Category: Health

Carbohydrates have become increasingly demonised over the past years. However they are not all that bad. On the contrary. They are actually our body’s preferred source of fuel and vital for optimal health and performance. 

When we eat carbohydrates, they are broken down into glucose which is then used by our brain, muscles and other organs, giving us the fuel to thrive! 

What’s important to note is that there are different types of carbohydrates. 

Simple and complex carbohydrates. 

Simple carbohydrates are digested quickly and lead to a quicker spike in energy. These are usually your more refined carbohydrates such as white bread and sweets etc. Simple carbohydrates should be used in context. For example if you are someone who is exercising a lot and has very high energy requirements, looking to fuel for performance, then simple carbohydrates should be a regular part of your diet. 

On the other hand, complex carbohydrates. These are digested slower and lead to a slower and more sustained release in energy. These are usually found in more unrefined carbohydrates sources such as whole grain products and legumes. 

Another very important nutrient that is found in complex carbohydrates is fiber. Fiber plays a crucial role in promoting gut health, blood sugar control, healthy cholesterol levels and has also been found to reduce the risk of many diseases. If we were to restrict our complex carbohydrate intake, we would also be restricting overall fiber intake, which would be detrimental to our overall health. 

In summary, depending on our individual activity status, we want to include both simple and complex carbohydrates in our diet to ensure that we are giving our body the fuel it needs to thrive. At the end of the day it is about balance and making sure that we are enjoying a variety of foods in moderation, not excessively restricting anything, but also being mindful of how we fuel our bodies. 

We are all bombarded with information about all things health, diet, good foods, bad foods and everything that comes with it, on a regular basis.

So here are some myths that you have probably come across, that need some debunking.

1. Myth: “You need juice cleanses to detox your body”

Truth: Our bodies do not need juice cleanses to be detoxed. Our bodies do need to detox, but the good news is that we have our own built in detox system- Our liver and our kidneys. We are better off making sure that we are making choices that support our health as a whole versus buying expensive juice cleanses.

2. Myth: “Carbohydrates make you gain weight”

Truth: Carbohydrates on their own do not make you gain weight unless they are consumed in excess. Weight gain occurs when there is a calorie surplus- meaning there are more calories being consumed than expended- and this can occur with any foods. Not just carbohydrates alone. Fun fact: did you know that 1g of carbohydrates contains 4 calories, whereas 1g of fat contains 9 calories?

3. Myth: “Weight training will make you bulky”

Truth: Weight training will stimulate muscle protein synthesis which will help you to build lean muscle mass. But that does not automatically mean you will get a big and bulky physique. The extremely large physiques that we are afraid of are often a result of some weight training and often also performance enhancing drugs. We should all include weight training in our regular routine because muscle tissue comes with numerous health benefits.

4. Myth: “Intermittent fasting guarantees weight loss”

Truth: A calorie deficit guarantees weight loss. Intermittent fasting is simply another way to do it, but it is not superior to a standard calorie deficit approach. It is simply a different way of achieving a goal.

5. Myth: “All thin people are healthy”

Truth: Appearance does not reflect a person’s true health status. Our outside appearance is a very small snippet to what is going on internal and it is about so much more than just weight. For example things like energy levels, blood markers, strength, sleep quality and mental health all matter when it comes to assessing overall health.

Weight loss medications and injections have seen a surge in popularity lately, and it’s easy to understand why. They offer fast, noticeable results and can feel like a solution for those who’ve struggled with repeated dieting and haven’t found long-term success.

But while these medications may seem promising, it’s essential to understand that they are not without risks, and deciding to use them should be an informed, carefully considered choice.

When it comes to weight loss, the goal is not only to lose weight, but also to keep it off. That means the method one uses needs to be sustainable and something one can realistically carry into the future.

Medications like Ozempic and other GLP-1 receptor agonists work primarily by suppressing appetite, which leads to reduced food intake and, in turn, weight loss as a result of a negative energy balance being achieved. However, there are some points one needs to look at:

• These medications are short-term solutions. Long-term use is not practical or affordable (for most), and extended use can increase the risk of nutrient deficiencies due to significantly reduced food intake.
• Once the medication is stopped, most people tend to regain the weight, if sustainable habits haven’t been established.
• There are also potential side effects and health risks, such as gastrointestinal issues, gallbladder problems, muscle loss, and others that should not be overlooked.

