The Human Nutrition Project, 320 West 57th Street, New York, NY (2026)

12/03/2021

Last week we talked about the importance of our basic physiological needs and it’s importance for finding motivation and reaching your potential. Now for part 2 of our Motivation Series!

As we move up to the second level of Maslov’s hierarchy of needs, things become more complex.

The basic need of safety. These needs include the security of health, body, employment, resources, and morality.

What does that mean for athletes?

Security of health - Anything that can compromise your body can keep you stuck and prevent you from moving up and reaching your potential. Injuries, illness, poor performance, and overtraining can make us think twice on whether we trust our bodies and feel safe going into our next hard effort.

Security of body - Unfortunately for women this is another big issue. More and more women are speaking out about being pressured or shamed for their weight, been sexually abused and harassed, and women’s health issues have been ignored, neglected, and misunderstood. If you have been a victim of abuse please reach out for help. Security of body is a basic human need that is important to get help to feel safe once again.

Security of employment - Job security allows us to provide for our needs and give us purpose. Without this we can feel untethered and lost. This also applies if we look at our sport. Do you feel a pressure to perform that outweighs your internal drive to perform? If so make sure to access places where you feel purpose and find jobs and opportunities that align with your values.

Safety of resources - Do you have the resources (time, space, energy, and money) to address health, injuries, cook and prepare healthy meals, get proper sleep, have a safe place to train, or join groups or teams to help keep you on track? If you answered no to any of these questions, think about ways you can use the resources you have or seek out other resources to create a safer training environment.

Safety of morality -
This need helps us distinguish right from wrong. The absence of security could result in trauma, paranoia and distress. Make sure you surround yourself with coaches, teammates, and training partners that foster a safe environment.

11/22/2021

We wanted to dive deeper on some questions we posted last week about the importance of your basic physiological needs. Check in with yourself and get that motivation brewing!

Are you eating enough calories? Check out this calculator to see where you should fall https://healthyeater.com/flexible-dieting-calculator

Are you eating a healthy ratio of carbs, fat, and protein? We like the 40% carb, 30% protein, 30% fat ratio as a general rule of thumb

Are you eating a wide variety of foods? This ensures you are getting a wide range of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients

Are you taking supplements? It’s hard to get everything from food alone, especially when you are pushing your body to the limit. Nutritional deficiencies can slowly creep up on you, we see it a lot in athletes. If you are looking for healthy sports nutrition supplements that focus on your health + fitness, we got you covered ;)

Are you hydrated? You should be getting ½ your body weight in oz per day

Are you drinking electrolytes? Electrolytes are necessary to utilize the water you drink, without them water will flush right through your body. Give Lyte-Switch a try for sugar free hydration

How is your breathing? Upper respiratory tract infections may be a sign of overtraining

Are you anemic or are you at altitude? Make sure your red blood cells are healthy and you stay hydrated since you dehydrate quicker. Try Fast Iron for red blood cell support

How is your digestion? Healthy digestion will keep pathogens at bay, contribute to a healthy gut microbiome, and help you extract energy from food. If you have any issues with digesting protein, carbohydrates, or fats, get to the root cause as to why.

Do you have acne or skin issues? Could be hormone imbalances, detoxification issues, yeast, unbalanced microbiome, or nutritional deficiencies

Do you get headaches? Could be gallbladder dysfunction, blood sugar imbalance, low phosphorus, hormone fluctuations, stress. Start putting together the clues to figure out where yours are stemming from.

What is your menstrual pattern (if female)? Menstrual cycles give a lot of information when properly tracked. Check out our free women’s health course!

11/20/2021

To reach your potential, you must fist start at the bottom and build a strong healthy foundation by addressing your deficiencies. The lower rungs of the ladder are deficiency needs, and the higher rungs are growth needs. In other words, first fix your deficiencies then you can grow - as you all know that’s our philosophy too!!⁠
⁠
Here is the checklist we compiled to help you ask some questions to check in with your basic needs. Even though they may seem simple, they are foundational for being able to cultivate motivation to reach your potential. Answer honestly, and if something is deficient, correct the deficiency. Next post we will dive a little deeper into some of these questions and what you can do to rebalance when you are out of balance.⁠
⁠
Are you eating the right amount of calories for your activity level? ⁠
Are you eating a healthy ratio of carbs, fat, and protein?⁠
Are you eating a wide variety of foods?⁠
Are you taking supplements?⁠
Are you hydrated?⁠
Are you getting electrolytes?⁠
Do you have the proper gear for your sport for all the seasons? ⁠
Are you getting enough sleep?⁠
Can you breathe easily?⁠
Did you check your blood work for any anemias, red blood cell number and quality?⁠
Are you at altitude?⁠
Are you prone to upper respiratory tract infections or asthma?⁠
How is your overall health?⁠
How is your digestion?⁠
How are your bowel movements?⁠
Do you struggle with inflammation?⁠
Do you have sensitivities (chemical, food, etc)?⁠
Do you have skin issues?⁠
Do you have acne?⁠
Do you have cravings?⁠
Do you get headaches?⁠
What is your menstrual pattern (if female)?⁠
Do you carry excess weight or have trouble gaining weight?⁠
Do you get sick often?⁠
Do you never get sick?⁠
Do you have any autoimmunity?⁠
How are your organ systems doing (liver, thyroid, adrenals, kidneys, etc?)⁠
Is your energy good throughout the day?⁠
Do you get injured frequently?⁠
Do you have healthy bone density?⁠
What types of products do you use?⁠
What types of foods do you eat?⁠
Do you have high blood sugar?⁠
Do you have reactive hypoglycemia?⁠
Do you have brain fog?⁠
How are your stressors?

