver maximum muscle-building intensity. Nitric oxide gives you the most extreme muscle building pumps. Not only does it optimise blood flow during exercise, but it also enhances the delivery of hormones, oxygen and nutrients to muscle fibres. This sudden blood surge causes a rapid increase in the shape and size of your muscles and causes mind blowing pumps. Beta alanine is a carnosine booster that supports gains in muscular endurance and muscular strength.

Maximuscle Maxipower All In One with Nitric Oxide is a popular cell volumiser on the market that makes a wonderful gift for professional body builders, regular gym users, rugby players, soccer players, athletes, sprinters and jumpers. It makes a complete all-in-one formula that provides your body with the most effective and powerful ingredients. It helps deliver a cell volumising stack, increased strength potential and prolonged energy system realisation. You should mix one scoop with 300ml of cold water and take 30 minutes before training. Make sure that you do not exceed the recommended dosage.

Swimming is a magnificent physical activity that refreshes and cools you off in hot days. It is recognized as one of the best cardio exercises as it helps burn lots of calories and sheds accumulated fat around your body parts. It helps support health of your joints and builds muscular endurance and strength. Another benefit of swimming is that it increases stamina and size of your skeletal muscles. It has a soothing effect on your nerves and mind. Moreover, it improves your cardiovascular fitness and promotes a healthy blood circulation.

The most popular swim strokes include backstroke, crawl, butterfly and breaststroke. The equipment you need for swimming include swimsuit, goggles, bathing caps, floatation devices, handle paddles and gloves.

Swimming is a very tough exercise and it involves nearly all large muscle groups of your body. Therefore, you should consume diets which contain lots of protein, carbohydrates, amino acids and vitamins to aid muscle growth, muscle repair and recovery. You can also use a dietary supplement that provides you with muscle-building nutrients.

Maximuscle Promax Extreme Mini Protein Powder is an advanced whey protein shake that supports muscle growth, strength and recovery. It makes an ideal gift for serious trainers particularly swimmers because it supports lean muscle growth and recovery due to the whey protein and creatine.

There are two fundamental principles of resistance training exercises. One is known as the principle of progressive overload and the other is known as the principle of volitional fatigue.

The first principle states that you should increase the repetitions and sets gradually over time so that your muscle can cope with the force of resistance they have to work against. This will help your large muscle groups to gain strength and mass. The second principle says that you should lift each set to volitional fatigue. It is the point during a resistance training exercise where you can not lift more weight without using momentum or leaning way back. Working your muscles to exhaustion helps increase strength and growth of your muscle fibres.

Resistance training exercises require you to provide your body with nutrients like protein, carbohydrates, and creatine. All these nutrients promote rapid muscle growth and strength development.

Maximuscle Maxipower All In One with Nitric Oxide is a dietary supplement that is designed to deliver more intense resistance training sessions and boost explosive muscle power. It combines many of the most powerful workout nutrients that promote maximum strength and pre-workout performance. Not only does it contain protein and carbohydrates in its formulation, but it also provides nitric oxide booster citrulline mallate and arginine alpha-keto-glutarate. These nitric oxide boosters help optimise blood flow during exercise and enhance the delivery of oxygen, nutrients and hormones to muscle fibres. Moreover, Maximuscle Maxipower also contains beta-alanine which is a carnosine booster and supports gains in muscular endurance and muscular strength.

Cachexia or wasting syndrome is an abnormal condition in which one loses too much lean weight due to certain underlying causes. For an individual, the loss of fat might occur due to dieting, exercising or a combination of both. However, if one starts to lose lean body weight like muscle, the whole body chemistry can change.

If you lose more that 7% of your body weight, it could be a sign of wasting and you should immediately consult your physician. The important reasons that are responsible for the cachexia include tuberculosis, cancer and AIDS. It is important to remember that wasting is a very serious condition and it can kill you. Therefore, never delay and talk to your doctor.

People with HIV should eat more because extra muscle will help them fight HIV. They should consume plenty of starches, carbohydrates and protein, with moderate amounts of fat. Protein helps maintain and build muscles and HIVers should regularly consume lean meats, seeds, nuts, beans and whole grains.

They should also use a dietary supplement that contains protein in its formulation. Reflex Instant Whey Protein Powder contains whey protein as the main source of protein. This supplement makes a combination of two muscle building ingredients. Whey protein hydrolsate that is rich in amino acids and peptides. Moreover, Instant Whey contains Lactospore pro-biotics and Digenzyme enzymes. The former promotes a healthier gut whereas the latter enhances the protein digestion. This supplement also provides Immunoglobulin, Glycomacropeptide, Lactoferrin, Lactoperoxidase and more.

A healthy balanced diet helps you to maintain a good physical and psychological health, prevents the incidence of a number of diseases, and treats most of the illnesses. Your body requires a number of nutrients to carry out metabolic processes and cellular functions. Malnutrition weakens your immune system and makes you vulnerable to numerous bacterial, viral and fungal infections. Moreover, malnutrition slows down your metabolism and makes you look unhealthy and weak.