Ultimately, while these medications may be a helpful tool for some, they are not a substitute for building consistent, healthy lifestyle habits. Sustainable weight loss comes from gradual, long-term changes, not quick fixes.

Before turning to medication, it’s important to work on long term lifestyle changes such as changing dietary habits, movement habits and general mental health.

Training for a triathlon means that our body needs more fuel, especially during the actual hours that are spent swimming, cycling or running.

It’s very important to fuel longer and harder training sessions, not only to provide the body with the fuel it needs to perform, but also to practice one’s race day nutrition strategy to ensure that the gut is well trained and adapted to taking on the fuel one is taking on.

Here are some easy to follow tips to help you fuel your triathlon training and ultimately, your race day.

Choose your fuel

Fueling looks different for everyone and it’s important to choose something that you enjoy! Some love gels, some enjoy jelly sweets, and some prefer to go the more ‘natural’ route of dates and bananas.

Workout your hourly requirements

A good guideline to follow is aiming for 0.8-1g of carbohydrates per hour of exercise. For example someone who weighs 60kg would want to aim for 48-60g of carbohydrates per hour.
TIP: small frequent feeds are your friend. Try to aim to eat every 20-30min to make it easier for you to meet your fueling requirements.

Hydration

We want to make sure that we are meeting overall fluid requirements, but also sodium requirements as we lose sodium and other electrolytes when we sweat. This varies from person to person and it is hard to say how much sodium each individual loses without conducting a sweat composition test, but if you are someone that struggles with muscle cramping, nausea and often find salt marks on your clothing and skin after exercising, then you are more likely than not a more salty sweater, meaning you need to ensure your sodium intake is adequate.

*Note that overall fluid intake is also dependent on the conditions you are training/racing in. Hotter and more humid conditions will require more liquids, vs colder ones for example.

Once you have worked out all of the above, the only thing that is left to do is practice it in your training sessions. Especially during longer sessions this will be important because it will help you work out whether what you have got planned in terms of fueling actually works.

TIP: Include some higher, race-like intensity efforts to get a true reflection of your planned race day nutrition strategy.

Sample fuelling strategy:

Jenna weighs 60kg so she wants to aim for 48-60g of carbohydrates per hour for her race.

She wants to fuel with jelly babies and gels.

1 gel contains 20g of carbohydrates and 5 jelly babies contain 15g of carbohydrates.

She chooses to have 1 gel and 5 jelly babies every 20 minutes which will give her an hourly total of 50g of carbohydrates.

In terms of hydration she will aim for 500ml of water containing an electrolyte effervescent every hour. Race day conditions will be mild and she is not a very salty sweater.

___

In summary, there are so many ways a race day nutrition strategy can look. The most important thing is that it works for you. Try to tick the above boxes and you will be on a great track to finding your perfect strategy!

There is so much information out there when it comes to nutrition. From the latest fad diet, to the newest trending supplement on the market. But what are some things that your dietitian wants you to know?

Here it goes:

What you do consistently brings about the biggest changes.

Extremes do not work and we need to remember that small,sustainable changes are key when it comes to trying to make long lasting changes for our health.

Sleep is important.

Did you know that if we don’t get adequate sleep, it doesn’t just affect our mood and feeling of restfulness, but our hormones are also affected. Specifically our hunger and satiety hormones. After a bad night’s rest, it has been found that hunger hormone levels increase and satiety hormones decrease. Ever feel like you are more snacky after broken sleep? This may be the reason why

Increasing your overall fiber intake might just be your missing puzzle piece.

Fiber plays a crucial role in overall gut and digestive health. Adding more fiber to your diet will also help you stay fuller for longer because it balances the blood sugar response we get from a meal. We want to aim for about 25-30g of fiber per day. While foods such as fruit, vegetables and legumes contain fiber, wholegrains give us the best bang for buck. For example half a cup of oats contains about 5g of fiber. Try to include whole grain carbohydrates that contain more than 6g of fiber per 100g in your daily diet.

