Reasons to include omega-three fats in your endurance sports nutrition plan

A new study by Iranian and German researchers provides evidence that fish oil supplementation may enhance lung function in athletes. Forty teenage competitive wrestlers were separated into four groups. Two of the four groups received fitness training. One of these two groups also received daily fish oil supplementation. The other two groups received no fitness training, and one of these two groups also received daily fish oil supplementation.

The researchers took several measurements of lung function in all of the subjects before and after the intervention period. They found increases of 41 percent in one-second forced expiratory volume (the volume of air subjects could forcibly exhale in one second) and 53 percent in total lung volume in the fish oil-supplemented groups compared to the non-supplemented groups.

From Wrestlers to Endurance Athletes

Although this study involved strength/power athletes, the results should be of interest to those in 10K training, half-marathon training, marathon training, and triathlon training because the lung function variables measured are associated with endurance performance. But before you get too excited, note that no study has ever found that fish oil supplementation actually enhances endurance performance. For example, a 1997 study by Norwegian researchers found that fish oil had no effect on aerobic power, anaerobic threshold, or running performance in soccer players.

Previous studies have, however, shown other intriguing effects of fish oil supplementation in athletes. A 2008 study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, for instance, showed that fish oil supplementation increased heart stroke volume (or the amount of blood the heart pumps with each contraction) and cardiac output (or the total amount of blood pumped by the heart) during low- to moderate-intensity exercise. Again, there is no performance effect shown here, but it is clear that fish oil supplementation does effect the underlying physiology of athletes in ways that can only be described as beneficial.

A Smart Sports Nutrition Strategy

The apparent benefits of fish oil are probably related to the known ability of the omega-3 essential fats in the oil to enhance the flexibility of cell membranes and the elasticity of blood vessels. Omega-3 fats also improve nervous system function and have anti-inflammatory effects.

Because omega-3 fats are scarce in most foods and generally lacking in the American diet, daily supplementation with an omega-3 source such as fish oil or flaxseed oil is widely considered to be a good idea, for health reasons. So even though it still remains to be seen whether endurance athletes can reap specific performance benefits from such supplementation, a daily dose of 2 to 3 g of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA combined can contribute to your overall well-being.

An endurance sports nutrition recipe to help boost muscle recovery

Sure, you deserve dessert—especially when your 10K training, marathon training, or triathlon training kicks into high gear. But do yourself a favor and indulge in a dessert that can also help you feel better during your next workout.

Kimberly Day, a triathlete and Founder/Chief Decadence Officer of Decadent Health LLC (www.decadenthealth.com), has created the following dessert featuring pomegranate juice and blueberries, which are loaded with antioxidants. Why do you, as an endurance athlete, need those antioxidants? Because during intense and prolonged exercise, the muscles produce large amounts of free radicals—unstable oxygen molecules that cause fatigue and post-exercise muscle soreness. Antioxidants are compounds that neutralize free radicals and counteract these effects. So dig into the following dessert knowing that it’ll both satisfy your sweet tooth and help promote muscle recovery.

Blueberry Pomegranate Sorbet
Makes 6 servings

¾ cup xylitol
½ cup filtered water
2 cups pure pomegranate juice
1 cup fresh, puréed blueberries

1. Combine xylitol and water in saucepan and stir over medium heat until xylitol dissolves.
2. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.
3. Cool completely.
4. Whisk in pomegranate juice and puréed blueberries.
5. Place in ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, place in freezer-safe container, and freeze.

Nutritional Info (per serving): Calories 196, Total fat 0 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Carbs 67 g, Fiber 1 g, Protein 1 g

Endurance sports nutrition advice on supplementation

Taking a daily multivitamin/multimineral supplement is a personal choice for each endurance athlete. It certainly is not a necessity just because you might happen to be in 10K training, marathon training, or triathlon training. That’s because a balanced diet high in fruits, vegetables, and mostly unprocessed foods should provide you with the vitamins and minerals you need to stay healthy.

Yet, while it is within the power of each of us to get our vitamins and minerals from our diet, few of us actually do. Particular vitamin and mineral deficiencies are very common in our society, even among athletes who tend to make some effort to control their diet quality. While athletes who have one or more of these common deficiencies would always be best advised to improve their diet, a multivitamin/multimineral supplement can benefit their health and performance while they try to eat better. Here are just a few things to think about if you find yourself shopping for a multi:

• Consider a “real food” multi. These are supplements that contain extracts from real foods and/or vitamins and minerals in the forms found in real foods instead of individual, stripped-down vitamins and minerals, which the body actually treats as foreign chemicals.

