Much is said and believed about sports and genetics. People relate extraordinary athletes to having great genetics. But genetics are only as good as to what we decide to expose our bodies to. What if we all have to some extent great genetics for a particular sport, but due to the lack of proper training and a focused dietary and supplement regimen we can't take advantage of those genetical traits. Of course we are not all going to the Olympics but what if we could maximize those genetic variables to our advantage, gaining more strength, fortifying our bones, improving the efficiency of our cardiovascular system and even promoting our mental acuity. We all want to live more, but this "more" needs to be accompanied by quality of life and health.
Athletes all over the world have learned how to maximize their health by maximizing and being smart about their nutrition. There is no reason why we can't learn from the "sports science" about nutrition and use it to our advantage.
As per (Dictionary.com) recommended daily allowance is defined as :
"the amount of an essential nutrient, as a vitamin or mineral, that has been established by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences as adequate to meet the average daily nutritional needs of most healthy persons according to age group and sex".
Notice that this definition does not take into consideration, exercise, training or how active your life is. The more active you are the more calories we need, this we know. But on the same token the more nutrients we need. The amount of B-vitamins that an average person would need if he or she walks 2 miles to and from work every day varies greatly from a marathon runner in training. Research supports the fact that even if you have a perfectly balanced diet, you will require and could benefit from nutritional supplementation that would support your daily activity level. A good example, would be choline*. Choline is involved in many complex physiological pathways in our bodies. Among its many involvements, it plays a role in the development of fatigue. Marathon running have low choline levels after their run and choline supplementation among runners has been theorized to prevent fatigue. Even though choline did not improve marathon time, is has aided in reducing fatigue. My experience with my patients has demonstrated that choline supplementation has helped my runners recover more quickly from their races and be ready in a shorted amount of time for their next marathon.
Medicine has advance so much in the sports field that we can know create customized nutritional supplements and evaluate nutritional necessities based on one's activity level. So why don’t we maximize our nutrition based on our activity and goals and thus help maximize our bodies and performance.
Our nutritional requirements not only change as we do more or less exercise but change as we age. As we age our bodies are unable to so efficient in absorbing certain nutrients. We can learn from sports nutrition and medicine, how to use injectables, sublingual liquids, patches, etc. to aid in the absorption and utilization of many nutrients.
As you see we are our genes but our genes are what we make of them. It has become more clear as science advances that food, our nutrition and our surrounding exert great influence on how or genes express themselves. So what if we could help improve our health and longevity by being smart with our nutrition?
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