Finding what works for us in terms of nutrition and fitness can involve progress by trial and error, as well as some research. To promote this second factor, we have been looking at some interesting studies to help you stay up to date.
This week, we’ll talk about the training requirements for marine and whether a urine test could reveal the best diet for your body.
Marine training: is physical or mental strength more important?
The marines of the United States army are well known throughout the world as a highly efficient military corps. They are also recognized for the extremely demanding type of training that is required to achieve this level of competence, as well as for how select the group of individuals selected to integrate it is.
In fact, there are researchers who have been working on ways to calculate the probability of passing or failing tests, analyzing individual mental and physical characteristics to try to find a correlation between these and test success.
Looking at a total of 121 aspiring marine (of whom 64 successfully completed training), the researchers found something they were not expecting. They did not find any difference in the indicators of physical form between the individuals who passed and the others. But they found a significant mental difference.
The probability of passing was much higher for outgoing candidates and with a positive and confident attitude when compared to others.
They also found it possible to predict when trainees were about to give up, based on when they reported decreases in confidence or rising levels of stress or pain a day or two before a particularly exercise demanding.
Understanding the type of mental state that causes dropouts in military training can potentially help reduce their number, in addition to corroborating, for our own training, the recommendation to maintain a positive mental attitude: this can be more powerful than we often think.
Can this test assess your diet?
It is something that many people care about – could my diet be healthier? Is it suitable for my goals? According to this new study, there may be an easy way to find out.
A group of researchers analyzed the urine of 1,848 individuals and the levels of 46 specific metabolites found in it. According to the scientists, these metabolites have proved to be good indicators of how appropriate the person’s diet is, since they are produced as different nutrients are digested and absorbed by the body.
For example, some metabolites are associated with alcohol intake, while others reveal whether the person ate citrus fruits or red meats.
A second study developed a technology that can produce the unique mixture of metabolites that appears in each person’s urine. This can potentially mean new possibilities in nutritional counseling, since health professionals would have access to more specific information about the quality of the diet.
Food is processed in different ways by each person, as you will probably already know, and there is no universal approach to food. This type of technology could change that.
Final Message
What can we learn from these two studies?
Firstly, in addition to physical training, we may also need to train our minds. Does a positive mindset make your training easier? Try it and see for yourself.
And as for nutrition, there are more variables that influence our results than we can imagine – including our body. It may take some trial and error, or even professional help, but the effort will undoubtedly be worth it in the end.
Be First to Comment