• Choose supplements with minerals in chelated form. This means the minerals are attached to proteins, just as they are in real foods, which aids absorption.

• Pick a formulation with enzymes. Certain enzymes help your body absorb vitamins and minerals.

• Eat with your supplement. Take your chosen vitamin and mineral supplement with a meal. This, too, will aid absorption.

• Be careful with iron. Consult your doctor and have your iron levels checked before supplementing with iron. Because iron-deficiency is relatively common in endurance athletes, and especially female runners, many take iron supplements as a form of insurance against deficiencies. But this may lead to iron overload, which can have serious health effects. A recent Swiss study found iron overload in 15 percent of the male participants in the Zurich Marathon.

Endurance sports nutrition advice to help you fend off injuries

No matter how good your half-marathon training, marathon training, or triathlon training makes you feel, it still increases your risk of injury. But by ensuring that your endurance sports nutrition plan includes enough calories on a daily basis, you can help keep injuries at bay. That’s because, as it turns out, the worst nutritional mistake you can make with regard to injury prevention is to eat too few calories. When your body doesn’t get enough calories to meet all of its tissue maintenance and energy needs, it will enter a catabolic state—which means your muscles begin eating themselves. Consequently, catabolism compromises your body’s ability to repair tissue damage incurred during workouts, which slows muscle recovery and increases your risk of injury.

How do you know if you’re eating enough? No need to obsessively count calories. Instead, monitor your workout performance, your body weight, and your body composition. When you’re not eating enough, the first indication is likely to be a decline in your workout performance. And when you’re in a catabolic state, your body weight will go down while your body-fat percentage remains the same, indicating that you’re losing muscle, not fat.

How to get the most out of your 10K training, marathon training, or triathlon training as you age

Sure, age is just a number. But as that number inches upward, typically so do your race times. That’s because the physiological processes of aging start to slow you down by reducing your aerobic capacity, muscle power, muscle recovery capabilities, and so forth.
 
You can, however, blunt the effects that aging has on endurance performance by tweaking your 10K training, marathon training, or triathlon training in little ways that most younger athletes simply don’t consider. Aging athletes, for example, should factor in a bit more time for strength training to promote strength maintenance, injury prevention, and optimal body composition. And while getting regular sports massages can help athletes of any age, older athletes in particular stand to benefit from them because they can help speed muscle recovery. Even eating right and supplementing with sports nutrition products such as ARX become more important as we age.

Younger endurance athletes tend not to do these little things, in part because their youth allows them to “get away with” inattention to general health, muscle recovery, and injury prevention. But the older we get, the less we can get away with. So start doing these little things today to gain a competitive advantage over those who don’t.

An endurance sports nutrition recipe to help boost tomorrow’s workout

Last week, Matt Fitzgerald wrote about the importance of sleep for proper muscle recovery (check out his post Hit the Sheets). In a nutshell, your body rebuilds muscle tissues damaged during exercise and remodels muscle tissue in response to training while you sleep. And research has shown that if you have a protein-rich snack before going to bed, you can aid this muscle-recovery process even further—allowing you to wake up feeling ready for your next marathon training run or triathlon training workout. The following bedtime snack, created by Kimberly Day, a triathlete and Founder/Chief Decadence Officer of Decadent Health LLC (www.decadenthealth.com), contains the quality protein you need to help you repair and rebuild muscle as you sleep.

Just Peachy
Makes 1 serving

½ cup low-fat cottage cheese
2 tablespoons walnut pieces
¼ cup peaches, cubed

1. Place cottage cheese in a bowl.
2. Add walnuts and peaches.
3. Mix well before enjoying.

Nutritional Info (per serving): Calories 195, Total fat 10 g, Cholesterol 5 mg, Carbs 10 g, Fiber 2 g, Protein 18 g

Endurance sports nutrition advice on fueling your long workouts and races

During long marathon training runs or triathlon training rides you need to make like the Energizer Bunny and just keep going and going and going. And the best way to do that is to continually fuel yourself with specially formulated sports nutrition products such as sports drinks and energy bars, gels, and chews that contain carbs in rapidly metabolized forms to provide quick energy to the muscles during exercise.

