Superfoods for Better Health and Better Dancing

3 Superfoods for Better Health and Better Dancing

These foods are jammed-packed with health benefits that will reflect on the dance floor.

Superfoods to Make You Thrive

Good nutrition is essential to support the body’s proper functioning. For dancers, food is also meant to replenish the body from the daily wear and tear of dancing, provide good quality fuel to keep going, promote efficient recovery and improve performance, among other things. This is certainly something that cannot be obtained from burgers and chips. Dancers need more substantial food to achieve the desired results and cover the body’s needs. In addition to consuming a healthy diet, including superfoods in it is greatly beneficial.

What Are Superfoods?

For a while now, you probably have heard this term being thrown around a lot. Superfood here, superfood there, and it seems like a good thing. But what is it really? Foods that are nutrient-rich and provide great health benefits are often be called ‘superfoods’. They are mostly plant-based but they also include some dairy and fish.

Superfoods to Make You Thrive

Improve Your Endurance with These Superfoods

These superfoods are said to improve endurance in athletes. Including them in your diet should be easy and not take a toll on your grocery budget.

Chia, Flax Seeds, and Hemp

These seeds might be tiny but they are packed with nutrients, like omega-3 fatty acids that protect your cardiovascular system. They also reduce inflammation, provide a little protein, protect the brain and nervous system, and could prevent stress fractures thanks to the amount of calcium in chia seeds. And it doesn’t stop there. The dietary fat in these seeds helps build new tissue that promotes the body’s ability to repair itself after exercise.

Turmeric

Turmeric is great to minimize inflammation and helps the body combat oxidative stress caused by pollution, stress, and chemicals.

Moringa

This plant, apart from having anti-inflammatory power and fighting oxidative stress, helps minimize soreness after an exhaustive dance class, rehearsal or performance, and boosts recovery.

 

Compliment your diet with these great foods and make the best out of your next dance class or performance. Come dance with us in Colorado at Bella Diva Dance.

 

How to Fuel Your Body Before, During and After Workouts

The importance of nutrition in dance

Your nutrition can make or break your workouts. Fuel your body right to get the best out of your favorite workout.

Keep Your Engine Going with the Right Fuel Foods

More energy, better performance, more muscle, faster recovery. Doesn’t that sound like workout heaven? You can live it when you provide your body with the necessary nutrients that support whatever physical activity you do. Whether you run or dance, here are some tips to help you give your body what it needs to perform its best.
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How to Fuel Your Body Before, During and After WorkoutsBefore Your Workout

Healthy carbs and lean protein are perfect food items before working out. Carbohydrates will fuel you up on energy that will be released as you go through your workout.  Protein will support your muscle recovery after exercise, and will also keep your body from eating away your muscle when it’s looking for energy to burn. Oatmeal, whole wheat bread, brown rice or sweet potatoes, even fruit, are good sources of healthy carbs.  Egg whites, low fat ricotta or cottage cheese are some nice, light proteins that you can eat before you head to the gym. If you’re planning on eating something heavier, do so 2 to 3 hours before your workout, otherwise, eating 1 hour before is ok.

During Your Workout

During your workout, what matters most is to keep yourself hydrated. Drink a little water every 15 to 20 minutes and if you’re exercising for more than an hour, it’s a good idea you eat something after the first hour, ideally some quick-digesting type of carbs.

After Your Workout

Replenishing your body is part of the workout. When you’re done exercising, your body is in need of some good quality protein and carbs.
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To make the best out of your workout, try to eat quick-digesting carbs and protein within the first two hours after you’re done and drink plenty of water.

Dance Strong in Colorado

To optimize your workouts, a good nutrition is necessary. If you’re fueling your body right, you will be able to dance stronger, run faster and move quicker, and you’ll still feel great once you’re done. It is in your body’s best interest that your eating habits are supporting its hard work.
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If you’re feeling ready, put these nutrition tips to the test on your next dance class.

What to Eat for a Speedy Recovery

What to Eat for a Speedy Recovery

The secret might be in eating more, not less.

