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Nutrition and diet are critical to overall health. Fueling service members to achieve maximum physical and mental performance goes beyond the basics. The science of Performance Nutrition helps service members get the most out of their meals.
- Effective science-based nutrition strategies can optimize your mental and physical performance during training, operations, and routine activities.
- Consuming the right nutrients at the right time fuels optimal resilience and readiness.
- Service members are highly trained professionals who must operate at peak effectiveness in a variety of challenging environments.
- When changing your diet or exercise program, talk with a registered dietitian or qualified healthcare provider.
- Don’t rely on fad diets, supplements or other “easy” or quick fixes to improve your fitness.
- Every individual has unique nutrition needs based on their body, their exercise routine, their duties, and their everyday activities.
- To optimize your diet, work a registered dietitian, or other qualified medical provider to design the proper nutrition program to optimize your performance.
- Proper nutrition can make or break a warfighter’s ability to complete their training or mission and affect well-being, endurance, and recovery.
- To sustain proper nutrition to improve performance, service members should choose a mix of fuel and fluid that meets their individual needs, preference, taste, and budget.
- Eating the right balance and variety of foods, provides the nutrients (carbohydrate, protein, fat, water, vitamins, and minerals) needed for performance and health.
- Vegetables leafy greens, cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cauliflower), bell peppers, carrots, mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes.
- Fruits like berries, cherries, apples, bananas, citrus, tropical fruit (mango, pineapple), and kiwi.
- Grains and starchy veggies like whole grains such as oats, brown rice, whole grain bread, potatoes, legumes, beans, and peas.
- Lean proteins like poultry, fish, lean red meat, low-fat dairy, beans, nuts, seeds, and soy products.
- Healthy fats like nuts and seeds, olive oil, and avocados.
- What and when you eat is important to properly fuel your workouts.
- Optimal nutrition not only improves physical fitness, but also helps you achieve optimal emotional, cognitive, and physical performance.
- When you eat right, you’re likely to feel more energized, and have better focus, judgment, accuracy, and reaction time.
- Many of the same foods that boost physical performance do the same for mental performance.
- Eat a balanced diet rich in whole foods, with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fats.
- Follow these additional nutrition tips to optimize mental performance:
- Fuel your body consistently. Eat meals regularly to maintain blood glucose and muscle glycogen levels throughout the day.
- Drink enough water. Even mild to moderate dehydration can reduce alertness and cause fatigue, tension, and difficulty concentrating.
- Some nutrients, like magnesium and B vitamins are thought to improve brain health and potentially lower your risk of some neurological disorders.
- The best way to meet your fluid and electrolyte needs is to drink water and eat regular meals and snacks throughout the day.
- Dehydration of just 2% loss of body weight can negatively affect performance.
- Electrolytes—such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium—are lost through sweat. Full rehydration can’t occur without adequately replenishing electrolytes.
- Sodium is the main electrolyte lost in sweat.
- Beverages with electrolytes like sports drinks and eating foods that naturally contain electrolytes aid in replenishing losses.
- For prolonged or intense periods of exertion, a sports drink can be helpful by providing a fuel source and replacing fluids and electrolytes lost in sweat.
- Many service members use dietary supplements to promote health, improve performance, bodybuilding, lose weight, and more.
- However, some supplements present potential health and safety risks.
- Supplements are not regulated for safety and efficacy in the same way as medications.
- The Department of Defense issued guidance in March (DODI 6130.06: Use of Dietary Supplements in the DOD) that requires all service members and military health providers receive mandatory dietary supplement education.
- The DODI also creates a Prohibited Dietary Supplement Ingredients List. Service members may not use any dietary supplement products containing an ingredient on the list.
- Operation Supplement Safety, part of the Uniformed Service University of the Health Sciences, is charged with maintaining a list of prohibited supplement ingredients.
- Service members who are taking a supplement should speak with their primary care provider or a registered dietician about any supplements they are taking.
- The OPSS list is searchable by ingredient.
- Service members could face potential disciplinary action for taking a supplement with a banned ingredient.
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Last Updated: August 03, 2023