But if you bolt down an energy bar just before your workout to top off your muscle glycogen stores, then guzzle sports drink and gobble energy gels and chews the whole time you are out on the road, you risk taking in too many carbs, which can cause gastrointestinal distress. So to keep your energy levels high without developing a stomachache, stick to an overall fueling schedule that has you consuming carbohydrate at a rate of 60 to 80 grams per hour from all sources—whether you decide, for example, to use energy chews alone or energy chews in combination with gels and/or a sports drink.

Sports nutrition advice for weight-conscious individuals in half-marathon training, marathon training, or triathlon training

Every endurance athlete knows that body weight (as well as body composition, or body-fat percentage) affects endurance performance. It pays to be light and lean. Consequently, the average endurance athlete struggles to attain his or her optimal body weight just as much as the average non-athlete struggles to attain a healthy weight.

Non-athletes commonly diet, or reduce their food intake, to lose weight. For those in half-marathon training, marathon training, or triathlon training, however, it’s often not so simple because endurance exercise places high energy demands on the body and reducing food intake can deprive the muscles of the energy they need for optimal performance and subsequent muscle recovery.

Short-Term Slim-Down Study

There is some new evidence, however, that endurance athletes can lose weight through dieting without sabotaging their training if they take a careful approach. In a 2009 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, scientists from George Washington University placed 10 competitive cyclists on a reduced-calorie diet (up to 40 percent) for three weeks and modified their training to include morning workouts in a fasted state (no breakfast). All of the subjects submitted to a variety of tests, including body composition and resting metabolic rate measurements and a performance test—both before and after the intervention.

The diet yielded no changes in fat burning during exercise, maximum power output on the bike, or power at VO2max. However, the cyclists’ rating of perceived exertion during two hours of submaximal exercise decreased (meaning the same effort felt easier) and their body composition and power-to-weight ratio improved significantly.

This study shows that endurance athletes can shed excess body fat relatively quickly and maintain their performance while on a fairly restrictive short-term diet. But there was no control group, so we can’t rule out the possibility that the diet prevented these cyclists from improving their power output and power at VO2max over the three-week study period.

The Diet’s Downside

I actually spoke with one of the participants in the study, who told me that the diet was not easy. He struggled with all-day hunger throughout it and went straight back to his normal eating habits as soon as the intervention was completed. So while the diet was effective in the short-term, it was not sustainable in the long-term. Undoubtedly, his performance and that of the other subjects would have begun to suffer if they had kept up caloric deficits of as much as 40 percent much longer than three weeks.

Other studies, involving athletes in weight-class sports such as rowing and wrestling, have shown that the severe dieting methods engaged in during the final weeks and days before competition do in fact sabotage performance. So there is clearly a limit to what we can get away with.

Developing a Smart Endurance Sports Nutrition Plan for Weight Loss

Based on the totality of available research, I believe that those in half-marathon training, marathon training, triathlon training, or any other type of endurance-sport training should generally try to lose excess body fat gradually through sustainable improvements in diet quality (get specific tips on how to do this in my earlier blog Weight Loss for Endurance Athletes) and sensible increases in training load whose primary intent is to boost fitness. Occasional efforts to lose weight more quickly are OK, but avoid cutting calories so much that your training suffers, keep these efforts relatively brief (2 to 4 weeks), and use them early in the training process, not close to races.

Endurance sports nutrition advice to help you meet your daily calorie and fluid requirements

It’s probably pretty obvious to you that your half-marathon training, marathon training, or triathlon training ups your food and fluid needs. I know my hunger and thirst certainly increase in direct proportion to my mileage. But compared to your non-athletic friends, how much more food and drink do you really need? Check out the following, which provides a comparison of the approximate one-day calorie and water needs of a 150-pound person who does not exercise and a 150-pound person who completes one hour of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise in a warm (70 degrees) environment. (Note that hydration needs can be met through pure water, other drinks such as fruit juice, and water-containing foods.) This listing gives you a ballpark estimate of what your endurance sports nutrition plan should contain to keep you optimally fueled.

150-Pound Non-Athlete’s Daily Needs:
2,000 calories & 75 ounces of fluid

150-Pound Endurance Athlete’s Daily Needs:
2,775 calories & 87 ounces of fluid

An endurance sports nutrition recipe to help you stay energized as the day draws on

It’s 3:00 in the afternoon, you’re sitting at your computer, and you’re having a hard time focusing on the task at hand. Did you overdo it during your morning marathon training run or triathlon training ride? Probably not. Since your brain runs on glucose from dietary carbohydrate, your mental fog is most likely a symptom of a dip in your blood glucose level. All that’s needed, therefore, to get your mind back on track is a timely dose of carbohydrate. But some carbs are better than others. The low-GI carbs in this healthy mid-afternoon snack, created by Kimberly Day, a triathlete and Founder/Chief Decadence Officer of Decadent Health LLC (www.decadenthealth.com), will fuel your brain longer than a sugary treat.

