Doublereed Archive - Posting 000047.txt from 2002/11

From: Rhondda May <rmay@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [Doublereed-l] Diets and Practicing
Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2002 09:22:31 -0500

Hi Phil,

This is a discussion I find very interesting.
In terms of performance, when I have a recital/ concert that will be
taxing, nothing beats peanut butter on a toasted pita for me, with a
banana chaser.
Bananas apparently contain a natural beta blocker, and leave you feeling
satisfied but not heavy. Dates are good for a sugar fix, although
nothing beats chocolate. The most important thing, I've found, is
eating far enough in advance of a performance so that the stomach isn't
feeling stuffed, and not to eat too much.

Now, as to the protein question.
Recently I've been reading up on the Atkins/ Pritikin/ etc diets, and
doing some experimenting on my own. I work in an office fulltime, and
it was killing me to stay awake in the afternoons. So for the past few
months, I've been cutting out carbs for lunch. I eat canned salmon or
tuna and some instant soup, sometimes a hardboiled egg too, with fruit
after, and golly gee if I don't have absolutely no trouble staying awake
and feeling alert all afternoon. Carbs for breakfast don't seem to make
me sleepy, maybe i'm a morning person. I also notice much less gas
(which is something you do have to worry about during a concert);
basically I don't notice my stomach at all, which I figure is just fine.

I drink two liters of water a day, which means I can't just sit at my
desk/ practice chair for hours without moving, but getting up for the
loo is also a good mental and physical break.

If it's a practice situation, whenever I feel my attention going, I get
up and move around or (if I was standing, sit), because if you try to
force yourself when your attention goes you're just going to start
practicing badly or wrongly. One of my teachers encouraged me to try to
work for 50 minutes and then take an enforced break of 10; it's
important when you're a student to push yourself, but beyond a certain
point is diminishing returns.

I used to work with a flute player who only ate two slices of white
bread without crusts before a concert. He ordinarily wouldn't go near
white bread, but for him it was a mouth-moisure content question.

Now, tomorrow I'm off on a 50-kilometer hike to benefit my kids'
school. I'm taking 3 liters of water, Clif bars, tortilla chips, dried
mango, dates, a powdery stuff to put in the water; lunch will be
sandwiches at the mid-point.

Not like Mahler 2....

Best,
Rhondda May
Hong Kong

PhilFrei@-----.com wrote:
>
> Hi -
>
> It seems talking about food is almost as potentially explosive as
> talking about politics or religion. Some will consider it off-topic
> and will want to skip this long message. But with the recent news
> about Atkins vs. Pritikin, I thought it would be interesting to talk
> about their possible strengths and weaknesses when it comes to
> practicing, especially since this is something I am grappling with on
> a daily basis, trying to come up with a diet that works with the
> rigors of musical practicing.
>
> I don't know a huge amount about food, but I find it does effect my
> ability to practice. There seem to be many concerns. One is that a
> meal can leave one really lethargic and unable to coax up the energy
> to practice. The second is that food has to contain the nutrients
> necessary for the brain to build whatever it needs in order that we
> retain what we practice. Learning is after all, at some fundamental
> level, physiology. Another aspect is that food allergies can make it
> very difficult to practice depending on the severity of the symptoms.
>
> It seems to me diet plans tend to over-focus on one system in
> isolation of others. Pritikin focuses on eliminating saturated fat and
> how this should theoretically help prevent heart disease. But its
> weakness, it seems to me is that in emphasizing whole foods, it
> neglects the fact that some foods in their raw state are a bear to
> digest. I am thinking in particular about grains, granola, beans, and
> some vegetables. The strain on the body can be considerable right
> after a meal.
>
> Also, the main source of fat in Pritikin is vegetable oils or even
> worse, trans fats (partially hydrogenated vegetable oils which are,
> ironically, now known to be MORE dangerous than saturated fats!). This
> is problematic, as butter and some animal fats are much better for
> helping with the assimilation of many vitamins and minerals, and
> function as building blocks for the cholesterol and other substances
> that go into brain chemistry.
>
> The dangers with Atkin's high protein diets are well documented. A
> heavy protein meal can be near indigestible. Overdone, there can be
> severe strains on the kidneys and liver. But at least you are certain
> to get "brain food," and the diet does have the considerable advantage
> of reducing trans fats, since so many trans fats in American diets are
> in carbs.
>
> I'm trying to come up with sensible compromises. Presoaking grains and
> beans seems to help a huge amount. For example, a bowl of oatmeal
> soaked in water with a spoonful of yoghourt overnight is SO much
> lighter and easier to eat than "quick" oatmeal or granola. I find it
> much, much easier to practice with good concentration right after
> breakfast with presoaked.
>
> And in terms of meat, one discovery I've made is that grass-fed beef
> is much easier to digest than the regular corn and grain fed beef. I
> find it much more likely that I'll be able to practice with good
> concentration with the former meal, where the latter tends to just
> knock me out for the entire evening (or until 11:00 or so when all of
> a sudden I find myself with some energy and huge regrets about
> everything I didn't get to in the previous hours). I've read that
> grass-fed beef (and dairy products from grass-fed cows) have a
> superior mix of fats, actually containing some of the good fats
> associated with fish (and without the growing danger of mercury in
> fish), and that this is part of what makes them more readily
> digestible.
>
> Overall, it seems like shelf life = indigestibility. I worry about the
> irradiation of foods, because it DOES neutralize enzymes (enzymes
> technically are not considered nutrients), agents which contribute to
> the ripening and rotting of food on the shelf. Without enzymes, food
> will be that much harder to digest, and I fear I will be all the more
> conked out after a meal. That can really cut into one's day,
> especially when one is trying to do something (practicing) that is the
> mental equivalent of rigorous body building.
>
> I'm curious as to other musicians' experiences and theories.
>
> - Phil Freihofner