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Athletes Diet: The Diet of Top Professional Athletes

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brain foods for athletes

Brain Healthy Foods for Athletes

What is good brain food?

The best food for athletes diet, vitamins for brain health, and the best vitamins for brain focus, concentration, and performance are found in superfoods.

What are the brain superfoods?

What is good brain food? Put, the brain athletes diet is a nutritional approach that helps you stay lean, , healthy and energetic by leaving out excess carbs, refined sugars, and grains. Research says clearly that processed foods, trans fatty acids and sugar cause diseases that degenerate the body and result in problems such as being grossly overweight, developing cancer, diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, depression and infertility. Most people who switch to the good brain food diet find that they feel better almost immediately, gaining energy and losing weight with ease. Many people also find relief from chronic ailments.

Brain Vitamins = Athletes Vitamins

Fish Oils – Fish oil supplements are a rich source of (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid, two omega-3 fatty acids.

Phosphatidylserine – Phosphatidylserine is a type of fat compound called a phospholipid, which can be found in your brain.

Vitamin D3 – promotes healthy mood, cognitive and cardiovascular function, immune response, muscle and bone strength.

Building A Healthy Brain Diet – FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Brain Development Food

Fruits and vegetables are full of rich vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, and micronutrients that have been shown to decrease the number of degenerative diseases, including cancer and diabetes. Fresh organically grown fruits and green vegetables also keep your brain sharp!

PROTEIN

You should eat a wide variety of proteins from high-quality animal sources. Don’t avoid fatty cuts of meat. Bone broth and other collagen sources are great also

 

BRAIN-HEALTHY FATS – brain superfoods

Research and studies show that diets rich in monounsaturated healthy fats and Omega-3 fats reduce the occurrences of obesity, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and cognitive decline. Get healthy fats from fish oil, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and high-quality grass-fed meat.

For years, saturated fat was demonized by our health authorities and food-industry.

 

Slowly, this tide is turning, like those at the forefront of nutrition and wellness have begun advocating for integrating healthy amounts of good quality saturated fats into a diet complete with many other nutrient-dense foods.

Okay To Eat:

  • Fruits, Vegetables, Seafood, Healthy Fats, High-Quality Grass Fed/Pastured Meats, Nuts & Seeds, and Healthy Fats

Avoid

  • Alcohol, Candy, Fast-food, Dairy, Grains, Processed Food & Sugars, Legumes and Starches

9 Health Benefits of a Brain focused Athlete Diet

  1. More efficient workouts
  2. Stable blood sugar
  3. Burn off stored fat
  4. Reduced food allergies
  5. Balanced energy throughout the day
  6. Anti-inflammatory
  7. Clear skin, better teeth
  8. Improved sleep patterns
  9. Strong body

Evolution and The Brain Athlete Diet?

Do I believe we were apes? No, I do not believe this. But I do believe in a healthy diet that includes proteins, fruits, vegetables, quality meats, seafood, nuts & seeds, and healthy fats.

If we are careful to source our meats from responsible farms that allow animals to forage and eat the foods they were designed to eat, an animal protein that comes from pastured animals and responsibly sourced (clean) seafood can provide a lot of critical nutrients to the human diet.

Thus, we can eat the foods we were designed to eat. I believe we were uniquely and divinely created to walk the earth in power and authority. Not evolved from apes! We need to eat food that nourishes and sustains us in our unique capabilities, and we don’t need to look to any other species for an example of how we as humans should eat.

Ketogenic versus Brain Food Diet?

In simple terms, Ketogenic is about measuring the correct ratios. The program requires seventy percent of your calories from fat, fifteen to twenty-five percent from protein, and ten percent from carbohydrates.

What Is The Brain Diet?  A brain diet could look like a Ketogenic diet, but not the other way around because a Ketogenic diet will always be about the ratios.

Does it work for health issues?

A great question to ask is “Does the Brain diet work?” In one research program, there was a head to head comparison between the paleo diet (which is very similar to the brain food diet) and Mediterranean diet (a diet generally held in high esteem by our government) in insulin-resistant Type 2 Diabetics. The results showed that the Paleo diet group decreased the signs of insulin resistance, T2 diabetes.

The Mediterranean diet showed had different results.

HEALTHY HEART – Cardio Vascular Disease

Athlete diet-heart considerations – According to the CDC, cardiovascular disease is the #1 cause of death in the United States. Interestingly, however, our Paleolithic and hunter-gatherer ancestors showed virtually no heart attack or stroke while eating ancestral diets.

7 STEPS TO TRANSITIONING TO THE BRAIN FOOD PALEO WAY

Once you begin to experience real changes in the way you look, feel and function you will never look back.