Nutrients that your body needs on a regular basis include calories, protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin B complex, vitamin C, Ascorbic Acid, vitamin D, vitamin E, Tocopherol, vitamin K, and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, iodine, magnesium, manganese, zinc, chlorine, copper, chromium, fluorine, silicon, molybdenum, sodium, sulphur and vanadium.

To get the recommended daily allowances of all these nutrients, make sure that you eat a variety of food items. It is important that you do not limit yourself to the consumption of only a few types of diets. Following are the different types of food items that you should incorporate into your daily dietary routine. It is important that you choose at least one item from each category twice a week to nourish your body with all the essential nutrients it needs to perform important metabolic functions.

Pulses are rich in proteins, carbohydrates, fibres, vitamins and minerals. This group includes Chickpea, Black Gram, Bengal Gram, Cowpea, Field Bean, Haricot Bean, Horse Bean, Navy Bean, Pigeon Pea, Protein Pea, Rice Bean, Winged Bean, Yam, Urad, Velvet Bean, Broad Bean, Butter Bean, Cajan Pea, Cowitch, Lupin, Lentil and Lima.

Cereals make rich sources of fibres, carbohydrates and minerals. This category includes Maize, Oat, Barley, Wheat, Corn, Millet, Rice, Rye, Teff, Spelt, Kamut and Buckwheat.

Fresh fruits contain vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibre and they must be consumed on a regular basis. This group includes apple, pineapple, apricot, cherry, strawberry, Acai, Acerola, citrus fruits, Banana, Blueberry, Avocado, Coconut, Date Palm, Fig, Guava, Grapefruit, Mango, Olive, Lemon, Lime, ambul, Jatoba, Jenipapo, watermelon, melon, Cantaloupe, Galia, Muskmelons, Pomelo, Pond Apple, Alligator Apple, Dragonfruit, Pitaya, Durian, Honeydew, Monstera, Swiss Cheese Plant, Breadfruit, Buffaloberry, Butternut Squash, Calabash, Date-Plum, Guavaberry, Rumberry, Hackberry, Hardy Kiwi, Chinese Bayberry, Japanese Bayberry, Red Bayberry, Pumpkins, Acorn Squash, Summer Squash, Pupunha, Peach Palm, Snakefruit, Salal Berry, Salmonberry, Santol, Sapodilla, Tree Tomato, Tamarind, Tangerine, Texas Persimmon and many more.

Vegetables make rich sources of fibre, vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates. This group includes cabbage, pea, spinach, carrot, radish, Onion, Orache, Parsnip, Parwal, Peanut, Nopal, Nori, Oca, Ogonori, Okra, Onion, Perennial Cucumber, Potato, Pigeon Pea, Pignut, Plectranthus, Prairie Turnip, Prussian Asparagus, Sweetcorn, Swiss Chard, Taro, Tarwi, Tepary Bean, Sorrel, Soybean, Spinach, Sweet Potato Summer Purslane, Sweet Pepper, Ti, Tigernut, Tinda, Tomatillo and many more.

Animal and animal products are rich sources of protein, carbohydrates and fats. They include Fish oil, Cod Liver Oil, Eggs, Milk, Whey, Yoghurt, Cheese, Butter, Chicken, Turkey, Seafood, Sheep, Rabbit, Pig, Duck, Ostrich, Pigeon, Lamb, Mussel, Goat, American Bison and many more.

If you find it quite difficult to incorporate a balanced diet into your daily dietary routine due to your hectic lifestyle, then make sure that you use a multivitamin supplement on a regular basis. Higher Nature Super Nutrition Multivitamins is a true A-Z multivitamin and mineral formula on the market that helps replace essential nutrients lost from the diet through cooking, environmental factors, farming methods and storage. This supplement also contains trace minerals such as manganese, molybdenum and iodine in its composition, which are quite hard to find in other multis. Super Nutrition Multivitamins is ideal for busy lives and compromised digestion.

Although it is generally believed that low-carb diets help lose weight, yet completely eliminating carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates from your daily dietary routine may prove detrimental to your health. It is important to keep in your mind that carbohydrates play an important role in maintaining your energy levels and you must provide your body with carbohydrates every day.

Complex carbohydrates help in suppressing your appetite because they keep you feeling full longer. This, in turn, helps you to eat less and lose weight fast as the accumulated fats inside your body are burned to get the calories on demand. Carbohydrates-rich foods that you should consume on a regular basis include whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables. Another misconception about low-carb diets is that you can eat low carbs as much as you want. It is important to realize that consuming low-carb diets can also lead to the weight gain. Make sure that you do not cut carbohydrates out of your daily dietary routine.

In order to maintain your energy levels and good health, you should take a supplement that makes use of all important nutrients in its formulation. Lucozade Sport Pro Muscle All In One is a fat-free high protein product that is designed to improve power and strength. It contains high quality protein, carbohydrates and creatine, which promote increased muscle mass and strong muscles. Not only does Lucozade help to rebuild muscle glycogen, but it also provides sharp bouts of explosive energy. This supplement makes a wonderful gift for rugby players, sprinters and body builders.