Energizing Trail Mix
Serving size: ¼ cup

2 cups raw almonds
1 cup raw walnuts
½ cup raw pumpkin seeds
½ cup raw sunflower seeds
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1. Place all ingredients into a plastic bag, seal, and shake well to ensure cinnamon is evenly distributed.
2. Keep bag sealed and in refrigerator to prevent oxidation.

Nutritional Info (per serving): Calories 187, Total fat 16 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Carbs 7 g, Fiber 3 g, Protein 7 g

A sports nutrition technique to get the most out of your half-marathon training, marathon training, or triathlon training

There was a time when coaches withheld water from athletes during training to “toughen them up.” Now we know better. Allowing athletes to become dehydrated in training does nothing except harm their performance. There is, however, new evidence that the old-school logic of toughening up athletes through deprivation may be valid when applied to carbohydrate intake in training.

Recent studies indicate that while consuming carbohydrate during exercise does enhance immediate performance, it can also inhibit some of the body’s beneficial adaptations to training. By contrast, exercising in a carbohydrate-depleted state, which makes workouts tougher for the body, stimulates a stronger fitness-boosting physiological response.
 
Explaining This Sports Nutrition Finding

In a newly published study, researchers from McMaster University showed that, compared to exercise in a state of normal carbohydrate fueling, exercise in a carbohydrate-depleted state might increase the capacity of the muscle cells to burn fuels aerobically by boosting the production of mitochondria. The mitochondria are tiny organelles within muscle cells where aerobic metabolism occurs. Increased mitochondrial density is one of the most important performance-enhancing effects of aerobic exercise.

As part of this new study, ten men performed a workout consisting of 4 x 5 minutes at high intensity on stationary bikes. They completed this workout twice on the same day with three hours of recovery between sessions. One week later, this double-workout protocol was repeated. In the first trial, half the men were given a high carbohydrate drink after the morning workout, while the others were given a zero-calorie placebo drink that ensured the men were in a carbohydrate-depleted state for the second workout. In the second trial, the drinks were switched.

The authors of the study found increased levels of a compound known as p38 MAPK that is involved in mitochondrial biogenesis following the afternoon workouts that were performed in a carbohydrate-depleted state. This finding suggests that p38 MAPK is a nutrient-sensitive signaling molecule that is most active when exercise is performed in a carbohydrate-depleted state.

Further Sports Nutrition Evidence

Other research has shown that exercise in a carbohydrate-depleted state is beneficial in another way. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is an immune system agent and large amounts of it are released into the bloodstream by the muscles and the brain during exercise. IL-6 is believed to facilitate many of the body’s post-workout fitness gains, ranging from increased fat burning capacity to greater resistance to muscle damage.

The primary trigger for IL-6 release during exercise is glycogen (i.e. muscle carbohydrate) depletion. So it follows that training in a glycogen-depleted state will tend to produce stronger training adaptations than training in a glycogen-replete state. Studies have shown that the muscles produce much less IL-6 when carbohydrate is consumed during exercise.

Incorporating Under-Fueling Into Your Endurance Sports Nutrition Plan

Despite the findings of these studies, it would be overreaching to conclude that athletes should consistently avoid consuming carbohydrate during and immediately after workouts. While intentional under-fueling may have the benefit of boosting the body’s fitness response to workouts, there are other benefits that come from consuming carbohydrate during and after workouts—namely, better performance and faster recovery. So, until more research is performed to determine the optimal balance of normally fueled and carbohydrate-depleted workouts, it is probably best only to pick certain workouts to perform in a carbohydrate-depleted state, either by not taking in carbohydrate during them or by not taking in carbohydrate immediately afterward, or both.

Endurance sports nutrition advice for athletes sensitive to wheat

Suddenly it seems as if the phrase “Gluten-Free” is printed on every third product package at the supermarket—or at least the natural foods market. Americans are now reportedly spending $2 billion on gluten-free products. What is gluten, anyway, and why are so many people trying to avoid it?

