Hey guys, before we get started with the intro, I just want to point out that the seven part miniseries on the nutritional pyramid of importance were actually the first seven episodes that I recorded for the podcast. So please bear that in mind when leaving a rating and review. My microphone technique was probably not quite up to scratch and I was still figuring out the process. So please bear that in mind, cheers guys. You know what is up guys, Welcome to the live train perform podcast. I'm your host, Sean cooper of performance functional training. I'm currently the head strength conditioning coach at the world renowned Tiger moisten mm A training camp based in Phuket Thailand. I'm a strength and conditioning coach, nutritional therapist. NLP master practitioner, a former Australian army soldier and combat veteran. This podcast is dedicated to bringing you the tools, knowledge, experience and expertise to allow you to live your life to your fullest, train to your potential and perform at your best. I'm going to do that by providing three different styles of podcast style one is going to be 3-5 part miniseries, 15-25 min episodes, each covering a numerous topics including nutrition, lifestyle, sleep, stress management and training philosophies style too, is going to be me interviewing people at the top of their game, who they are, how they started out where they got to where they're at and what makes them tick.

Style three is all about you guys, I'm going to be answering your questions, you can find that on my Q and a memes, which I'll be posting on my social media platforms. My social media platforms are at instagram at K O B. E. S. Underscore Pft at codes underscore PFT facebook is performance functional training and Youtube is at performance functional training. Make sure you like subscribe and follow those platforms. I will be referencing my Youtube channel throughout the episodes. So if you want your questions answered, go onto the men to Q. And A means that I'll be posting on my social media platforms, pop in your questions and I will answer them for you on the podcast. Let's get it. Mhm Hi guys and welcome to the next installment of the nutritional Pyramid of importance miniseries. In today's episode we are discussing micro nutrients and water why they're important and what effect they have on the body. Well, let's dive into it. Are micro nutrients are the compounds that our body requires to support optimal health and function.

Micro meaning small nutrients of those compounds that our body requires. Micronutrients are vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. They are essential for the proper functioning of every system in the body and a vital for good health. Each vitamin and mineral has a specific role in bodily function which we're going to dive into Throughout this episode, we'll talk about common nutritional deficiencies, how they show up in the body and how we can address them. It's important to note that our bodies cannot make all of these micronutrients. They must be supplied through the diet. Now, I'm just going to pause there for a moment and discuss the digestion and assimilation because this is important. I'm not going to go too deep here, but I will bring this up in a future episode. You are what you eat, digest, absorb and don't excrete. That is from dr brian Walsh. Why do I bring this up? Well, essentially, when we eat foods, our body breaks them down into their compound. So fats are broken down into lipids and fatty acids, proteins into amino acids and carbohydrates into glucose.

Now these fuel all of ourselves and provide different services for us as macronutrients that micro nutrients also do the same thing support all these functions that go on behind the scenes. Now, if you've got problems with your digestive system then that's going to affect your ability to break these foods down and supply these raw materials to the body as they need them when they need them digestion. The process of breaking down food by mechanical and enzymatic action in elementary canal into substances that can be used by the body assimilation. The absorption of nutrients into the body. After digestion in the intestine and its transformation in biological tissues and fluids, assimilation is occurring in every cell of the body to help develop new cells, all chemical and mechanical reactions that occur in living organisms, including digestion and the transport of substances into and between different cells is digestion assimilation and metabolism. If you have some form of dysfunction with your digestive system and your body is not getting the nutrients that it requires too function optimally, then that's going to show up in other areas of the body.