11/14/2021

Marathon fuel looks good in blue⁠ 💙
⁠
fuel prep with Ceru before the New York City Marathon

11/12/2021

We have a fun instagram series coming up. Anyone ever hear of Maslov's Heirachy of Needs?⁠
⁠
It was an idea in psychology proposed by American Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation". to describe the pattern through which human motivations generally move. This means that in order for motivation to arise at the next stage, each stage must be satisfied within the individual themselves.

11/11/2021

So proud of inspirational performance at The New York City Marathon.⁠
⁠
Running is about finding your potential and also finding JOY. ⁠
⁠
For all of you who saw Alexi this past weekend, I think we can all agree she brought the JOY!!

11/10/2021

If I had to pick one of my favorite nutrients, do you know what it would be? It’s actually the amino acid, l-glutamine. It’s a humble building block of protein but it is incredibly useful and gets overlooked all the time. So what’s so special about it? ⁠
⁠
Put simply - recovery, gut health, and electrolyte absorption!⁠
⁠
Recovery⁠
When you are breaking down more than you are building up, it is called being in a negative nitrogen balance. Symptoms may include sore muscles and joints, excess fluid retention (edema), anemia, and low resistance to infection, to name a few.⁠
⁠
In order to stay in a positive nitrogen balance for recovery, you need to make sure you are eating the correct amount of calories and getting the proper amount of protein. Also there is another secret weapon…Glutamine!! This is because this amino acid is special and has 2 nitrogen molecules instead of 1, providing double the nitrogen of most amino acids which helps the body stay in a positive nitrogen balance for better recovery.⁠
⁠
Gut Health⁠
Glutamine is also fuel for your intestinal cells and nutrient absorption. When we train hard, there is a competition for nitrogen between the muscle and the gut for repair. Often when we are training hard, our body will prioritize repairing the muscles. This limits the nitrogen left for repairing the gut lining. This can lead to leaky gut and tempo tummy. It’s a well established fact that health starts in the gut, so having a healthy gut lining is essential to good health.⁠
⁠
Electrolyte Absorption⁠
Without a proper functioning barrier membrane, we lose our ability to absorb nutrients, specifically electrolytes. By combining glutamine and electrolytes we are able to absorb more electrolytes than when electrolytes are given by themselves which is why we added l-glutmaine to Lyte-Switch. Not only will it help with your electrolyte absorption, but it will help with recovery, and gut health.⁠ Cheers! To healthy hydration!

11/10/2021

If I had to pick one of my favorite nutrients, do you know what it would be? It’s actually the amino acid, l-glutamine. It’s a humble building block of protein but it is incredibly useful and gets overlooked all the time. So what’s so special about it? ⁠
⁠
Put simply - recovery, gut health, and electrolyte absorption!⁠
⁠
Recovery⁠
When you are breaking down more than you are building up, it is called being in a negative nitrogen balance. Symptoms may include sore muscles and joints, excess fluid retention (edema), anemia, and low resistance to infection, to name a few.⁠
⁠
In order to stay in a positive nitrogen balance for recovery, you need to make sure you are eating the correct amount of calories and getting the proper amount of protein. Also there is another secret weapon…Glutamine!! This is because this amino acid is special and has 2 nitrogen molecules instead of 1, providing double the nitrogen of most amino acids which helps the body stay in a positive nitrogen balance for better recovery.⁠
⁠
Gut Health⁠
Glutamine is also fuel for your intestinal cells and nutrient absorption. When we train hard, there is a competition for nitrogen between the muscle and the gut for repair. Often when we are training hard, our body will prioritize repairing the muscles. This limits the nitrogen left for repairing the gut lining. This can lead to leaky gut and tempo tummy. It’s a well established fact that health starts in the gut, so having a healthy gut lining is essential to good health.⁠
⁠
Electrolyte Absorption⁠
Without a proper functioning barrier membrane, we lose our ability to absorb nutrients, specifically electrolytes. By combining glutamine and electrolytes we are able to absorb more electrolytes than when electrolytes are given by themselves which is why we added l-glutmaine to Lyte-Switch. Not only will it help with your electrolyte absorption, but it will help with recovery, and gut health.⁠ Cheers!

09/23/2021

Our philosophy: Healthy ______ performs better.⁠
⁠
Insert any word of choice⁠
- coffee⁠
- athletes⁠
- muscles⁠
- nerves⁠
- red blood cells⁠
- immune system⁠
- mind⁠
- fuel⁠
- electrolytes⁠
- body⁠
- heart⁠
⁠
Endless possibilities

09/23/2021

Loved fueling and hydrating atheltes at SKY Island Trail races last weekend. Nothing like a challenging race in a beautiful setting.⁠
⁠
Thanks again for all the athletes who used Ceru to die their race, and for those who tried it for the first time day of!

The Human Nutrition Project

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