What Is The Paleo Diet? Transitioning to a Brainfood Paleo diet means changing at your own pace. Take each day as it comes. Accept the challenges and obstacles with grace.  Take each step in the direction of a healthy new lifestyle and, ultimately, a healthy new you will emerge. It’s not easy, but it’s not hard either.

With simple preparation, organization, and strategy, you can be on your way to being more than capable of running the race of life to win! A life that is sustainable, prosperous, and long term, helping you live with optimum health, vitality and peak performance.

8 actions you can take to improve your brain health, fitness and how you look without working out:

  1. ALCOHOL – It’s social and fun, but it’s not doing great things for your mind or your body. Reduce your consumption to one or two small (unsweetened) glasses per week, before removing it from your diet completely.
  2. DRINK MORE WATER – Drinking at least 1 liter of water a day and eventually, 2 liters will have an incredible effect on both your mind and body.
  3. ELIMINATE EATING OUT – With simple plans for preparation, you can avoid the hunger that conveniently strikes as you drive near a fast food joint.
  4. RECHARGING – Close to eight hours of sleep a night will prepare your body for the following day. Getting your sleep patterns under control will have a positive ripple effect on every part of your life.
  5. REFINED SUGAR – Let’s begin with the good news: A Paleo lifestyle doesn’t mean you will feel deprived of foods that give you enjoyment. You’ll simply learn to swap out healthy treats for the unhealthy sweet things.
  6. CAFFEINE – Your morning coffee might be the hardest thing to give up, we get it. But soon you’ll be fueling yourself with the food that you eat, rather than the latte you drink.
  7. NO DRUGS – Prescription medication addiction is one of the fastest-growing epidemics in America. While people focus on politics, racism, sexual lust, there are silent secret killers that are destroying millions. If you have any kind of addiction to drugs, get help! Whether they’re prescribed or derived from the street, drugs will absolutely reverse any actions you take to improve your health.
  8. COOKING YOUR OWN MEALS – Cooking your own meals is the best way to ensure you get the nutrients you need with the fillers, preservatives, and toxins that are found in restaurant food. Here is a great cookbook for clean eating and paleo participants.

Brain Food Diet List – List of brain food

This is a clear brain food diet list. You will find a list of the oil, vegetables, meats, fruits, and nuts, that are allowed on the brain diet are pretty much the same on listed on the paleo diet.
A simple list of what you can eat and what you can’t on the brain diet regime.

EAT

  • High-quality Grass-fed meats
  • Fish
  • Fresh fruit (organic)
  • Fresh vegetables (organic)
  • Eggs (cage-free, high quality from healthy animal source)
  • Nuts
  • Seeds
  • Healthy oils like cold-pressed olive oil, flavorful walnut oil, flaxseed oil, macadamia, avocado, coconut)

DON’T EAT

  • Cereals which contain grains and have high sugar content
  • Potatoes – high in starch and carbs 
  • Legumes which is a member of the pea family (including peanuts)
  • Dairy: Processed dairy which causes all sorts of issues
  • Refined sugar which causes inflammation as well as other issues
  • Processed foods and foods with high salt content
  • Refined vegetable oils
  • Candy, fast-food, junk food, processed food, microwaved food is just BAD! 

THE BRAIN FOOD DIET LIST MEATS

Almost all meats are paleo as said by the program but we have compiled a list of the best meats available. Here’s the full list of organic clean paleo diet meats.

  • Good Organic Chicken
  • Turkey
  • Grass-fed beef
  • Lamb Rack
  • Shrimp
  • Lobster
  • Clams
  • Salmon
  • Venison steaks
  • Buffalo
  • Bison
  • Lamb Chops
  • Rabbit
  • Goat
  • Elk

THE BRAIN DIET FOOD LIST FISH

Bass, Swordfish, Tilapia, Shark, Trout, Salmon, Halibut, Red snapper, Mackerel, Sardines, Tuna and Sunfish

Is fish brain food?

THE BRAIN DIET FOOD LIST Seafood

Crawfish, Crayfish, Crab, Shrimp, Clams, Lobster, Scallops and those powerful Oysters

THE BRAIN DIET FOOD LIST Vegetables

Most vegetables are paleo with some limitations. Limit high starch vegetables like potatoes.

  • Asparagus and Green onions
  • Avocado and Artichoke hearts
  • Peppers and celery
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Carrots and Spinach
  • Broccoli and Zucchini
  • Cabbage and Cauliflower
  • Parsley and Eggplant

These vegetables are high in starch so limit consumption.

  • Butternut squash
  • Acorn squash
  • Yam
  • Sweet potato
  • Beets

Paleo Diet Oils/Fats

Healthy natural oils and fats are the best way for your body to produce energy.

