Different foods will reward you best at different times of the day.
Good nutrition is important all day long, but different foods are healthiest and most important at different times of the day. Here are the best foods for a number of situations that runners often encounter.
Runners need to train right and eat right. To do one without the other is like sleeping just 4 hours a night. You’re only doing half the job.
On the other hand, when you train and eat as you should, the results are greater than the sum of the two parts. This doesn’t guarantee that you’ll feel great every minute of every day. No one gets that guarantee. But you’ll feel a lot better than you would if you didn’t train and eat correctly.
As you move through your daily, weekly, and monthly training programs, there are times when certain nutritional practices are particularly important. That’s what this chapter is about: the right foods at the right times.
Different foods will reward you best at different times of the day.
You might remember how, in the early Popeye comics, our hero would often find himself in a jam, usually when he was about to be pummeled by Bluto. On these occasions, Popeye would quickly inhale a can of spinach, and the green stuff would give him bulging muscles. Result: He’d pop Bluto right in the kisser and send him flying through the air. Spinach was the original “quick fix.” It’s the iron it contains that makes it a “power food.”
Runners get in jams too, and this chapter gives you 20 quick nutritional fixes to provide the strength and energy you need. You’ll find plenty of opportunities to put these fixes to good use and then to run and feel your best.
1. Before a Longer-than-Normal Workout
The food: Peanut butter
The benefit: Peanut butter is super-high in vitamin E, the most potent antioxidant vitamin in foods. For preworkout energy, spread 2 tablespoons of peanut butter on half a bagel and eat it 2 hours before you begin to exercise. The good fats (monounsaturated) in peanut butter will “stick to your ribs” and help you feel full. Plus, you’ll be energized with slow-release carbohydrates. Bonus: Recent data from the Nurses’ Health Study indicates that peanut butter and nuts can help reduce the risk of type-2 diabetes in women.
2. When You Have a Joint Injury
The food: Glucosamine and gelatin
The benefit: According to several studies, supplemental glucosamine—about 1,500 milligrams daily—helps soothe joint pain, possibly by stimulating cartilage growth. Most recently, a study from Harvard has shown osteoarthritis improvements with gelatin-based products. Yes, there’s always room for Jell-O.
3. Before a Short Run or Race
The food: Coffee
The benefit: A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine reported that runners who drank 1½ cups of coffee (containing a total of about 3 grams of caffeine) prior to running 1500 meters ran faster and had higher max VO2 levels than those who didn’t drink any coffee. In addition, related studies have suggested that the antioxidants in coffee can help cut the risk of developing both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Just keep in mind that coffee’s energizing effect is that of a stimulant; it doesn’t provide true energy calories—so try to eat a little something that does.
Drinking a cup of coffee before you run can bring you some positive results, including faster times.
4. A Week When You’re Tapering for a Big Effort
The food: Oranges
The benefit: Stay healthy during the week by sucking down an orange a day—each one packs 75 milligrams of vitamin C. For even better reinforcement, eat organic oranges, which according to research from the American Chemical Society, may contain as much as 30 percent more vitamin C than conventionally grown oranges.
Add oranges to cooked or cold dishes, eat them as snacks, or squeeze them for their delicious juice.
5. After a Harder-than-Normal Workout or Race
The food: Cottage cheese
The benefit: Cottage cheese is full of protein for muscle repair, and it’s a good calcium source as well, making it the perfect postrun treat (eat ½ cup to 1 cup). It also contains linoleic acid, which boosts memory and protects against cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Bonus: Adding 1 cup of fresh blueberries will give you 19 grams of carbohydrate for recovery fuel. Or, to help with rehydration, mix in cantaloupe or honeydew, both of which are 90 percent water.
6. The Night before a Long Workout
The food: Pasta plus a side salad
The benefit: Stick with one serving of traditional pasta to carbo-load your muscles, but have it with meat sauce and include a high-protein salad as well. Mix greens with vegetables, chickpeas, cheese, diced ham, or soy nuts for a healthy, protein-rich side dish that will keep you satiated through the night so you’re not ravenous during your long workout the next morning.
7. After a Strength-Training Session
The food: Tuna fish
The benefit: Research has shown that runners need about 50 to 70 percent more protein than the average couch potato, which means you should eat 75 to 100 grams a day, depending on your body size and mileage. This is especially important if you’re strength training, as lifting weights increases your protein needs even more. Eating just 3 ounces of white tuna fish will supply you with about 20 grams of protein.
The food: Honey
The benefit: An excellent source of carbohydrate, honey has been shown to effectively keep blood glucose levels high for optimal endurance. Three studies done at the University of Memphis Exercise and Sport Nutrition Lab report that honey is just as good as energy gels when eaten before and during a workout. One of the studies showed that cyclists who ate 15 grams of honey before a 40-mile race and every 10 miles during the race increased their power and speed.
9. The First Meal after a Long Run
The food: Clams over whole wheat pasta
The benefit: A 3-ounce serving of clams contains 24 milligrams of iron and zinc, while 1 cup of cooked whole wheat macaroni packs 37 grams of carbohydrates. Since your immune system is weakened after a long run, the zinc in clams can help boost your immunity, which will lower your risk of getting a cold or the flu. The zinc will also repair muscle tissue damage that occurs during a long workout, and the pasta will restock your carbohydrate stores.
