|
|
By
Phil Stevens |
|
I have had a lot
of conversations of late that has led to a discussion on Essential
Amino Acids and Essential Fatty Acids. This has been spurred
as well from a statement from Dr. Lonnie Lowery that: "There
are at least 8 known essential amino acids, and three essential
fatty acids, but there are no such things as an essential
carbohydrates." Boy does that one tend to start up a
shit storm, though true. It starts the whole: "What are
you talking about you idiot. Many of your body processes are
dependent on simple sugar."
|
 |
Whoa there Jimmy, slow your role lest
I plant my meat eating foot in your butt. It's a simple ignorance
to what the terminology "essential" means when we are
talking about the dietary intake and processes of the body. Essential
does NOT mean that the macro or micro nutrient is a must in the
human body for proper function. What essential refers to in this
context is :
An essential amino acid or Fatty Acid
is an EAA/EFA that cannot be synthesized de nova (from scratch)
by the organism (usually referring to humans), and therefore must
be supplied in the diet, through intake.
It has zero to do with what you exactly
need to run optimally and more to do with the things you MUST put
in your pie whole on a regular basis in-order to do so. Meaning
you're going to fall short if your stuffing your face with nothing
but hoho's, ding dongs, fruit, grains, low fat this, low protein
this and washing it down with a frothy cappuccino or the latest
uber organic colon healing tea from only the sweetest virgin plants.
You need to have regular protein and fat intake that contains these
essential nutrients.
It also means, YES you can live a
100% with no carbohydrate intake at all. Live, exists, it does not
mean or say optimal. It only states it can be done. Your body has
the ability to pull up the slack. It can do the same in the case
of the other amino's and fatty acids as well, but that doesn't mean
it's and optimal situation. Anytime you make your body do excess
work to create (rob from Peter to Pay Paul) its not an optimal situation.
Optimal would be eating the exact
nutrients your body needs at its current state and activity to where
it has no deficiency and no need to create a thing. Then one would
adjust also the excess, or decrease, to meet ones goals as they
pertain to growth or subtraction of the body as a whole. (Mainly
in the form of caloric intake from carbohydrates)
So from this one should be able to
clearly see the foundation of our dietary hierarchy should be flipped
on its triangular head. If we have these certain nutrients we MUST
intake above all else just to maintain a healthy body, let alone
move toward personal goals be they physical or mental, we need to
address those first.
This is why I always state and have
those I work with base their intake first on their Fat, and protein
intake. Fill the required bases first and foremost, and then you
can add on the side dishes that don't mean as much and are just
filler. Not to say the choice in type of carbs is moot, but much
more so then filling your fat and protein needs. You can and will
get the glucose you need from about anything event the protein you
eat if needed. You can't do such a thing with the other two. So
don't ignore your carb intake adjust it as needed to meet your goals
be it swell up and get huge, or drop a few dress sizes for the high
school reunion, BUT keep your foundation of importance, protein
and fat intake, constant.
As you can tell again, the opposite
of the old FDA three sided geometric fallacy.
So now that we cleared that up. I'm
by no means going to explain the process of each essential nutrient
and what it does that's so darn special in you. That's been done
time and time again and you can find plenty of peer reviewed scientists
and researchers in a simple google search that have already done
that for me. I will simply list them and then you will know what
they are and along with it a few great food sources of each to arm
you in building a sturdy foundation prior to putting up the much
less important stick walls of your dietary temple.
EAA's
Phenylalanine = Pork, Red Meat, Poultry,
fish, milk (dairy products) for some vege sources: seaweed, watercress,
pumpkin leaves, and kidney beans rank at the top
Valine = eggs, cottage cheese and
other dairy, cod and other fish and poultry, beef and pork, for
some vege sources: soy isolate (I personally can't recommend processed
soy products at this time or soy consumption in abundance as a staple)
seaweed, watercress, white mushrooms, and turnip greens
Threonine = moose, turkey, fish, buffalo,
eggs, cottage cheese ( are you seeing the connection in the meat,
dairy and eggs here across the board?) vege sources: spinach, watercress,
spinach and Kidney beans
Tryptophan = sea lion kidney (lol),
elk, eggs, crustaceans, goat, milk, and poultry. Vege Sources; brown
mushrooms, parsley, spinach, and asparagus
Isoleucine = egg white, turkey, chicken,
moose, fish and crustaceans, cottage cheese and round steak, vege
sources: Pumpkin leaves, chard, Chinese cabbage, and horse radish.
Methionine = egg, fish, elk, chicken,
cheddar cheese and turkey. Vege sources: seaweed, sesame seeds,
that's it
Leucine = egg, moose, chicken, seal,
beef, dairy and buffalo. Vege source: kidney beans, turnip greens,
Jute, sunflower seeds, and alfalfa
Lysine = chicken, turkey, tuna, moose,
beluga whale, beef, and crab. Vege sources: watercress, seaweed,
parsley, and tofu
(Side note on conditionally essential
amino acids. Conditionally meaning these are a require nutrient
for certain populations, (the ones listed) if you are one of these
or con sulting one of these then you should known the following
amino acids are essential as well. Cysteine (or sulphur-containing
amino acids), tyrosine (or aromatic amino acids), histidine and
arginine are required by infants and growing children.)
EFA's
Linolenic Acid = salmon, mackerel,
sardines, anchovies, albacore tuna, beef (mainly if grass fed) vege
sources: flax seeds, walnuts, hemp seeds, soybeans and some dark
green leafy vegetables
Linoleic Acid= Kangaroo (the highest)
dairy, chicken and beef (try and get grass fed 300-500times more)
Vege sources: Flaxseed, hempseed oil, hempseeds, grapeseed oil,
pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, pistachio nuts, sunflower seeds (raw),
olive oil, olives, borage oil, evening primrose oil, black currant
seed oil, chestnut oil (or eat the nuts)
Oleic Acid = (Essential but technically
not an EFA, because the human body can manufacture a limited amount,
provided essential EFAs are present.) Butterfat, lard, and tallow.
Vege sources: Olive oil (extra virgin or virgin), olives, avocados,
almonds, peanuts, sesame oil, pecans, pistachio nuts, cashews, hazelnuts,
macadamia nuts, etc.
About The Author
|
Coach Phil Stevens is an accomplished
strength athlete with considerable experience in both powerlifting
and strongman competition. Phil is the 2007 APA World Champion
in the 242-pound class (total). He currently holds the APF
275-pound class raw National bench, squat, deadlift, and total
records. Phil’s marquis lift was his 700-pound raw deadlift,
performed on February 14, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Phil has been ranked in the
“Top 10” in the deadlift Nationally across all powerlifting
federations, and in addition to his coaching duties at Staley
Training Systems, he also serves as the Arizona State Chair
for the North American Highlander Association, as well as
the founder of Lift For Hope, an annual strength-competition
with proceeds donated to Charity (www.Lift4Hope.org).
|
|
 |
|
