Eat healthily. Exercise. Get adequate rest. These are the basics when it comes to protecting your overall well-being. But a recent survey conducted by TW revealed that a majority of respondents go beyond these three tenets of a healthy lifestyle by adding supplements to their daily routine.
As we learned when we sat down to chat with basketball star Sebastian Saiz, the power forward and center is also a big believer in incorporating supplements into his healthy-living arsenal. Read on to find out how he trains, eats and stays in peak condition with the help of supplements — you might just learn a thing or two that you can add to your own arsenal.
©NSN Never Say Never
Training Game
No player embodies the global basketball scene quite like Saiz. From his coming up in Spain with famous sports franchise Real Madrid to balling in the U.S. to now living in Japan and playing for the Japanese B. League, Saiz is a shining example of what it means to be an international athlete.
Training is a part of everyday life, and Saiz believes in a simple principle: Go all out. If you’re going to work, go all out. If you’re going to rest, go all out. If you’re going to eat, go all out. He emphasizes the importance of not neglecting any part of the process, and his adherence to his philosophy is obvious in his game prep.
An all-day affair, training begins with weights in the morning to build overall strength and moves on to on-the-court practice in the afternoons. Even time not spent training is dedicated to the game, with Saiz strategizing plays, studying opponents and optimizing rest and recovery. After all, an injured athlete can’t perform, and performance is everything. Getting enough sleep, decompressing and stretching are a must for Saiz to stay sharp on and off the court.
©Sebastian Saiz
Fueling Up
Of course, the path to success includes food and nutrition as well, with food playing a bigger role in performance than most people realize. While you won’t literally become what you eat, what you put into your body determines what you get out of it.
Saiz works closely with professional nutritionists to make sure he stays on track, but a scientifically controlled diet doesn’t have to be boring and bland. While a study of gut health and microbiomes determines the nitty-gritty details of his food choices, he largely sticks to foods that satisfy his nutritional needs as well as his cravings. This is important as consistency is key — and it’s hard to be consistent when feeling miserable about meals.
This approach also allows Saiz to enjoy his meals while living abroad. “Living in Japan made me realize how much people can appreciate things — even the little things — and have respect for others and the whole world,” says Saiz.
A mindset of appreciation is something that Saiz and his teammates apply to training, eating and life. By respecting his body, the food he puts into it and the people supporting him, Saiz has improved his performance while connecting to a broader international community.
©Sebastian Saiz
Outside Assistance
Professionals are held to high standards, and supplemental help is sometimes necessary to improve recovery and health. Saiz supports his training and well-being with a variety of products, including protein for enhancement, branched-chain amino acids for performance, vitamins, minerals and wellness products like wasabi supplements. Through his dedication to maximizing his health, Saiz has seen tangible benefits: Despite playing long seasons with minimal recovery time, he has been able to show up to the court feeling great.
As Saiz is a top-tier professional athlete who needs to consistently perform at a high level, he has a team of trained specialists supporting him. Over the years, he’s learned a thing or two about what works for him, and some of what he’s picked up could prove useful to non-athletes as well. After all, everyone can benefit from extra energy and feeling refreshed upon waking. All it takes is a bit of help in the form of supplements.
These days, supplements are mainstream. In fact, the TW survey, conducted with Nomon, a brand of supplements produced by Teijin, showed that 87% of respondents — 66.7% of whom were women and 31% of whom were between 25 and 34 years of age — already took some kind of supplement for their health. It’s clear from the results that interest in fortifying one’s diet is already commonplace across age groups for both men and women.
Saiz tells us that one product he uses to settle down and manage his performance as he gets older is Nomon’s Nadaltus (stylized as NADaltus). Nadaltus contains NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide), a precursor to an essential molecule and an important building block. Though 82.5% of survey respondents were unfamiliar with the benefits of NMN, Saiz, who takes the supplement to help maintain his condition, attests to its usefulness.
Spice Power
A problem Saiz has faced over the course of his career is something many people can relate to: joint pain. While common in people as they get older, joint pain can affect young athletes who regularly participate in high-impact activities. For Saiz, something that has helped relieve inflammation and which he’s only discovered since coming to Japan is the country’s selection of supplements, some of which contain wasabi.
While wasabi is now eaten worldwide, many people beyond Japan’s borders have only a fleeting knowledge of the spicy green paste. Many countries even use dyed replacement products, completely cutting out wasabi’s unique benefits in exchange for a cheaper condiment.
Saiz was surprised when he first heard about wasabi, not only because of its usefulness but also because it was different from what he had seen in Spain and the U.S. While over 90% of people surveyed were aware of the benefits of wasabi, the advantageous qualities of this Japanese superfood have yet to be fully realized internationally.
Though wasabi can bolster the well-being of even elite athletes, it is difficult and even dangerous to consume large amounts of the plant in its common condiment form. Luckily for Saiz and anyone else interested in harnessing the power of wasabi, supplements such as Nomon’s Wasabis (stylized as WASAbis) are not only safe to consume but are becoming more common.
Saiz is serious about staying on top of his game, and while training and nutrition play a huge role, they’re not the full story. Saiz counts on supplements, too, including Nomon’s Nadaltus and Wasabis. After all, being the best you can be requires protecting your overall well-being.
Visit the Teijin website to learn more about Nomon, Nadaltus and Wasabis. To purchase supplements, visit Nomon’s online shop.
