The Standard American Diet

Professional athletes need real food to maximize their performance. This just makes common sense, but many are still ignoring this foundational aspect of health. This is ignored even by professional athletes that do not grasp the link between their diet and their performance. Arkady Vyatchanin, an Olympic swimmer, has discussed the effects of the standard American diet, referred to as SAD, on sports performance.

He represented the Russian team at the 2004 Olympic Games and took 4th place in the 100-meter medley relay. In 2008 he took the bronze medals in 100 meters and 200-meter backstroke. He announced in 2013 he would not represent the Russian swim team any longer.

He then participated in the U.S. Open and received the second-fastest time in the world. Last year the silver and gold medals in the AT&T Winter National Championships for the 100 and 200-yard backstrokes were won by Vyatchanin.

The therapeutic use exemption is part of the protocols created by the World Anti-Doping Agency. It allows athletes to continue taking their meds while competing, but many of the meds they take are banned for healthy athletes. One of the meds not allowed is asthma medication as it may give them an unfair advantage in opening up the airway and allowing for easier breathing.

In Russia Vyatchanin and his wife cooked their meals from scratch almost every day, but in America, they adopted the SAD. Eating processed food was responsible for him in gaining 25 pounds after completing the first season here. At that point, they researched the diet to get a picture of what was going on and how the system works here.

The fact that the Olympic Village has a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant on the premises where many of the athletes got their meals did not help. This showed their naivete about performance nutrition. The American team actually brings its own cooks, but Vyatchanin still questions the quality of their meals. He believes that unfermented soy products are best avoided, athlete or not, as health risks associated with soy far outweigh any benefit. Soy contains high levels of phytic acid, inhibiting the assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc. Trypsin inhibitors in soy also interfere with protein digestion and may cause pancreatic disorder, while soy phytoestrogens disrupt endocrine function and promote greater cancer and thyroid dysfunction. It also increases the body’s requirement for Vitamin D.

Vyatchanin noted that American athletes tend to dismiss holistic medicine, such as herbs, massage, sauna and other natural treatments as a good way to improve athletic performance. His belief is that a major contributor to the cancer epidemic in the U.S. is our diet, as it is excessively high in processed sugars and exceedingly low in healthy fats. How can we argue with that assessment?

Dr Fredda Branyon