Counting Calories Could Be Affecting Your Recovery After Injury

Great Snacks for Your Dance BagBeing injured as a dancer is tough. The healing process seems like it will take forever. Sometimes it does, and cutting back on your meals could be the reason for that.

The truth is that you need fuel to speed up the recovery process but some might feel like it’s more “figure-friendly” to eat less, especially since movement will be limited for a certain period of time. When your body is undernourished, muscles and ligaments could start to break down. That means your recovery process will be extended.

Human bodies burn calories to heal. Meaning that you’ll need the right amount of carbs (yes, carbs), protein, fatty acids like omega-3, vitamin D and calcium to get the engine running and expedite the recovery process.

2 Tips to Eating Smart While You Heal

Forget About Dieting

You don’t need to “earn” your right to eat. You need to eat because your body needs food to support basic bodily functions.  If you just had major surgery or trauma, your body will need about 10 to 20 percent more calories. It’s not about not eating just because you can’t burn as many calories as you normally do. It’s being mindful about eating right.

The Secret Is In Eating Clean

Or, in other words, you need a balanced diet that is mainly composed of real food. None of that packaged stuff. Make sure you’re eating:

  • Complex carbs, fruits and vegetables
  • Lean protein, low-fat dairy, nuts and legumes
  • Healthy fats like nut butters, olive oil and avocado which have an anti-inflammatory effect
  • Vitamins and minerals
  • Other anti-inflammatory ingredients like certain herbs and spices including turmeric and garlic

 

It’s all about balance. A healthy nutrition will help your body heal faster, so you can be back on the dance floor in no time. So eat right and be ready to make a comeback. Remember you can check out our class schedule online and register for a class or just give us a call instead. We can’t wait to have you back!

A Dancer’s Guide to Nutrition

Nutrition for Dancers

When it comes to nutrition, all dancers have different goals. Whether it’s losing weight, staying in shape or just eating healthy and fueling their bodies in the most appropriate way, the one thing all dancers have in common is their concern for their silhouette and overall nutrition habits.

Nutrition for Dancers

As a dancer, high performance levels are always required from you, so proper nutrition is key. Your caloric intake has to support the demands you put on your body, day in and day out.

How to eat like a dancer
Fruit stall in the Italian city market

Weight Loss

Sometimes, regardless of the many hours of dance you put in every day, you’re struggling to maintain a healthy weight that is appropriate for your height and age. Simple math will tell you that in order to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you take in. There are different methods, and the results vary from one person to the next. With the help of a nutritionist, you’ll be able to determine what works best for you.

Well-Balanced Nutrition

  • A dancer’s diet should be composed of about 55-60% carbohydrate, 12-15% protein, and 20-30% fat. During heavy training and rehearsals, the amount of carbohydrates should be increased to about 65%.
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    The reason is that carbohydrates are the major energy source in muscles.
  • The estimated grams of fat in the diet are about 1.2 gm per kilogram of body weight. Because ingestion of high amounts of saturated fats is associated with chronic disease, the recommended amount of saturated fat in the diet should be less than 10%.
  • For non-vegetarians, chicken or turkey without the skin are excellent low-fat protein sources.
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    For vegetarians, tofu, seitan (wheat gluten), and mixtures of beans and rice are good protein choices.
  • To obtain all-important micronutrients, dancers should increase the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables (a recommended 5 servings of fruit or vegetables per day), whole grains, dairy products, and lean red meat. Because not all vitamins or minerals occur in all foods, dancers should ingest a wide variety of foods.
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[Source: http://www.danceadvantage.net/nutrition-for-dancers/]

Nutrition before, during and after performances

Day before

Avoid processed foods because they have too much sodium that causes bloating. Skip alcohol. Eat good protein, complex carbs, veggies, and fruit for dinner and drink plenty of water.

On that day

Eat small meals throughout the day. Keep an eye on the things that make you bloated and avoid them. Eat something a couple of hours prior to the performance. Stay hydrated.

After

Eat something within the first 40 mins after the performance. Protein and carbs can be combined to maximize recovery.