Gluten is essentially wheat protein. More exactly, it is a composite of two plant proteins and starch that is found in the greatest abundance in wheat and is also present in smaller amounts in other grassy grains such as rye and barley. Between 0.5 and 1 percent of the population experiences an inappropriate immune response to the protein, which causes such symptoms as diarrhea, gastrointestinal complaints, weight loss, and anemia. This condition, known as celiac disease, is genetic. Medical research has identified two gene polymorphisms—known as DQ2 and DQ8—that affect white blood cell behavior in a way that creates a predisposition for the disease.

Running The Numbers

One percent of the population is a small figure. It cannot support the large number of gluten-free products now packing the shelves of health food markets. There is clearly a huge demand for gluten-free foods among people who do not have celiac disease. Why? Because there is a rapidly growing population of people who believe they have a milder condition that is variously referred to as gluten intolerance, gluten sensitivity, and gluten sensitivity enteropathy.

The mainstream medical establishment does not recognize the existence of gluten sensitivity, perhaps largely because it is not even able to detect it. A PubMed search of the term “gluten intolerance” yields only research on celiac disease proper. A search on the term “gluten-sensitivity enteropathy” yields scores of studies, but a closer look reveals that this term is used synonymously with celiac disease within the mainstream medical establishment. For example, in a recent Spanish screening study for gluten sensitivity enteropathy involving 1,868 subjects, only 15 were found to have the condition.

Yet there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that some form of non-celiac gluten sensitivity does exist. The typical gluten-free dieter is someone who discovered a pattern of suffering from gastrointestinal issues after eating gluten-containing foods and found relief upon switching to a gluten-free diet.

The Blame Game

Even recognizing that a non-celiac form of gluten sensitivity does exist, the current gluten-free diet trend is no doubt larger than the true prevalence of gluten sensitivity in the population. In other words, gluten is probably being scapegoated to some degree, perhaps because the preceding low-carb diet trend trained the public to think of grains as evil foods.
 
Lately many parents are even blaming gluten for causing or exacerbating the symptoms of autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in their children. Is there any scientific evidence of such a link? The short answer is no. In a recent Newsweek article on the gluten-free diet trend, Peter Green, director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University, is quoted as saying, “All this gluten intolerance, and using the diet to treat autism, ADHD … there's no documented scientific reason for that at all.” Experts like Green attribute the many anecdotal reports of improvement in autistic and ADHD kids placed on gluten-free diets to a placebo effect.

Gluten and Your Endurance Sports Nutrition Plan

If you suffer from regular GI distress with no known cause, it can’t hurt to try a gluten-free diet. How should you adapt your marathon training diet or triathlete diet? Simply remove all foods containing wheat, rye, and barley from your endurance sports nutrition plan and replace them with alternatives made from corn, rice, millet, etc. This is trickier than it may sound, as gluten is hiding in all kinds of foods where you would not expect to find it, such as some brands of soy sauce. To help you, check out one of the several popular gluten-free diet books currently on the market. But don’t be surprised if you don’t experience any relief, as the balance of evidence suggests that non-celiac gluten sensitivity is more hype than reality.

An endurance sports nutrition recipe to help you meet your performance and weight goals

Just like sedentary folks, endurance athletes often resolve to lose a little weight once the New Year rolls around. That’s because those of us in serious marathon training or triathlon training know that a lean body composition is needed for optimal endurance performance. So, what’s the key to getting leaner? You need to consistently satisfy your appetite without consuming excess calories. This lunch, created by Kimberly Day, a triathlete and Founder/Chief Decadence Officer of Decadent Health LLC (www.decadenthealth.com), provides lasting satisfaction with a modest amount of calories due to its high protein and fiber content. Try it to fill up without filling out.

Chili Out
Makes 4 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups onion, chopped
1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 pound ground turkey
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon marjoram
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cinnamon stick
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
28 ounces black beans, drained
28 ounces tomatoes, chopped and undrained

1. Sauté onion, red pepper, and garlic in olive oil.
2. Add ground turkey and cook until brown.
3. Add cinnamon, paprika, chili powder, cumin, allspice, marjoram, nutmeg, and cinnamon stick and cook 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add salt, pepper, black beans, and tomatoes and simmer 45 minutes.
5. Serve warm.