So you might have problems falling asleep, waking up, tired, not having energy throughout the day, reduced libido, reduced cognitive function, inflammation of the joints all around grogginess. It might also show up as poor health of the hair, skin, nails, eyes, things like that. So pay attention to your body. It is constantly giving us signs and signals of what's happening. But we just don't pay attention these days. He's going to get back to paying attention to what your body is doing, how it's reacting to certain foods. And if it's showing up with certain symptoms, then we need to have a look at what those symptoms are and what could be causing them at the root. Let's now talk about common deficiencies with the majority of the general population. So I'm getting my numbers here from a precision nutrition infographic from a couple of years ago. So these numbers might be a little bit out of date. However, just for educational purposes, it's going to give us an idea of where a lot of people are falling down with nutritional deficiencies.

So uh this is from the american population but 86% of the american population and not getting their recommended dietary allowance of vitamin E. Okay, 75%. Not getting enough fold late, 73%. Not getting enough calcium, 68%. Not enough magnesium, 55%. Not enough, vitamin A. 48%. Not enough, vitamin C and 42%. Not enough zinc. Why is this important? Let's dive into what those micronutrients the vitamins and minerals are and what they do for us. Why it's important to pay attention to these. Again, 86% of America's population is not getting enough. Vitamin E. Vitamin E is effective as an antioxidant which protects cells from damage including against cancer. It helps the body use oxygen and prevents blood clots, thrombosis. Our throw sclerosis, it's important for improving wound healing and fertility, which is good for the skin.

Also. Alright deficiency symptoms. We're looking at lack of sex, drive exhaustion after light exercise, easy bruising, slow wound healing, varicose veins, loss of muscle tone and infertility foods that provide these or this compound. Sunflower seeds, peanuts, sesame seeds, other seed foods, beans, peas, wheat germ, tuna, sardines, salmon, sweet potatoes, etcetera. Its adversaries, high temperature cooking, especially frying air pollution, birth control pill and excessive intake of refined or processed fats and oils can also dampen the ability for your body to actually break down and absorb that vitamin E calcium promotes a healthy heart clots. The blood promotes healthy nerves contracts muscles improve skin bone and teeth health also relieves aching muscles and bones and maintains the correct acid alkaline balance in the body whilst also reducing menstrual cramps and tremors deficiency symptoms include muscle cramps or tremors, insomnia or nervousness, joint pain or arthritis, tooth decay and high blood pressure.

Uh, So the top foods containing calcium is swiss cheese, cheddar cheese. Armand's brewer's yeast, parsley, corn to tears, artichokes, prunes, pumpkin seeds, cooked dried beans, cabbage and winter wheat. It's adversaries or what stop it from being absorbed into the body is hormone imbalances, alcohol, lack of exercise, too much caffeine and tea, a lack of hydrochloric acid and excess fat or phosphorus, which hinder absorption Stress, also increases its excretion. And 73% of Americans are deficient in calcium. Let's move on to the next micronutrient we'll talk about. And that is magnesium, 68% of Americans are deficient in magnesium. Let's talk about what that does, why it's important for us. Magnesium is effective for strengthen bones and teeth. It promotes a healthy muscles by helping them to relax. So works opposite to calcium.

It's important for PMS also important for the muscles of the heart and the nervous system. It is essential for energy production and it's an enzymatic co factor, which means it's a helper molecule to help other enzymes and do its job deficiency symptoms include muscle tremors or spasms, muscle weakness, insomnia or nervousness. High blood pressure, irregular heartbeat. Constipation fits all convulsions, hyperactivity, depression, confusion, lack of appetite, calcium deposited in soft tissue, example, kidney stones. So the top foods that provide magnesium, wheat, germ, almonds, cashew nuts, brewer's yeast, wheat flour, brazil nuts, peanuts, pecan nuts, cooked beans, garlic, raisins, greenpeace, potato skin crap. So we're looking primarily at our nuts and seeds there to increase the absorption of magnesium into the body. You can actually have it with vitamin B one B six, vitamin C. And zinc calcium and phosphorus.