The best paleo diet oils and fats:

  • Coconut oil
  • Olive oil
  • Macadamia oil
  • Avocado oil
  • Grass-fed butter

 

Brain Diet Nuts and Seeds

  • Cashews
  • Almonds
  • Hazelnuts
  • Pecans
  • Pine nuts
  • Sesame seeds
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Macadamia nuts
  • Walnuts
  • Chia seeds

.

Brain Diet Fruits

Fruits are great for you. But high in sugar so limit intake

  • Apple
  • Avocado
  • Blackberries
  • Papaya
  • Peaches
  • Plums
  • Mango
  • Bananas
  • Blueberries
  • Grapes
  • Lemon
  • Strawberries
  • Watermelon
  • Pineapple
  • Lime
  • Raspberries
  • Cantaloupe
  • Tangerine
  • Oranges

Comprehensive list of foods available on the brain diet. I need ways to eat these great power-packed foods, check out some of the paleo recipes we will publish on our site.

List Of Foods Not Allowed On The Brain Diet

SAY NO Dairy

  • Cheese
  • Cottage cheese
  • Non-fat dairy creamer
  • Skim milk
  • 2% milk
  • Whole milk
  • Dairy spreads
  • Cream cheese
  • Powdered milk
  • Yogurt
  • Pudding
  • Frozen yogurt
  • Ice milk
  • Low-fat milk
  • Ice cream

SAY NO To

  • SODA
  • FRUIT JUICE WITH High Fructose
  • CANDY
  • BEANS
  • POTATOE CHIPS Not even organic or natural from whole foods
  • ENERGY DRINKS
  • FRIED FOOD

No Grain

  • Legumes
  • Cereals
  • Bread Pancakes
  • English muffins
  • Toast
  • Sandwiches
  • Pancakes/Waffles
  • Pasta
  • Potatoes
  • Triscuits
  • Wheat Thins
  • Crackers
  • Oatmeal
  • Cream of wheat
  • Corn
  • Corn syrup
  • Wheat

Gut Biome

It is simply the bacteria in your gut. Look at your gut as containing good and bad bacteria. You have thousands upon thousands of neurological connections in your gut and bad bacteria or bad gut biome makeup can cause several issues. Again, we can’t say it enough, detoxing, cleansing, eating fermented foods and high-quality probiotics can help. But the key Is making transformational dietary changes that promote a healthy gut biome.

Gut-Brain Connection – Athlete Diet Understanding

How does food impact the brain?

What is the connection between the gut and the brain?

Healing Diet ( GAPS, Anti Inflammatory Diet, Candida Diet, Healing Recipes )

There are a number of diet protocols that have been reported to “cure” everything from eczema to autism.  Because every person is different, we don’t prescribe any one dietary program as a cure-all for everyone.  However, there are some common threads found among the most popular nutrition programs used to treat inflammatory conditions.

Specifically, there are three diets to consider:

1.  The GAPS Diet (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) has been widely reported to actually cure eczema, seasonal allergies, food allergies, colic, Crohn’s disease, Autism, ADD/ADHD, bipolar disorder, and many more.  Although it does have its nay-sayers, it has by far the most devoted following among all healing diets.

Developed by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD, MMedSci, it is based on the premise that the functions of the digestive system and the brain are directly linked, and thus auto-immune and other disorders may actually be cured in the gut.

The GAPS diet begins with a strict diet of bone broths, meat broths, ginger tea, and probiotics for a period of time before gradually adding in eggs, fermented vegetables, homemade yogurt, and other easily digestible foods.  As the gut begins to heal, other foods are slowly introduced until the patient is asymptomatic and can tolerate a normal diet once again without the initial problem recurring.  Although it varies based on the individual’s symptoms and health concerns, the typical or recommended time span for the entire diet program is 2 years.

The full program can be found here:  http://gapsdiet.com

The Gut: Your Second Brain

Athlete Diet Must Include Foods That promote Gut Health

The gut in many ways could be considered the second brain. if you have gut issues, you could likely have brain issues like a bad memory, depression, anxiety and other issues associated with the mind.

In our opinion, the athlete diet can incorporate GAPS Diet considerations for people who have trouble tolerating a number of foods, who battle severe digestive issues or have struggled to overcome a chronic ailment to no avail.  Of course, this should be undertaken with the help of a physician who understands the digestive system and nutrition-based healing methods.  The 2-year diet plan may be challenging to adhere to, but well worth it if it can offer freedom from a lifetime of disabling symptoms and prescription drugs.