Nutritional Info (per serving): Calories 459, Total fat 15 g, Cholesterol 90 mg, Carbs 47 g, Fiber 18 g, Protein 34 g

Endurance sports nutrition advice for those who can’t deal with dairy

If you’re lactose intolerant, you probably know it. The most common symptoms are gas, bloating, and stomach pains following the consumption of milk or dairy foods. Some lactose intolerant individuals are able to consume particular dairy foods (i.e. yogurt) without consequences, others are able to consume small amounts of milk and diary foods with minimal discomfort, while still others must completely avoid all dairy products.

What’s the problem?
Lactose intolerance is caused by the body’s inability to produce an enzyme called lactase that is responsible for digesting the natural lactose sugar in milk. When undigested lactose enters the large intestine, it produces the symptoms that every lactose-intolerant individual knows all too well.

Who’s at risk?
With very rare exceptions, nobody is born lactose intolerant. After all, mother’s milk contains lactose, and infants must produce large quantities of lactase to digest it. Lactase production, however, normally drops significantly after the age of weaning. But the amount of that decrease varies significantly between individuals, depending largely on ethnicity. Persons with northern European ancestry tend to continue producing enough lactase to drink milk throughout life, whereas persons of African, Asian, and Native American ancestries typically become lactose intolerant. There are plenty of exceptions, though, and even many who can consume diary foods as young adults develop problems later in life due to a continuing decline in lactase production.

How do you treat it?
Dealing with lactose intolerance is a fairly straightforward matter. Just avoid consuming the dairy foods that give you problems, or limit your consumption of such foods to amounts that do not produce symptoms. It may take a little trial and error to figure out exactly what you can and cannot get away with.

Why should endurance athletes be careful when ditching dairy?
Excluding diary foods from your diet means missing out on the unique combination of nutrients they provide—particularly protein and calcium, which are very important to those in marathon training, triathlon training, or any other endurance sport training. Fortunately, many other foods are rich in protein, such as meat, eggs, fish, and nuts. But when it comes to calcium, dairy foods contain much greater amounts of the mineral than almost any other foods. The average American already gets significantly less than the recommended amount of calcium per day (1,000 mg for men and 1,300 mg for women), and if you do not consume any dairy foods due to lactose intolerance, it is even more likely that your calcium intake will fall short—unless you make a consistent effort to get calcium from other sources.

Which calcium sources are best for lactose intolerant individuals?
The top non-dairy natural sources of calcium are sardines (324 mg per serving), tofu (138 mg per serving), and dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach (120 mg per serving). You can get additional calcium from fortified foods and beverages, including many breads and breakfast cereals and some juices. Read labels to find out whether specific products are calcium fortified. Finally, for insurance, you can take a daily calcium supplement or multivitamin-multimineral with calcium.

Boost your sports nutrition program with supplements

Still wondering if dietary supplements should be part of your marathon training diet or triathlon training diet? Well, at the beginning of this year we reported on a survey by the European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance that stated that 90 percent of the 11,000-plus athletes who participated in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics used one or more nutritional supplements in their training. And now as the year comes to an end, we bring you more news of support for the use of nutritional supplements. According to new research from the “Life…supplemented” 2009 Healthcare Professionals (HCP) Impact Study, eight out of 10 registered dietitians say they believe dietary supplements are important for maintaining optimal health.

Eighty-one percent of the registered dietitians who were surveyed acknowledged that most people don’t eat perfectly, which results in nutritional gaps that could be bridged by taking vitamins or other dietary supplements. Most of these dietitians (nine out of 10) said they take nutritional supplements themselves and recommend them to their clients, particularly for improved bone health and for overall health and wellness.

Of course, when it comes to cultivating optimal health and peak athletic performance, there is still no substitute for a healthy diet and a sensible training plan. But these two studies certainly demonstrate the confidence both elite athletes and dietitians have in using nutritional supplements in conjunction with diet and exercise to promote prime health and well-being.

Endurance sports nutrition advice for vegetarians

Some endurance athletes are vegetarian for ethical reasons, others for health reasons, and still others because they just don’t like meat. Whatever your reason may be for going vegetarian, you will want to pursue it in a way that helps rather than hurts your marathon training or triathlon training. Luckily there are many successful vegetarian endurance athletes who offer proof that performing well on a meatless diet is possible. For example, Spanish triathlete Eneko Llanos went vegetarian as a teenager, and it did not stop him from winning two XTERRA World Championship titles and placing second in the 2008 Hawaii Ironman.

The key to working vegetarianism into a successful endurance sports nutrition plan is to make sure your diet includes abundant plant (and supplemental) sources of a few key nutrients: protein, calcium, iron, and vitamin B12.

