KUALA LUMPUR: Belgian born long distant runner, Pieter-Jan ‘PJ’ Hannes just won the European under-23 Championship and qualified for next Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, thousands of miles from Malaysia.
However, the secret of his success is very much Malaysian grown and produced.
According to Hannes, palm oil makes up a crucial component of his diet, which he believes gives him an added advantage on the running track.
“Palm oil is a natural fat, which is a great product, though not very well-known in Belgium.
“It was recommended to me by my nutritionist, and turned out to be the perfect solution to optimise my diet,” said Hannes.
Hannes, who studies chemistry at University of Leuven, Belgium explained that the balance of saturated and unsaturated fats in palm oil is a perfect source of energy as well as vitamins.
Stressing that a balanced, nutritious diet is absolutely vital to his conditioning and training regime, Hannes said that typical Belgian diet were not exactly athlete friendly.
He said, “Belgians love to eat and drink, and we have some famous food and drinks here – we are especially well-known for our beer, fries, chocolate and waffles.
“These are perhaps not the best foods for an athlete training for the Olympics.”
Instead, Hannes sticks to eating meats with healthy servings of vegetables and some form of carbohydrates, such as potato, rice or pasta.
However, sometimes, the all-inclusive meal of fats, protein and carbohydrate could be heavy on the stomach to digest and this is where palm oil has greatly helped Hannes.
“With plenty of energy and vitamins coming from palm oil, I do not need to combine everything in one meal anymore.
“This is a great advantage for an athlete,” Hannes said, adding that not having to digest everything at once also saves him the energy – crucial for his refueling and recovery process, before and after intensive training sessions.
Simple carbohydrates and sugars, could also be completely avoided, unless there is a need for it, he said.
Being a student of science, Hannes also feels that he has an advantage in completely understanding his body as well as its need and then complement it with nutritious diet.
He also admits to using scientific methods for other aspects of his preparation, including simulating high altitude training, and sleeping in oxygen deprived conditions using a tent.
Hannes explains that world class long distance runners from Ethiopia and Kenya often train and sleep in high altitudes, and by doing the same, he had seen positive effects on his running.
That is enough for him to continue to do it because according to him, every small advantage could be the difference between a gold or silver medal, qualification or not.
To this end, he said, “I sleep with the oxygen tent because it provides an advantage to my stamina.
“I cook with palm oil because it provides an advantage to my diet; and many other small advantages make the differences that have taken me all the way to the Olympics.
Hannes also had a message to palm oil growers, which was, “Palm oil can be misunderstood here in Europe – but to all the palm oil small farmers, I say: keep up the good work!”
Source: New Straits Times
