The seventh installment of Julián Álvarez's articles arrived. Specialist in Physical Education and Sports Medicine, Nutritionist and member of the Nutrition Advisory Board of Herbalife International, this time we will talk about the 'adaptation' of our food to the different seasons of the year.
Padel World Press .- The arrival of autumn marks a turning point: We leave behind the holidays and go back into our routine to open the way to winter. We return to our training, our matches and our usual presence 'on the court'. Until then, all right, but sportsmen, elite or occasional, we know that these changes often affect our diet. And while we should maintain healthy habits and a balanced food line throughout the year, it should be noted that it also adapts to the singularities of the seasons.
Yes, this article is for you. Although you take care of yourself, dear paddle player, it is likely that with the summer and the holidays you have 'let go' and have put aside some of those basic recommendations. Therefore, it is important to recover the correct habit as soon as possible to prevent these 'slips of summer' from entering our habits and adversely affect our health and, above all, it is essential that we recover 'order'.
With the holidays the schedules are altered, we give ourselves freedom to break the routines and we sleep and eat when we feel like it. That's not bad to feel 'liberated' for a few days, but our organism is a 'rhythm machine' and the dream; Meals and exercise are the markers of those rhythms. We must organize our life again with order, getting up at the right time (I recommend doing it a little before and do some exercise) and eat at more or less fixed hours.
As for what to eat, of course we must not forget the advantages of being a Mediterranean country whose diet is a Cultural Heritage of Humanity. For starters we have citrus. Our 'classic' orange juice in the morning that, in addition to helping our morning hydration (which is a necessity that sometimes, due to the rush, we forget), is a great source of Vitamin C, whose role in defending against These seasonal colds are widely documented ... But Vitamin D is also important, since with the decrease in the hours of sunshine and our exposure to it, the availability of this vitamin (dependent on said sun exposure) will be affected by the seasonal change and therefore it is important to maintain an adequate consumption of fish (especially the 'blue ones' such as tuna or sardines), eggs and dairy (although skimmed, being a fat-soluble vitamin, suppose a very low contribution). This way we will avoid problems by default despite the sharp decrease in our sun exposure, even if we play outdoors.
Do not forget that, in general, all fruits and vegetables, pillars of the Mediterranean Diet, also provide many other vitamins and a large amount of nutrients, including many antioxidants. To complete this contribution of essential nutrients, we must also take protein foods monitoring the contribution of saturated fats, that is, white meats (the rabbit is a good option little used) but, above all, fish (low in fat, and that, when they contain it, it is rich in the highly recommended Omega3).
When we go back into our routines it is also possible that we plan a bit more our diet, especially if we can eat at home or we tend to take a 'tupper' to work. But whether we make our own food or if we are going to eat from the menu, we have to maintain that health criterion and always choose the best option. For example, run away from fried and battered and look for dishes baked or grilled and always look for vegetables and fish, and even, in the dessert, if you take it, choose a fruit instead of a sweet. Sometimes, the busy lifestyle does not give us enough time to prepare and take a healthy meal, which makes the milkshake or bar replace a meal in our best ally.
Another element that we recover at this time when temperatures begin to drop, are the spoon dishes, of which we have a wide range throughout our geography and which are usually very complete dishes that combine a great variety of foods with a base of legumes and vegetables and an added contribution of other protein foods (meat or fish). These spoon dishes can make an interesting nutritional contribution as long as we keep an eye on the calories (in other words, control what is put into the pot). We also recover the infusions, which have always been present in our culture and are at the other end of the scale, since, not only do they not suppose a caloric intake, but even, in addition to other properties such as the antioxidant effect of all they can have an activating effect on our metabolism.
But, as we always remember, the best engine of our metabolism is a positive attitude that can be shown from the morning doing a little exercise. And, the fact of eating a healthy and balanced diet is something that must be maintained all year, not only to take care of the line, but, above all, so that our body remains healthy.
It is not about making strict diets or forgetting about certain foods, but about learning to eat, acquire certain habits and apply common sense to the field of food, accompanied by some physical exercise. Only in this way will we achieve a balance between all the food options that we have at our disposal and we will achieve that healthy lifestyle that favors the proper functioning of our body ...
If we are not the ones who take care of our body, who will?
Julián Álvarez
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