Protein

Meats, fish, eggs, and dairy products contain much more protein than plant foods. The proteins in animal foods are also more complete and readily used by the body. The protein needs of endurance athletes, however, are relatively low: up to about 20 percent of total calories. That amount is sufficient to promote muscle recovery and enable the muscles to adapt to training. As a lacto-ovo vegetarian, you can easily get this much protein by eating fish, eggs, and/or dairy foods.

If you are a strict vegetarian, though, be sure that your diet includes higher-protein plant foods such as beans, nuts, and seeds. Soybeans are the best protein source among plant foods. Also consider drinking soy protein shakes after workouts, when your protein demands are the greatest because of the need for proper muscle recovery.

Calcium

The recommended daily intake of calcium is 1,000 to 1,300 mg. The average adult consumes only 500 to 700 mg daily. The major consequence of this common deficiency is weakening of the bones, which increases the risk of stress fractures in runners and other athletes. Some research even suggests that calcium deficiency contributes to weight gain.
 
As everyone knows, dairy foods are the best sources of calcium. If you do not include dairy foods in your diet, you need to be sure that you get enough calcium from other sources. Alternative natural food sources of calcium include spinach, collard greens, salmon, and tofu. Many breakfast cereals and bread products are also fortified with calcium. For insurance, consider taking a calcium supplement to meet the recommended daily intake.
 
Iron

A study by researchers at Ball State University compared iron levels in vegetarian and non-vegetarian runners and found that iron levels were much lower in the vegetarians. The reason is that animal foods and plant foods contain different types of iron (heme and non-heme, respectively), and the heme iron in animal foods is much more bioavailable. Iron deficiency is common in endurance athletes, and if you are a vegetarian you may be at even greater risk.

Apricots, baked beans, peas, and spinach are among the plant foods with relatively high concentrations of iron. But again, they are all non-heme iron sources, so they may not provide enough. It’s a good idea to get your iron levels checked by a physician. If they are normal, you can continue eating as you have been with confidence. If they are low, your doctor may advise you to take an iron supplement.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is important for red blood cell formation, and, of course, endurance athletes need as many red blood cells as they can get for oxygen transport during exercise. Animal foods contain plenty of vitamin B12, while plant foods contain almost none in its active form. Therefore, vegetarians are bound to be B12 deficient unless they eat fortified foods such as cereals and breads or take a B12 supplement. The daily requirement is 2 to 6 micrograms.

An endurance sports nutrition recipe to help you meet your performance and weight goals
 
Sometimes when you’re in half-marathon training, marathon training, or triathlon training it seems like you’re hungry all the time. And that can be a hard thing to deal with if you are trying to maintain your optimal racing weight. So to keep those hunger pangs at bay—and reduce the amount of mindless nibbling resulting from those hunger pangs—beef up your breakfast. Research has shown that eating a substantial breakfast (as opposed to a small breakfast or no breakfast) reduces appetite for the rest of the day and consequently results in fewer total calories consumed throughout the day. The following breakfast, created by Kimberly Day, a triathlete and Founder/Chief Decadence Officer of Decadent Health LLC (www.decadenthealth.com), will give you lasting satisfaction and help you manage your weight for peak performance.

Fabulous Fritatta
Makes 2 servings

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cups red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups broccoli flowerets
1 teaspoon dill
½ teaspoon sea salt
Black pepper to taste
1/3 cup feta cheese
½ avocado, sliced

1. Heat oil in 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion, peppers, and mushrooms. Cook until soft.
3. Add eggs, broccoli, dill, salt, pepper, and feta. Stir often and cook until eggs are done.
4. Divide mixture equally between two plates and top each with ¼ avocado.
5. Serve warm.

Nutritional Info (per serving): Calories 402, Total fat 27 g, Cholesterol 396 mg, Carbs 24 g, Fiber 7 g, Protein 20 g

An endurance sports nutrition recipe to help boost immunity

’Tis the season when everyone becomes preoccupied with finding ways to ward off the latest cold and flu bugs. And hard-training endurance athletes need to make a special effort to stay healthy this time of year, since marathon training, triathlon training, and the like present additional immune-system stresses. But instead of searching your medicine chest for ways to build your defenses, why not raid your refrigerator? The following dinner, created by Kimberly Day, a triathlete and Founder/Chief Decadence Officer of Decadent Health LLC (www.decadenthealth.com), is packed with nutrients that will keep you healthy: loads of vegetables to boost immune function; protein to rebuild muscle, joint, and bone tissue, prevent injuries, and speed muscle recovery; and omega-3 fatty acids for heart health. Eat up and stay healthy!