Don’t forget about movement.
Movement is not only for burning calories. It is so much more than that. From improving mental health to improving digestion. Movement is something we should do at least 3-5 days a week for optimal health.

Get to know the 80/20 guideline.

80% of the time, learn to make choices that honour your health, and the other 20% you can choose foods purely based on taste. There is space for all foods in our diet and we don’t have to restrict any foods permanently. At the end it comes down to moderation and being mindful around the foods we eat as opposed to labelling some foods as ‘bad’ and ‘good’.

By Mariella Sawyer,
Pro Triathlete & Registered Dietician

Knowing how to read food labels is something that we should all know how to do because it helps us make informed decisions about what we are buying, and ultimately consuming. In South Africa all food labels must comply with regulations to ensure we, as customers, are given clear information about the product at hand.

Here are a few helpful tips to help you make more informed choices when buying your food.

• A nutritional label usually contains the serving information at the very top, followed by overall calories, nutrient breakdown and finally the percent of recommended daily value of said nutrient. Noting the serving size on a nutritional label is key because what is listed as a serving size on the label, might not be what we interpret as a serving size ourselves.
• The ingredients list on the packaging is always listed in descending order by mass. In other words, the ingredient that is listed in the biggest amount, will be listed first and so on.
• “Best before” and “use by” don’t quite mean the same thing. “Best before” means that the product is still safe after the given date, but its quality is likely to be ‘best before’ that given date. “Use by” on the other hand is a date given, after which the product is no longer safe to consume.
• If a product is claiming specific benefits at the front of the packaging, it is mandatory to have a full nutritional information table on the packaging.
• Carbohydrates and added sugars. You might have noticed that food labels often list ‘carbohydrates’ and ‘added sugars’. The ‘carbohydrates’ are what is naturally present in the given food, where as the ‘added sugars’ are the sugars that are added to the product in the process of processing.

It is important to note that when it comes to labelling, there are regulations that protect us but clever marketing strategies are very common, which may affect our ability to make a non-bias decision.

Did you know that there are three different pathways through which our body uses energy during exercise? All dependant on the type of exercise? Which pathway is used mostly depends on the intensity and duration of the exercise ie a gentle walk vs an all out sprint. 

First off we have the so-called ATP-PC system. This is the energy system that is favoured during very short and high intensity bouts of exercise. Think of an all out effort of 10 seconds or less.This energy system doesn’t require any oxygen and it is depleted very quickly because it relies on bodily stored energy (ATP) and creatine phosphate in the muscles. 

Secondly we have the Glycolytic system. This is the energy system that gets activated for efforts that are a bit longer, ie 30 seconds to 2 minutes and it also doesn’t require any oxygen, just like the ATP-PC system. However, the glycolytic system uses glucose, which it gets from carbohydrates, to form energy (ATP). If you haven’t eaten any carbohydrates before your workout, your body will have lower than ideal stores of glycogen, meaning your performance will suffer because it will not have the fuel needed to perform. 

Thirdly, and finally, we have the oxidative system. This energy system is used during longer, low intensity forms of exercise. It uses oxygen to convert bodily stored carbohydrates, as well as fat into energy. This energy system helps us to go for long! 

It is important to note that our body never uses one system exclusively, but rather uses a combination of the above pathways. How much of each pathway is used, depends on the activity as a whole. For example if you are running a marathon, your body will primarily be generating energy through the oxidative system, but there will likely be times where you run a bit faster, and then the body will tap into the glycolytic system. 

Knowing how our bodies generate energy during exercise, can help us get to know our bodies better when it comes to performing, and fuel for the work required. 

When it comes to exercise, training and overall performance, we want to aim to get the most out of our bodies. This means fueling for the work, ie exercise, we are about to do. Regardless of whether your goals are performance or maybe weight loss related. 

At the end of the day, if we give our bodies the fuel they need to perform, we will feel stronger during exercise and also feel better after, because our recovery is improved. We will also not feel like we want to eat everything and anything in sight for the remainder of the day- a common challenge in those who skip that pre-exercise snack or meal. Ultimately, this will lead to us being happier, stronger and faster- if that is what you want 😉 

So what exactly should we aim to eat before our exercise sessions? 

