Nutrition and Performance

To perform more and better, a verb used in all its forms for an expected achievement of positive results. Performance is defined as the ratio used to get something and the result that is achieved.

For companies, the notion of performance undoubtedly refers to the economic benefit offered by each productive unit. And each of these units is ourselves, beyond a set of tasks, we are the complex and more or less efficient means by which the purposes are achieved. We are talking about people, living organisms, billions of chemical processes that the cells that make us up produce before they become tangible results for companies.

And like all living things, cells require energy, and therefore need to be properly nourished in order for our bodies to be healthy, perfectly functional and adaptable. The cells of our body function by generating ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate or Adenosine Triphosphate), from the food we eat, and when the cell needs to perform a function, it breaks these ATP molecules to release the energy contained in their bonds to fuel the chemical reactions needed to carry out its purposes.

ATP is created in the mitochondria found in every cell of every organ. But it is probably in the brain that they do most of their work. The brain uses almost 20% of the body’s oxygen and 50% of the sugars we eat to meet constant energy needs.

Life is a constant consumption of energy, for which oxygen and food are indispensable.

So how do we achieve efficient performance, both at work and in life?

We could say that it is one thing to have fuel to get through the day, and quite another to fill the tank with the highest quality fuel, so that the person can perform at the top of his or her energetic potential.

As citizens of developed countries, we eat every day and yet, in most cases, we are not performing at our best. We have to start thinking that the fuel we use is not the most adequate, otherwise how else can we explain that the biggest cause of death in the world today is NCDs (non-communicable diseases associated with unbalanced diets*)?

While 795 million people die of hunger, 2 billion people suffer from malnutrition and 1.9 billion from obesity.

Against such a backdrop, performance cannot be very high.

The consumption of devitalised, chemical-laden foods impoverishes the chemical reactions of our cells, which become malnourished and weakened over time. If we combine extreme foods with the stressful situations that life demands of us, the autonomic nervous system and the adrenal glands are triggered to produce mainly the hormone cortisol. This hormone secreted in excess can cause a number of imbalances in the body. These include a decrease in the body’s immune capacity, leading to allergies and infections, destruction of the intestinal flora, favouring the growth of bacteria and yeasts, and a decrease in intestinal immunoglobulin A, the immune system’s first line of defence in the gut.

In order to perform energetically, we must primarily prepare the organism for good assimilation, involving both the digestive system and the nervous system. Therefore, nourishing oneself in order to perform better and better implies working on the physical, mental and emotional levels. 

That is why in companies we propose adopting strategies, within wellness programmes, that contribute to increasing the performance of work teams through a natural, nutritious and energetic diet, thus obtaining much more efficient and positive results that provide balance, motivation, concentration, health and quality of life.

Making the most of food at the energy level involves knowing how its nature affects us, the time of day it is consumed and its different cooking systems, and therefore its direct relationship with our performance. For example, mental exhaustion can be compensated for by a balanced diet rich in minerals, glycogen and essential fatty acids, which promotes concentration, mental agility and spatial vision. 

Together with good breathing, aerobic exercise combined with strength and deep rest, we increase the energy in the mitochondria, an effect that is magnified when we provide every cell in our body with the right nutrition.

For the team that makes up Benefit Brokers, performing to the maximum of our energy possibilities is synonymous with health and happiness, that is why our mission is to become generators of quality ATP for organizations that are committed to the wellbeing of their employees, helping them to adapt the most efficient fuel for each case.

For further information on physical and mental well-being in companies, I am available at the following email: maria.kindelan@benefitbrokers.es.