2.  The Anti-Inflammatory Diet was developed by Dr. Weil and made popular on the Dr. Oz Show.  It differs from the GAPS diet in that it is intended to be a complete and permanent lifestyle change, not a prescriptive diet plan to be followed for a period of time.

In general, the guidelines for the Anti-Inflammatory Diet fall in line with what could be considered “clean” eating – consume as much fresh food as possible, minimize or eliminate processed and fast foods, and eat alot of fruits and vegetables.  However, Dr. Weil recommends soy foods, which have been proven to cause hormonal imbalances and many other health problems.  Because of the popularity of Dr. Oz and Dr. Weil, we included the diet here.

A good guideline for an anti-inflammatory diet without unhealthy foods like soy can be found at the Natural News site.

3.  The Candida Diet is intended as a short-term diet plan to heal, as you might guess, candida overgrowth (aka yeast).  Many people who struggle with mysterious ailments, including fatigue, foggy memory, headaches, and recurring yeast infections, may not realize that the culprit is likely an overgrowth of candida.

The three main elements of the candida diet include the elimination of sugars and yeast products in order to starve out the candida( bad bacteria), the addition of fermented foods, high-quality probiotics fight the bad candida bacteria and slow the yeast growth and the addition of natural antifungals in order to break down the candida cells.

It, too, is a rather strict diet protocol that many reports as effectively curing their candida symptoms.  However, GAPS diet proponents claim that the Candida diet does not go far enough in healing the gut, which was likely how the candida overgrowth occurred in the first place.  They claim that the GAPS diet is a more effective dietary plan because it not only heals the lining of the gut, but it also destroys any candida overgrowth that may also be present within the gut.

Overall, when followed properly each of the above diet plans will greatly improve your digestion and overall nutrition.  For those who simply battle with common ailments from time to time, or who recognize the need to improve their overall nutrition, an anti-inflammatory lifestyle (as outlined by Natural News) may be a more realistic and achievable diet to follow.  You may simply need to take some time to see what works for you by eliminating the most allergy-inducing foods first, and then re-introducing them as your body tolerates.

As seek consult from your physician before starting any new athlete’s diet plan, to ensure your personal nutritional needs are being met.

BRAIN and GAPS Diet

Athlete Diet = Gaps Diet

The brain diet is a program you can use after completing the GAPS Diet. The goal is for you to cross-reference this with the GAPS Diet list which is similar. Remember The GAPS diet begins with a strict diet of bone broth, meat broths, ginger tea, and probiotics for a period of time before gradually adding in eggs, fermented vegetables, homemade yogurt, and other easily digestible foods.

As the gut begins to heal, other foods are slowly introduced until the patient is asymptomatic and can tolerate a normal diet once again without the initial problem recurring.  Although it varies based on the individual’s symptoms and health concerns, the typical or recommended time span for the entire diet program is 2 years.

The GAPS program does not all any grains, dairy from commercial sources, starchy vegetables like potatoes nor any refined or processed carbs. The specific areas of focus are eating foods that are easily digested and full of nutrients.  

The athlete supplementation protocol needs to be tailored to fit each athletes diet needs and individual circumstances. Using a probiotic is a must! GAPS enforces natural ways to cleanse the body, colon, liver with bone broth and healing fluids.

BONUS – the LAST ACTION IS EXERCISING – Your body is built to move, stretch, and lift. Start incorporating regular exercise into your daily life.

Improving your diet is the most important action you can take to improve your health. What steps are you taking as an athlete to move toward optimal health and wellness?

Great Athletes Diet Health Sites

Athletes Diet FAQ

What is the best diet for an athlete?

Berries, Salmon, Beans, Pasta, Bananas, Cruciferous Vegetables, Nuts, Whey protein, Coconut Oil, Flaxseed Oil, Cherries, Bone Broth

What does an athlete eat?

Whole foods, organic foods and eliminate highly processed foods.

What food should athletes avoid?

An athlete should never eat sugary sports drink, beer, hard alcohol, flavored yogurt, candy, and diet sod

What happens when athletes don't eat enough?

Their bodies are less likely to achieve peak performance and may even break down rather than build up muscles.

What should an athlete eat for breakfast?

Eggs, protein, hydrate, supplements, oatmeal, the fruit is what I do. You have to eat regardless of how nervous you are, and getting in protein throughout the day is incredibly important.

Do athletes eat bacon?

Bacon has little protein and lots of fat with little nutritional value. Limit or eliminate the bacon.

Is honey good for athletes?

Studies have shown honey is an effective carbohydrate for endurance athletes.

What do CrossFit athletes eat?

The CrossFit website recommends that athletes eat high-quality meat, vegetables, nuts and fruit with little starch and no sugar. High water intake is necessary.

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