Our body’s primary source of fuel during exercise are carbohydrates. This means that we want to aim to eat easily digestible and low fiber carbohydrates before our exercise session. The options are endless but here are some examples 

– Toast with peanut butter 

– Banana 

– Granola or oat bar 

– Oats with banana 

– Hot cross bun 

– Rusk 

And if you are someone that really struggles when it comes to fueling before workouts, especially early in the morning, then something like some jelly sweets can also do the trick! Easily digestible carbohydrates, that you can get down are the most important thing! 

It is important to note that the quantity of your pre-session fuel does depend on what you are about to do. For example if you are about to go out and run easy for 20 minutes, you will not need to eat as much as someone who is about to go out and run a marathon. 

In summary, make sure that you always fuel before your sessions because it will help you get the most out of your training and you will also feel a lot better for it! 

Our body’s primary source of fuel during exercise are carbohydrates. Our body does have some storage of carbohydrates in our liver and muscles, but these stores are limited, which means, if we are out for longer periods of time, we want to make sure to fuel the exercise we are doing. This means eating carbohydrates. 

Generally it is recommended to start fueling workouts if they are longer than about 1 hour 15 minutes. 

Remember to always eat something before exercising as well! 

So, what should we eat and how much should we eat to ensure that those energy levels stay topped up? 

1. Timing 

You want to try to aim for small, frequent feeds to make your life easier. Aim to have something small to eat every 20-30 minutes. This will make it easier for you to get in what you need. 

2. Quantity 

The quantity of carbohydrates varies from person to person because we all have different tolerances and it is also dependent on body weight. A good guide to follow is aiming to take in 0.8-1g of carbohydrates per kg of body weight per hour of exercise. 

For reference: 

• 1 medium banana contains about 15g of carbohydrates 
• 1 standard oat bar contains about 15-20g of carbohydrates 
• Most gels contain about 20g of carbohydrates 
• 1 medjool date contains about 5g of carbohydrates 
• 1 slice of bread contains about 15g of carbohydrates 

An example: 

Karla weighs 60kg so she should aim for about 48g-60g of carbohydrates per hour, split up. 

She chooses to fuel with bananas and gels. A medium banana contains about 15g of carbohydrates and her gel contains 25g. So she will have one or the other every 20min, which will give her an hourly carbohydrate intake of 55g of carbohydrates. 

P.S. Remember to stay hydrated! see our next post! 

When it comes to fuelling for performance, one thing that many tend to forget about is hydration! 

Adequate hydration is crucial to optimise performance. 

When we speak of hydration we need to look at both overall fluid intake, as well as electrolyte replenishment because when we sweat we don’t just lose liquids, we also sweat out electrolytes such as sodium/potassium/calcium. 

Electrolytes have a variety of functions. They play a role in muscle contractions, carbohydrate absorption, maintaining overall homeostasis (balance) in the body and they also play a role in nerve signalling! 

So where does one start? 

1. Ensure adequate overall fluid intake 

A very general rule of thumb is to try and aim for about 500ml of liquids per hour. However this is very dependent on individual sweat rate and also the conditions in which one is exercising. If it is hot and humid, overall fluid requirements will be a lot higher than in cooler conditions. Tip: sip on your liquids versus drinking large quantities at once. 

2. Look at adding sodium/electrolytes to optimize your hydration strategy. 

The composition of our sweat varies from person to person and the only way to really know how much sodium one loses per liter of sweat, is to do a sweat composition test. Some lose around 500 mg of sodium per liter of sweat and some lose as much as 2000 mg per liter. 

Some signs of being a more ‘salty’ sweater are: cramping when it is hot or salt residue marks on clothing or skin after exercise. 

If this is you, then you are likely to benefit from including more electrolytes into your hydration strategy. 

In summary, to get the most out of your fuelling strategy, you want to make sure that you are getting in enough carbohydrates per hour, while also meeting hydration requirements in terms of overall fluid intake as well as electrolyte intake.