Skip main navigation

Military Health System

Hurricane Milton & Hurricane Helene

Emergency procedures are in place in multiple states due to Hurricane Milton & Hurricane Helene. >>Learn More

How Performance Nutrition Can Help You Maintain Readiness

Image of A person serving himself a salad. An airman fills a salad to-go box with a variety of fresh vegetables as part of his lunch at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England, March 24, 2022. (Photo: Karen Abeyasekere, Air Force 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs)

Performance nutrition is not just a part of the military lifestyle; it’s the linchpin to mission readiness.

“We define [performance nutrition] as having high-quality nutrition — the appropriate amount at the right time for the right event for our service members,” said Patricia Deuster, who holds a doctorate in nutritional sciences and biochemistry and serves as acting director of the Consortium of Health and Military Performance (CHAMP) at the Uniformed Services University.

CHAMP hosts the Human Performance Resources by CHAMP program, which has resources on performance nutrition.

“You want to make sure the nutritional quality is high, that the amount is adequate, and that it's readily accessible,” said Deuster. “It's about really optimizing the performance of our warfighters through the appropriate fueling.”

This approach fits into the paradigm of the ‘whole’ person, she explained.

“You need to feed your body properly by giving it the right fuel if you want to be able to perform optimally cognitively, mentally, psychologically, and physically.”

Creating an Environment for Easy, Healthy Choices

To help service members enhance their peak mental and physical performance, Deuster said CHAMP facilitates the development of a military nutrition environment that “really” supports performance nutrition and healthy choices.

“It's a challenge, especially for our enlisted and our recruits, to get the right nutrients that they need,” she said.

CHAMP supports that environment by working with military dining facilities to use the Go for Green performance-based nutrition program. CHAMP also works with on-base and off-base exchanges to encourage them to offer healthy choices to service members, Deuster explained.

Additionally, CHAMP works with vendors so that vending machines offer up healthier choices.

The team has created a ready-to use database of commercial off-the-shelf products encoded using the Go for Green program to encourage better choices. Food items are labeled according to their nutritional level:

  • Green for high-performance fuel foods
  • Yellow for moderate-performance fuel foods
  • Red for low-performance fuel foods

“We would love for that database to be used in the vending machines, as well as in the exchanges and other venues selling food,” Deuster said.

However, there is no one single color-coded system across all food outlets, which would make food choices easier for all service members.

“We're building relationships with external vendors to make that happen,” she said. “That way the service member can see it’s obvious: ‘This is Green, this is Yellow, and these are things that I can eat. If it's Red, I want to think about it.’”

It would be ideal if check-outs had ready-to-grab healthy items, she said. That way, “if the first items you see are healthy, you're going to grab something healthy.”

It means “making the healthy choice the easiest choice and one that’s not in the red zone.”

Commissaries have joined in the effort, she said. They have offerings labeled Dietitian’s Choice highlighting high-performance foods on commissary shelves.

Helpful Resources

Deuster pointed to the Air Force's Lifestyle and Performance Medicine Working Group Charter as a model for the entire Military Health System.

“They're really trying to push healthy nutrition and healthy living for airmen, through Total Force Fitness and human performance optimization," she said.

“If this lifestyle and performance medicine concept would be more MHS-medically oriented, then they [could] merge into a continuum where the MHS encourages healthy eating."

For more information, talk to your health care provider and check out the following CHAMP HPRC’s nutrition resources:

What is Performance Nutrition?

You also may be interested in...

Article Around MHS
Mar 28, 2024

Do You Eat from Your Garden?

Nutrition infographic

March is National Nutrition Month. This year’s theme is “Beyond the Table.” Consuming a variety of fruit and vegetables daily decreases your risk of various diseases (i.e., heart disease, cancer, etc.) and other disorders/ailments.

Article Around MHS
Mar 18, 2024

Good Nutrition, Good Health, Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital Educates, Raises Awareness

Capt. Aireal Williams, chief of nutrition care division, and Holly Seager, both registered dieticians at Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital raise awareness during National Nutrition Month about making informed food choices, developing healthful eating habits, and educating patients on the role registered dieticians and nutrition and dietetic technicians play on their healthcare team at the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Johnson, Louisiana (Photo: Jean Graves)

Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital raises awareness in March about making informed food choices, developing healthful eating habits, and educating patients on the role registered dieticians and nutrition and dietetic technicians play on their healthcare team. March 13 is National Registered Dietician and March 14 is Nutrition and Dietetics Technician ...

Article Around MHS
Feb 12, 2024

The Breakfast Club

U.S. Air National Guard Senior Airman Rose Gurley, a dental technician assigned to the 175th Medical Group, noticed that many of her fellow airmen were skipping breakfast due to their early working hours. She organized some of her teammates and began sponsoring morning meals for the medical group. (Photo by U.S. Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Emily Batchelor)

During the early morning hustle of medical personnel, U.S. Air National Guard Senior Airman Rose Gurley, a dental technician assigned to the 175th Medical Group, noticed a common struggle. Many of the airmen were skipping breakfast due to the early working hours.

Article Around MHS
Jan 29, 2024

Beyond Base Boundaries: Travel Team Provide Health Care to Service Members

In a deployed environment, medical services surface as the guardians of readiness. Beyond healing wounds, these services fortify the resilience of forces and are a critical component in military preparedness. That’s why a team comprised of dental and optometry specialists traveled to provide dental and optometry care for service members within the U.S ...

Skip subpage navigation
Refine your search
Last Updated: July 11, 2023
Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Follow us on X Follow us on YouTube Sign up on GovDelivery