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The Consortium for Health and Military Performance at the University of Uniformed Services, otherwise known as CHAMP, provides human performance resources for warfighters to maintain an optimal healthy lifestyle.
CHAMP features ways to achieve optimal readiness through a combination of psychological, social, nutritional, spiritual, and physical fitness tools—including a focus on one area that plays a critical connection between food and readiness: nutrition, which can have many benefits on mission readiness for service members and their families.
"We now know that body strength, weight, and overall functioning are the result of biological, psychological, and environmental factors,” said Dr. Marian Tanofsky-Kraff, director of Developmental Research Laboratory on Eating & Weight Behaviors for USU. “Good nutrition and physical activity can supplement physical and emotional health."
Nutrition is vital to mission readiness. Food provides the human body with the continuous supply of energy it needs to function efficiently. This demand increases significantly when engaging in physical activities, whether for recreational, competitive, or duty purposes.
As one of the most important drivers of optimal physical and psychological wellbeing, “proper nutrition gives your brain the nutrients it needs to manage stress, regulate mood and emotions, maintain alertness and optimize physical and cognitive performance—all essential components of mission readiness,” according to military health experts. “Eating healthy keeps you sharp mentally and fueled physically. This is especially important when facing increased stress or high operational tempo.”
The CHAMP site maintains dozens of resources on nutrition basics and specialty topics to enhance warfighter performance during workouts, training, missions, and recovery.
Top 10 Nutrition Habits to be a Readiness CHAMP:
1. Know Your Why
The most important step in changing your nutrition habits is to clearly understand why you want that behavior to change.
CHAMP’s Strategic Habits for Better Nutrition worksheet helps guide you to optimal nutrition goals—and it includes how to stay motivated and committed in changing your habits. The form contains questions to assess your current nutritional intake, organized in three steps:
• Identify the “why” behind the behavior you want to change.
• Identify the nutrition habits you want to focus on. As your habits evolve and improve, revisit the worksheet to choose new habits to work on.
• Create your strategy. The worksheet contains ways to develop habits to promote nutritional fitness.
2. Value Whole Foods
Focus on whole foods, and fewer processed foods. Choose more plants, the more colors the better for foods with naturally occurring nutrients.
For more on plant-forward eating, and to view sample menus and food swaps see CHAMP’s Go for Green Power Your Menu with Plants toolkit.
3. Time Meals
Follow a regular eating pattern and plan your nutrition strategy ahead of time. Avoid skipping meals or going too long without eating. Fuel before, during, and after exercise.
4. Understand Macronutrients
Energy primarily comes from three macronutrients, and each plays a distinct role in sustaining performance and aiding recovery. Aim to get a balance of these nutrients each day.
The three main macronutrients are:
• Carbohydrates: The body's main energy source, carbohydrates break down into sugars to provide immediate energy. Complex carbohydrates—as opposed to simple carbs in candy, soda, fruit juice, or sports drinks—are preferred as they are digested slowly and release steady supply of energy. They are found in whole-grains, beans, starchy vegetables, and fresh fruit. If you’re eating bread, cereal, tortillas, or pasta, whole-grain options are much healthier.
• Fats: Essential for a balanced diet, fats supply fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K), which are important for performance and recovery. Examples of fats include avocado, butter, and olive oil.
• Proteins: Found in every cell, protein is crucial for muscle repair and recovery. Sources of protein include chicken, lean beef, low-fat milk, and Greek yogurt.
5. Appreciate Omega-3
Omega-3 fatty acids support the health of your heart and blood vessels, nerves, eyes, brain, and immune system and may improve physical and mental performance. For example, omega-3s are being studied for the positive effects they might have in recovery from exercise and injury, as well as their role in protecting the brain and nervous system after a concussion or traumatic brain injury.
Find out which foods are highest in Omega-3 Content and how much you need from CHAMP.
6. Create Power Plates
CHAMP recommends a power plate guide to meet the nutritional requirements of the unique occupational and training demands of service members.
Power Plate Guide recommendations include:
• Make one-fourth of your plate lean protein.
• Make one-fourth to one-half of your plate natural and whole-grain carbohydrates.
• Aim for one-fourth to one-half of your plate to be non-starchy vegetables.
• Aim for one thumb-size portion of unsaturated fat.
• Stay hydrated.
• Eat mindfully.
7. Calculate Hydration
Water is the most abundant component of the human body—around 50–70% of its weight—so your body requires fluids regularly to ensure its normal function.
Given the unique nutritional requirements of Warfighters, the general fluid guidelines in the military are:
• Men: 96–144 oz daily (12–18 cups)
• Women: 64–96 oz daily (8–12 cups)
For more about daily fluid guidelines and how to tell if you’re at risk of dehydration see CHAMP’s Basic Hydration Strategies article.
8. Know What to Limit
The relationship between nutrition and mental health has grown in recent years. Studies show that certain foods may be used to prevent and treat conditions like depression.
Foods that cause inflammation and disrupt your “gut microbiota” may impact your mental well-being.
To get smart on what foods to limit or avoid and what foods to eat more of, see CHAMP’s Food and Mood: Does diet affect depression? article.
9. Choose More Plants
The benefits of vegetarian diets are linked to a lower risk of many chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
To learn about the benefits of vegetarian diets and how to make sure you still get the right amount of key nutrients your body needs while on active duty, read CHAMP’s What you need to know about vegetarian diets article.
10. Track Food Intake
Knowing what you consume and how much you eat each day is a simple way to take charge of your eating habits. Consider starting a food journal or using food-diary apps to monitor your daily diet and improve your nutrition.
Several free apps are available like USDA’s MyPlate App.
Visit Human Performance Resources by CHAMP for the latest human performance optimization practices and Operation Supplement Safety for the leading resource for the military community, leaders, and health care providers. Look out for more articles featuring the many ways CHAMP can help you achieve optimal readiness.
| Date Taken: | 04.18.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.18.2025 12:57 |
| Story ID: | 495653 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 98 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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