10. The Week after a Particularly Hard Effort
The food: Meat stir-fry
The benefit: To refortify your depleted immune system the week after a big effort, you need vitamin C. And you’ll get this by eating plenty of vegetables such as green and red bell peppers, cauliflower, and broccoli. For an added bonus, eat green, leafy vegetables to boost folate levels, which will help decrease cancer risk. Adding meat rebuilds muscle tissue.
Eating a meat stir-fry after periods of heavy running will rebuild precious muscle tissue.
You’re not always planning for your next workout or eating to recover from it. But eating well is important all the time. So here are 10 more research-proven foods to make you happier and healthier.
1. The Sleep Enhancer
The food: Turkey
The benefit: You sleep better after eating turkey because it contains tryptophan, an amino acid that is the building block for serotonin, a neurotransmitter that promotes a sense of calmness and drowsiness. So the next time you have trouble sleeping, try a turkey sandwich.
The food: Blueberries
The benefit: Preliminary studies on blueberries suggest that they may help prevent mental decline as we age. Florida researchers recently found that blueberries reduced age-related brain damage in rats. These findings, along with preliminary results from a human study, suggest that 1 cup of blueberries a day may be the secret to preventing Alzheimer’s.
3. The Pregnancy Helper
The food: Enriched breads (folic acid)
The benefit: Folic acid may help guard against gestational hypertension, cervical cancer, and the risk of neural-tube defects in fetuses. It’s important for women to get the proper amount of folic acid (Daily Value for women is 400 micrograms, the amount in most daily vitamins) before becoming pregnant. Folic acid has been added to some foods, such as enriched breads, pastas, rice, and cereals, but can also be found in supplement form.
4. The Sex-Drive Booster (men)
The food: Oysters
The benefit: Oysters are said to be an aphrodisiac, and it might just be true. This mollusk is one of the most concentrated food sources of zinc—a nutrient that is key in the production of testosterone. In fact, six raw oysters contain 76 milligrams of zinc. Eat ’em over pasta or on the half-shell.
5. The Mood Lifter
The food: Chocolate
The benefit: According to a recent issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, chocolate can be an antidepressant. The carbs and fats in chocolate flood the brain with feelgood endorphins and hormones. They also release peptides in the brain that have an antidepressant effect. Plus, another compound in chocolate called phenylethylamine (PEA) has been shown to boost mood in depressed people.
6. The Breast-Cancer Fighter
The food: Eggs
The benefit: A preliminary study published in Breast Cancer Research reported that teen girls who ate at least one egg a day reduced their risk of eventually getting breast cancer by 18 percent. Other nutrients associated with a reduction in breast-cancer risk were fiber and vegetable fats.
As well as fighting cancer, eggs contain vitamin B6, which Is vital to the formation and health of red blood cells and blood vessels.
7. The Heart Protector
The food: Cranberry juice
The benefit: A study presented at a recent American Chemical Society meeting reported that drinking three glasses of antioxidant-rich cranberry juice a day significantly raises levels of “good cholesterol” (HDL) and may help reduce certain risk factors for heart disease.
8. The Prostate-Cancer Fighter (Part 1)
The food: Tomatoes
The benefit: Tomatoes are loaded with lycopene, an antioxidant that helps fight prostate cancer as well as heart disease. Aim for seven to 10 servings of tomato-based products each week. One tomato serving is equal to about ½ cup spaghetti sauce, one medium tomato, or one slice of pizza with sauce.
9. The Prostate-Cancer Fighter (Part 2)
The food: Watermelon
The benefit: A recent article published in the Journal of Nutrition reported that watermelon has even more lycopene than tomatoes. Bonus: Watermelon is also 92 percent water—making it a great choice for when you need to rehydrate after a run. Use it in fruit salsas or salads.
Watermelon contains lycopene, an antioxidant that studies show can help fight infertility in men.
10. The Cholesterol Reducer
The food: Oatmeal
The benefit: This breakfast favorite can help reduce the risk of heart disease. One particular study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that a daily serving of oat bran significantly reduced total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol in healthy men and women.
Q : What’s the best food to eat before a workout to give me extra energy?
A : There are many ways to attack this question that all runners try to answer for themselves. The first, and most important, is to eat foods that work for you—foods that make you feel good and don’t upset your stomach. Here’s one good approach: Have a half cup of coffee an hour before your workout with a light carbohydrate snack like a banana or an oatmeal cookie, and then drink 4 to 8 ounces of a sports drink about 30 minutes before your workout. You’ll get a little pickup, some carbs, and the fluids you need.
The 70,000-member American Dietetic Association is dedicated to providing information on optimal nutrition and well-being. You can also search for a registered dietitian near your home in the United States.
Three things to remember about this chapter:
1. Eat well after a hard workout. It’s not only important to eat well before a workout, but also after, and the meals are remarkably similar. After running, you need fluids and carbs, the sooner the better. Some endurance athletes actually eat a small meal—or at least an energy bar—before taking a shower.
2. Eat low-fat protein foods: Runners put so much emphasis on carbohydrates that they sometimes ignore protein. That’s a mistake, as runners actually need more protein than nonexercisers. The best proteins: low-fat or fat-free dairy foods, healthy fish like tuna and salmon, and seeds and nuts (which do contain a lot of fatty acids, but most of them are very heart-healthy).
3. Eat plenty of citrus fruits: All the vitamin C-containing fruits—oranges, grapefruits, kiwis, and more—make excellent foods for runners. The juices are great, and the whole fruits even better, as they contain more micronutrients and fiber. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that keeps your body and all your tissues healthy in many different ways.