If you’ve been keeping up to date with our running blogs in the lead-up to this year’s Blackmores Sydney Running Festival then you would have come across online personal trainer Andrew Cate’s fantastic Top Ten Power Foods for Runners.
All of these foods are packed full of nutrients that can help your performance and support your body through the inevitable stress that running and training brings with it. Let’s take a closer look at why.
Vitamins C & E
Exercise can put a fair amount of stress on the body and in particular it can cause what’s called oxidative stress- where we produce free radicals that can cause cell damage and may leave us at greater risk of fatigue and injury.
Vitamins C and E are both antioxidant nutrients that can help to reduce oxidative damage that can result from exercise and also help to support healthy immunity.
Magnesium
Magnesium is an essential mineral that is needed for the proper functioning of the muscles and the nerves. Its role in supporting your running is to help relax tight muscles and helping to relieve painful muscle cramps and spasms.
With magnesium also needed for energy production and exercise, increasing your need for this essential nutrient it is important to maintain an adequate intake to support your training and running goals.
Coenzyme Q10
Coenzyme Q10 may help in two ways. First it is a potent antioxidant and, like vitamins C and E, it may help to reduce oxidative stress from exercise and training.
Secondly, coenzyme Q10 plays an important role in cellular energy production and our body’s ability to make coenzyme Q10 can be decreased by exercise.
B vitamins
You would consider running a strenuous physical activity, right? The B group vitamins help to support to the body during strenuous physical activity and help to assist with energy production during exercise.
Like magnesium, there is an increased need for the Bs when we exercise so maintaining an adequate intake of this vitamin group is essential.
Omega- 3
Running can put a lot of stress on the joints, especially the knees, and it may lead to inflammation. Omega-3’s, especially from fish, can help to reduce inflammation and may help to provide relief from inflammatory joint pain.
What’s your top power nutrient?
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