Our next common deficiency is vitamin A. And 55% of americans are deficient in this compound. Vitamin A is essential for healthy skin inside and out and protecting against infections, is an antioxidant and immune system booster. It protects against many forms of cancer and is essential for night vision deficiency, symptoms include mouth ulcers, poor night vision acne, frequent colds or infections, dry flaky skin, dandruff, thrush or cystitis and diarrhea. So the top foods include beef, liver, veal, liver, carrots, watercress, cabbage, squash, sweet potatoes, melons, pumpkin, mangoes, tomatoes, broccoli, apricots, papayas and tangerines. Alright, point to note though, is that the animal products there are much much higher in vitamin A than the plant products other than carrots, which hang with animal products in terms of bang for buck.

It works well with zinc, vitamin C and vitamin E. Help protect it. Its adversaries are heat, light alcohol, coffee and smoking. So if you're doing those things that's going to reduce your ability to break that down and push that to where it's needed. Final common deficiency that old discuss is zinc Zinc is a component of over 200 enzymes in the body. It is a component of DNA and RAT and is essential for growth. It's important for healing, controls hormones which are messengers from the organs such as the testes and ovaries and AIDS and the ability to cope with stress effectively. It promotes healthy a healthy nervous system and brain, especially in the growing fetus. It aids bone and teeth formation helps hair to bloom and is essential for energy production deficiency symptoms include a poor sense of taste or smell. White marks on more than two fingernails, frequent infections, stretch marks, acne or greasy skin, low fertility, pale skin, a tendency of depression and loss of appetite.

So the top foods include oysters, ginger root, lamb, pecan nuts, dry split peas, greenpeace, shrimp, turnips, brazil nuts, egg yolks, whole wheat grain, rye, oats, peanuts and almonds. Its promoters include stomach acid, vitamins A E and B six, magnesium calcium and phosphorus. Its adversaries include facilitates or wheat, which can reduce the body's ability to utilize zinc. Uh, it's also high calcium intake, copper, low protein intake and excessive sugar intake stress and alcohol also prevents the uptake of zinc into the body. 42% of Americans are deficient in this critical compound. As a nutritional therapist, I'm constantly on the lookout for these signs and symptoms of any nutritional deficiencies. Now I'm new to podcasting. So if I can figure it out, I will link a website where you can go and take a survey that will give you an understanding whether or not you have a potential nutritional deficiency.

If I can't figure out how to attach a website or a link, just type into google nutritional deficiency assessment and get after it. This is something that I go through with my clients. Now, it's important to understand that if we are not getting the right vitamins, minerals, vital nutrients in the right amounts, then that's going to have an impact on pretty much every system in your body. Our bodies cannot make all of these micronutrients. They must be supplied through the diet. Vitamin A is important for healthy eyesight and gums. Vitamin C. Is essential for a healthy functioning immune system. Vitamin E. Is a powerful antioxidant which helps fight free radical damage in the body. Vitamin D. Is essential for strong bones and immune function. B vitamins are utilized for energy production, nervous system health and for proper digestion. There are also essential minerals that play important roles in the bodies, such as iron, need for red red blood cell production, calcium for strong healthy bones and teeth, magnesium for nervous system health, zinc for healthy skin, reproductive and immune function.

Selenium is also an important mineral which acts as an antioxidant to protect the body from chronic diseases and premature aging. We currently know of 32 vitamins and minerals. That's likely going to change in the coming years though as technology improves and we start discovering new things. We're only just recently discovered the impact and the roles of vitamins and minerals on the body. So we've got 13 vitamins and 19 minerals. Vitamins are organic compounds that come primarily from Plant and animal sources. We currently know of 19 minerals which are inorganic compounds which primarily come from the soil, rocks, water, things like that. Natural sources from the earth, even though nutrition in its most basic form was recognized centuries ago there was a severe lack of understanding regarding the elements involved through the ages. However, people have been able to associate better health with certain foods and follow a diet that provided better than average nutrition.

