F it to Survive

Fit to SURVIVE The fire fighter’s guide to health and nutrition

So, You Want to Change Your Nutrition Game

BY ALEX BOERSMA, ACTING CAPTAIN, 415-A

Confused about the state of nutrition science? Not sure what you should or should not eat? Frustrated by the incessant onslaught of conflicting dietary narratives being hyped in the media?

Well why wouldn’t you be? One day, the World Health Organization proclaims that eating red meat is on carcinogenic par with cigarette smoking. Only a few months later, the largest meta-analysis ever on the subject tells you that the quality of evi dence condemning red meat (even processed red meat) is so unconvincing that it should simply be disregarded. And literally the next day , Netflix airs a com pelling yet decidedly biased documentary indicting meat and suggesting that plantbased diets are superior for everything from general health to high performance athletics to saving the planet.

Of course, the media loves to portray nutritional approaches in this binary, black vs white context. Controversy always gets more clicks than nuance. But this doesn’t mean that consumers should feel obliged to take an all or none approach to eating. The truth is, long term health is much more likely to be realized by exploring the commonalities between differing nutritional approaches than by disputing the extremes which divide them.

There are some fundamental principles which are common to almost every successful dietary strategy. If we can adhere to these common principles, we should be able to experience enduring vitality. So instead of perseverating over the controversial fringes of any given dietary approach, why not try putting into practice the common elements upon which almost all these approaches agree?

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

Calories Count – Don’t Stuff Your Fat Cells

There is absolutely no doubt that general obesity, and/ or visceral adiposity (belly fat) are significantly associated with metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and overall mortality. So don’t overstuff your fat cells! And if you have overstuffed your fat cells, the health benefits of losing even 5-10% of your fat mass are sub stantial. How do you do that? Eat fewer calories. Every successful weight loss strategy has, at its root, a mechanism for lowering caloric intake. Why do the Vegans and the Carnivores both lose so much weight initially? Because they have each eliminated a considerable seg ment of the foods they used to eat, so they just end up consuming fewer calories. Why do so many people have a hard time sustaining weight loss after dieting? Because they either start eating the things they weren’t supposed to eat, or they find new, highly palatable “comfort foods” that are easy to over-consume. So yes, most diets can be effective for fat loss in the short term. But the key to sustained fat loss will be finding a dietary strategy which allows you to control caloric intake in the long term.

Eat Whole Foods

There is not a serious dietary approach in the world which recommends junk food. Although there may be some debate about what constitutes “junk food”, we can all probably agree that it has something to do with pro cessing. Generally speaking, the closer a food is to its natural state (except perhaps for cooking), the less “junky” it is. This means minimizing foods that come in packages with long ingredient lists. It means shopping primarily around the periphery of grocery stores. And it means avoiding highly palatable and easily overconsumed com binations of refined sugars, refined grains and refined oils.

Eat Nutrient Dense Foods

Foods that are nutrient dense will have a significant ratio of required nutrients (essential proteins, essential fats, vitamins and minerals) per unit of caloric intake. Animal foods tend to have a lot of nutrients, however many choices come with high calories from fat, making them potentially less nutritionally dense. On the other hand, plant foods tend to be much less calorically dense, therefore some plants can have exceptional nutrient density. Plant foods also come with the added potential benefit of phyto-nutrients and fibre. It should be pointed out that it will be more difficult to get optimal levels of all nutrients from just plants or just animals. For most people some combination of plant and animal foods will optimize nutrition. It should also be noted that “junk food” almost by definition, has very low nutrient density, usually containing minimal levels of essential nutrients and elevated concentrations of calories.

High Quality Protein

Although the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) for protein is 0.8 grams of protein per kg of bodyweight, most nutrition researchers agree that this is more of a minimum requirement than an optimal allowance, especially for active and ageing populations. Most will usually agree that opti mal protein intake should be somewhere between 1.0 and 1.5 g/kg. This would mean that a 200 lb person should eat between 100 and 150 grams of protein per day, especially if they are active or ageing. Although animal sources of protein tend to be more complete (they have more of the essential amino acids in the ratios that we need them) and are more readily bio-available (we absorb more of the protein in them), this does not mean that we cannot source our proteins from plants. It just means that plant-based eaters will need to pay more careful attention to the quantity and variety of their pro tein sources.

It Really Can be That Simple

Despite what you have seen and read, nutrition does not have to be rocket science. Eat sufficient quality protein. Eat nutritionally dense real foods. And find a way to eat just the right amount of calories so that you maintain a healthy weight. If you want to try a more extreme diet, remember that most of the benefits you are getting are probably from eating less junk, fewer calories and more essential nutrients. Although it may work wonders for you, that doesn’t make it a magical solution for everyone. And if you are unable to sustain it over the long term, it may end up doing you more harm than good.

For more information on nutrition, please check out the IAFF’s nutrition page at https://www.iaff.org/nutrition/ or the blog at Precision Nutrition https://www.precisionnutri tion.com/blog