Chapter 11: The Science of Football (Part 1)
No matter what, in Gao Jun's view, what Chongming base needs most now is still physical trainers and nutritionists, more accurately, physical trainers and nutritionists who are familiar with the characteristics of young players and have high professional standards.
But in the case where this aspect has not yet started domestically, Gao Jun can only do this demonstration himself. Although he is not a professional, Gao Jun was one of the first people to introduce the concept of "scientific football" to China and also has an in-depth understanding of sports nutrition.
Taking the two points that are well-known to everyone, namely that Chinese people develop later than Westerners and also have obvious physical differences, many people think it's due to racial reasons. However, Gao Jun knows that except for black people having a slight advantage in physical quality, there is no significant difference between white and yellow races. The reason why there are such big differences in reality is mainly because the traditional dietary structure of East Asians, although beneficial for longevity, is not conducive to building strong bodies.
To put it simply, the dietary structure of East Asians, especially Chinese people, is severely lacking in calcium and zinc. According to the standards for athletes, they also lack high-quality protein. At the same time, their intake of salt and fat are both too high. All these factors have a great adverse impact on the physical development of young athletes.
In addition, monosodium glutamate commonly used in Chinese dishes is harmless to ordinary people, but athletes are still better off not eating it (Note 1). As for soy sauce, theoretically there's no problem, but due to production processes, if the quality isn't up to par (by an athlete's standards), then it can also be detrimental to their body. Therefore, those foreign nutritionists' meal plans basically don't include monosodium glutamate or soy sauce. For Chinese people who love fresh food, those dishes are simply pig feed...
Gao Jun had studied nutrition on his own and researched ways to solve the problem. For soy sauce, although there is no athlete-specific safe soy sauce in China yet, it's not difficult to find a usable one if you know the type of soy sauce. Soy sauces on the market can be divided into two categories: brewed soy sauce and blended soy sauce. The latter may use chemical hydrolysis or simply be mixed together, which has low cost but poor quality, low nutritional value, and may contain trace amounts of toxic substances "chloropropanol".
The brewing of soy sauce is divided into high-salt liquid-state brewing and low-salt solid-state brewing. The low-salt solid-state brewing process is a rapid brewing process, with a short brewing time and poor quality, but due to its low price, it has a very high market share. High-salt liquid-state brewed soy sauce is divided into two types: Guang-style high-salt and Japanese-style high-salt. Guang-style high-salt liquid-state brewing is a constant temperature brewing process, with fermentation temperatures ranging from 25°C to 40°C. Constant temperature fermentation requires open containers, which are prone to contamination and impurities. Japanese-style high-salt liquid-state brewing requires fermentation at 15°C to 20°C, and the low-temperature brewing process uses sealed container fermentation, excluding harmful impurities in the natural environment. This high-salt liquid-state process uses low-temperature brewing technology, and the "low-temperature brewed soy sauce" produced by this process is the precursor to the special soy sauce used by athletes, with no difference except for the label. If you were somewhere else, it might not be possible to buy this type of soy sauce, but in Shanghai, an international metropolis, it's absolutely no problem...
As for MSG, a special seasoning commonly used by southerners, oyster sauce is completely harmless to athletes and can be used as a substitute in cooking. Moreover, when it comes to seafood, noodles (such as rice noodles, dumplings), tofu (especially spicy tofu, with or without oyster sauce makes a world of difference), and rice flour products (such as stir-fried river powder, which must have oyster sauce, otherwise it's not delicious), the flavor after adding oyster sauce is far superior to just adding MSG.
Moreover, oyster sauce is made from the concentrated juice of fresh oysters (a colloquial term for oysters, sometimes specifically referring to high-quality oysters) with added seasonings, so it has a very high zinc content (the zinc content of fresh oysters is tens or even hundreds of times higher than that of ordinary foods). Zinc is the mineral that Chinese people (especially men) lack the most. The average daily intake of most people is less than half of the recommended value (it's said that traditional Chinese medicine strongly opposes excessive indulgence in sex, while Western medicine doesn't mind as much, because Chinese people don't have enough zinc to withstand the consumption, whereas Westerners have more and can afford to consume it). However, eating a lot of oyster sauce (if you use it entirely instead of MSG, the amount used will definitely not be small) means that athletes, who already eat a lot of meat, don't need to worry about lacking zinc at all. Fresh oysters are also one of General Mao's favorite foods...
Zinc mainly affects the nervous system and reproductive system. For the former, football is not just about kicking with your feet, but also requires a lot of brain work. As for the latter, its significance goes beyond just enhancing sexual ability. Insufficient zinc intake can affect testosterone secretion, which not only stimulates male libido but also makes men's bones thicker, muscles more developed, helps eliminate excess fat and quickly recover physical strength. If it is during the growth period, the impact will be even greater.
Therefore, the same child, with long-term adequate zinc supply, not only can develop and mature faster, but also will have stronger physical strength, speed, endurance and other physical qualities after growing up compared to those who grew up under insufficient zinc supply.
Like zinc, the intake of calcium in China is also severely insufficient. Athletes need more than ordinary people, and the lack of it is naturally more severe. For ordinary people, drinking more milk can guarantee the intake of calcium, but for athletes, it is still a bit insufficient. Therefore, highly concentrated cheese is the first choice, which is also the best source of high-quality protein. Although the taste of cheese is quite strange to most Chinese people, Gao Jun insists on eating at least one piece of cheese every day in order to have a strong body.
Generally speaking, even in China, athletes will not lack protein because meat, poultry, eggs and aquatic products all have high content, and according to the nutritional "comprehensive optimal" standard, they are also excellent sources of protein.
However, even those who do not understand nutrition know that eating more beef can make the body stronger. This is because beef contains special nutrients such as creatine and carnitine, which are particularly effective for muscle growth and strength enhancement, while also greatly improving the body's anaerobic endurance (referring to the ability to provide energy for muscle contraction in a state of hypoxia). This is one of the most important physical qualities for forwards, wingers (winger-forwards require more aerobic endurance), attacking full-backs, and central defenders (including defensive full-backs). Therefore, for striker Gao Lin, a meat-based diet with beef as the main course is undoubtedly the best.
Note 1: MSG itself is harmless, but firstly it increases sodium intake, which is not good for athletes. Secondly, improper cooking methods can produce harmful substances. While ordinary people may not be affected by eating a small amount occasionally, athletes are more likely to be impacted.