Unfortunately, it was not until much later that vitamins were discovered and recognized as a critical part of one's diet and health. The impact of this can be seen in a variety of ways. Different cultures and peoples throughout history experience different health conditions due in great part to specific nutritional deficiencies. For example, the history of scurvy dates back to times when sailors used to go on long voyages without proper nutrition, it was common among sailors and other seafarers that were at sea for long periods of time. It was devastating for armies and navies since up to 50% of men suffered from this crippling disease when the disease started spreading in civilizations such as Egypt Greece and Rome. No one suspected that this deadly ailment was being caused due to a mere deficiency of the nutrient. We now know as vitamin C. It wasn't until 17 49 that dr James lin discovered the eating citrus such as lemons and limes, both of which contain high levels of vitamin C, prevented the condition. Although it was not recognized at the time, we know that this treatment was effective because it helped resolve the scurvy epidemic.

Let's discuss Fido nutrients. What are Fido nutrients? These are the compound within plant sourced products that basically give these fruits and vegetables their colors. This is where you've probably heard the expression eat the colors of the rainbow. I'm going to reinforce that and recommend that you eat the colors of the rainbow. Typically in Australia, we recommend five and 2 so five servings of vegetables per day and two servings of fruit. A lot of red fruits and vegetables include a natural plant pigment called like a pin, which is one of the phyto nutrients that makes it that red color. Like a pin is a powerful antioxidant that can help reduce the risk of cancer and keep our hearts healthy for purple and blue fruits and vegetables. We're looking at a plant pigment called anthocyanins which gives it their distinctive color. Anthocyanins also has antioxidant properties that protects cells from damage and can help reduce the risk of cancer stroke and heart disease.

Carotenoids give the orange and yellow group. Their vibrant colors are well known carotenoid called better Claritin is found in sweet potatoes, pumpkins and carrots. It is converted to vitamin A, which helps maintain healthy mucous membranes and healthy eyes. Another carotenoid called lutein, is stored in the eye and has been found to prevent cataracts and age related macular degeneration, which can lead to blindness. Green vegetables contain a range of phytochemicals, including carotenoids in dole's and Saarinen's, all of which have anti cancer properties. Leafy greens such as spinach and broccoli are also excellent sources of fall late white fruits and vegetables contain a range of health promoting phytochemicals such as Alison, which is found in garlic, which is known for its antiviral and antibacterial properties. Some members of the white groups, such as bananas and potatoes are also a good source of potassium. What I recommend doing is taking one brutal vegetable from each one of these categories and rotating them through. So let's take something red for example, might be strawberries. Then my purple is going to be an eggplant.

My orange is going to be an orange green might be spinach and my brown white is going to be mushrooms. All right, so I might eat them for one week and then the following week I'm going to choose different options within those categories. So my red, I might be looking at some capsicum. My purple blue, I'm going to swap out eggplant for blueberries. Orange, I'm going to swap out for maybe I'm going to have some lemon or something like that with my water green. Next week I'm going to have instead of spinach, I might have asparagus or broccoli, my brown and white, I'm going to start putting a lot of garlic into my main meals. So essentially what we want to do is rotate through these foods as long as we're hitting the colors of the rainbow. Another important point to note here is that it's not just about the foods that you're having is how you prepare them as well. So for example, when we cook certain foods, you're going to make, yes, you're going to destroy some of the micro nutrients and phytochemicals within those foods, but you're also going to make other vitamins and minerals, minerals, a lot more bio available, meaning that your body is going to be able to break them down and make them a lot more accessible.

A very simple example of this is a typical breakfast for me will be a couple pieces of toast with avocado, salmon, some spinach and some eggs. I might put a little bit of salt and pepper on that and some Tabasco sauce, but a couple times a week I might have raw spinach and then a couple of times a week I'm going to have some wilted spinach. So yes, I'm eating the same spinach, I'm eating the same vegetable, but the way that it's prepared is going to have an impact on how my body is able to break that down and utilize those certain vitamins and minerals within the body. This episode would not be complete without the discussion of life's Alexa, that is water one of the most critical components of our daily survival. We can only live four minutes without oxygen. We can live four days without water. We can live 40 days without food And we can live 40 plus years without exercise. What do you think most people focus on?

I'll go through the importance of oxygen and breathing techniques and things like that in another episode. Um but let's finish off this episode with the importance of water. Now our body is made up of up to roughly 60-70% water and it is absolutely critical in many of our physiological processes. Your body uses water in all its cells, organs and tissues to help regulate its temperature and maintain other bodily functions which include your metabolism, digestion, lubrication of joints and insulation of the brain and organs, along with the removal of toxins and other metabolic waste and byproducts through urination. Because your body loses water through breathing, sweating and digestion. It's important to re hydrate by drinking fluids and eating foods that contain water. I've had many clients who are simply not drinking enough water to allow their body to go through the physiological processes they required to achieve the results that they want and once we start addressing the importance of water and ensuring that we get enough quality water in throughout the day.

Then their body starts pushing in the direction that we're working towards. A very simple trick that I recommend is to carry a water bottle around with you and to drink when thirsty if you already thirsty, that means that you're already partially dehydrated. If you poke your tongue out in the mirror and your tongue is white, that's a good indication that you're already dehydrated. Now, when you're dehydrated, this has an impact on your body's ability to contract muscles, send a strong neural signal from the brain down to the muscles and to also reinforce those metabolic processes that are occurring behind the scenes to support Optimal training and recovery. Another handy hint is to actually mark your water bottle with a permanent marker, awesome tape. So you might have a one liter water bottle with four marks on a 250 mils, 500 mils, 750 mils, and then you can put a time on that. So you might say I want to drink 250 mils by eight o'clock and then the next 250 miles by 10 o'clock.

Next 250 miles by 12 o'clock, two o'clock, so on so forth. Typically for people, I recommend 2 to 3 liters per day, add a baseline. However, if you do live in a hotter climate or you just happen to sweat a shitload throughout the day, particularly around exercise, then you might want to bump that up. Another thing to consider also is electrolytes when you are living in a hot climate or you do sweat a lot, then you're going to lose electrolytes and salts with your sweat, particularly in Thailand where I see people training 345 times a day, they're gonna be sweating a shitload and losing a heap of electrolytes. So what I recommend to them is to get one of the electrolytes satchels And just adding that to 250 mils of water and slamming that down right after a training session. So it's concentrated quite often, see people getting one of those small satchels of water and diluting that in uh in 1.5 liter of water bottle, your ability to rehydrate is going to be affected Because that water is so diluted.

Just think about going to the bar, if I order myself a rum and coke and the Bartender puts in a little bit of rum and a shitload of coconut, all glass, I'm going to be like bro, what are you doing? It's the same thing when it comes to our electrolytes and water. So one satchel goes into 250 mils of water. Water is an essential life force that is absolutely critical for optimal functioning. I'm sure people have experienced this where they are feeling hungover or they've been in a fucking super hot environment there, sweating their ass off after a heavy training session and all you want to do is have a nice cold drink of water and that feels amazing. I was in Iraq when I was 21 years old, I turned 22 in Iraq and we would go out on 345 day patrols where we'd be carrying all our food and water and we just be living out of one of our Bushmaster is one of our armored vehicles and sometimes it was like 55 degrees in the desert was fucking stinking hot and the water the world carrying was are stored in the storage baskets on the side of the vehicle, So it will be 50, were fully decked out in all of our combat gear.

Um long pants, long sleeve shirts, undershirts, body armor, helmet packs, and rifles and webbing and everything like that stinking hot and we just be drinking this water coming out of the storage boxes like someone put the cattle on and we always always, always really appreciated getting back to base and pulling out a nice cold bottle of water from the fridge. I was actually really grateful. I turned 22 in Iraq and we're on a big american base and my mates actually pulled a heap of money together and bought me a small bar fridge so that I could have in my room, which I was super grateful for. It was one of those things, we get back from a 345 day patrol where we're drinking fucking hot water for days on end. Just getting back to an air conditioned room and drinking a nice cold bottle of water. It was amazing to round out this episode. I just want to discuss briefly our superfood. So what are superfoods? They're essentially low calorie or low energy foods that have high nutrient density.

So some super foods that you might have heard of, spirulina, additional mushrooms, cruciferous vegetables, goji berries, Cacau, maca, hemp seeds, cheer seeds, all those types of things. So for me, I use them as a little bit of a supplement and I'll throw them into my smoothies and things like that so I can bump up my nutrient density without bumping up my calories too much. I might discuss these super foods in the supplement portion of the nutritional pyramid of importance, which will be the last episode. The final point that I want to make is that there are something called anti nutrients. So if a food that you eat needs more nutrients for the body to use and metabolism than what the food itself gives, that is an anti nutrient living on these foods can gradually create a toxic overload and rob your body of vital vital nutrients to function. Anti nutrients can also come from deep fried food, refined sugar additives, cans and plastic containers, alcohol, painkillers, antibiotics pollution, environmental chemicals in water and excessive free radicals from smoking anti nutrient overload makes it very difficult for your body to eliminate toxins.

So what are empty calories, two thirds of the average calorie intake in modern countries consist of fat, refined sugar and refined flour. The calories and sugar are called empty because they provide no nutrients and those are often hidden in processed foods and snacks. If two thirds by calories of your diet consists of such dismembered foods, there is little room left to get the levels you need of all the essential nutrients crap foods. Cr ap crap foods not only are packed with extra calories, are also contain ingredients that rob your body of essential nutrients, making you feel sluggish and tired. What's more they can trigger overeating and cause you to put on weight rapidly. Anyone wanting to stay healthy should limit the foods that fall in the following categories. C for carbonated drinks are for refined sugar, artificial colours and flavourings. Also, alcohol falls under this category, and p stands for processed products. So carbonated drinks, it is thought that one of the main causes of today's obesity epidemic is the over consumption of soft drinks, coke, lemonade milkshakes, fruit juices, including natural orange juice, refined sugar.

This category includes white flour, refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup. All of these are often combined in pastries, cakes, cookies, yogurt and cereals, artificial colours and flavourings. These are anti nutrients which are often included in confectionery products, including sweets, soft drinks, party food and snacks such as crisps, biscuits, chips etcetera also stands for alcohol, which is which I've mentioned in an earlier episode considered a toxin, processed products or processed foods, heavily processed foods such as ice cream, party food, sausages, hams and Delhi smoked or cured meats are more likely to contain all of the above plus trans fats which are considered a danger to your health when over consumed. And that brings us to the conclusion of today's episode, which was all about micro nutrients and water. In the next episode, we're gonna be diving deep into the different types of diets, their origins, their history, what these particular diets are good for.

We'll also talk about calorie cycling, carb cycling, nutrient timing, meal, frequency, intermittent fasting and all of those other good things that fall into that category. If you enjoy the message that I'm delivering, please help me spread the word and like share, save and subscribe to my social media platforms, instagram is at K O B E S. Underscore Pft at codes underscore Pft my facebook is Sean Coba and my business page is at performance functional training. You'll also find performance functional training on youtube, Go and check that out and please pass this on to your friends, family. Anyone else who would benefit from hearing this message and if you could also leave me a five star rating and review that would be much appreciated. Anybody who does leave me a five star rating and review will have precedence when it comes to my Q and A sessions. I'm going to be posting on my social media platforms.

In the coming weeks of questions and answers you guys ask the questions. I will answer them on a podcast episode. That's it for me today guys, hopefully enjoyed this episode and I look forward to bringing you some awesome content moving forward peace.