Seafood Bonanza
Makes 4 servings

4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
4 carrots, sliced
4 stalks celery, sliced
1 red onion, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 cups tomato, diced
3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 pound halibut, cut in ½-inch cubes
1 pound sea bass, cut in ½-inch cubes
½ pound shrimp, peeled and halved
3 zucchini, sliced
1 tablespoon herbes de province
1 teaspoon thyme

1. Heat olive oil in a large stock pot.
2. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and cook until tender.
3. Add tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for thirty minutes.
5. Add halibut, sea bass, shrimp, zucchini, herbes de province, and thyme.
6. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily.
7. Serve warm.

Nutritional Info (per serving): Calories 469, Total fat 11 g, Cholesterol 169 mg, Carbs 23 g, Fiber 9 g, Protein 68 g

Endurance sports nutrition advice for calorie-conscious athletes

There’s no doubt that long marathon training runs and two-a-day triathlon training workouts burn lots of calories. Heck, one reason why some of us train as much as we do is because we can then eat more than our couch-potato counterparts.

That said, it’s still a lot easier to eat 100 calories (four Hershey’s Kisses) than it is to run them off (at least one mile). So those in marathon training, triathlon training, and any other endurance sport training still have to be aware of approximately how much fuel they are taking in on a daily basis. And the easiest way to monitor your food intake is to be able to size up serving sizes at a glance. Use the following visual cues to help you calculate how many servings of any given food you might be taking in at your next meal or snack.

• One serving of fresh fruit or vegetables is about the size of a tennis ball.
• A quarter-cup of dried fruit is about the size of a golf ball.
• Three ounces of cooked meat or fish is about the size of a deck of cards or your palm.
• One ounce of block cheese is about the size of your thumb or a tube of lipstick.
• One cup of flaky cereal or one ounce of snack foods like chips and pretzels would fit in your two hands cupped together.
• One ounce of nuts will fit in one cupped hand.
• One serving of grains is about one-half of a bagel that is the size of a hockey puck.
• One tablespoon of oil or salad dressing is about the same size as a checker or the width of your two thumbs side-by-side.

Important endurance sports nutrition advice

You see them in every gym: those whose primary fitness goal is to build as much muscle as possible. The telltale signs are the heavy free weights they lift and the big protein shakes they guzzle.

Few endurance athletes are interested in building bigger muscles. After all, muscles are heavy, and in most endurance activities, such as half-marathon training, marathon training, or triathlon training, excess body weight is the enemy of performance. And while strength is certainly beneficial to endurance performance, it is possible to get all the strength you need to swim, bike, or run your best from lean, lithe muscles.

Nevertheless, there are some instances when building muscle is a worthy objective for endurance athletes. For example, sometimes I am entirely focused on running, other times on triathlon training. My optimal triathlon racing weight is about 10 pounds greater than my optimal running racing weight. I swim better when I have a little more upper body muscle and cycle better when I have a little more leg muscle than I need for running. Thus, when I transition from a run-focus period to a triathlon-focus period, I make a conscious effort to add muscle to my body.

The Science of Muscle Building

Based on what you see bodybuilders doing at the gym, you might assume that, at those times when I am trying to build muscle, I lift heavy weights and consume large amounts of protein. But research has shown that, while lifting heavy weights is an absolute requirement for building muscle, eating lots of protein is not.

In a new study from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, researchers fed 4-oz and 12-oz portions of meat to adult volunteers and measured subsequent rates of muscle protein synthesis. They found that the rate of muscle protein synthesis was no higher after the 12-oz portion was eaten than after the 4-oz portion was eaten. In case you don’t know, a 4-oz portion of meat is probably smaller than what most of us normally eat for dinner.

This study did not involve any weightlifting. Perhaps weightlifting increases protein requirements and makes those protein shakes necessary. Or maybe not. Research by Mike Rennie, one of the world’s foremost researchers in this area, determined that whole-body protein synthesis achieves its maximum rate at a protein intake level of 1.4 g/kg body weight daily in weightlifters. This is higher than the government’s recommended daily allowance—but not higher than the protein intake level of the average American. Other research by Rennie showed that a single dose of 10 g of essential amino acids is sufficient to maximize acute muscle protein synthesis. That’s the amount of essential amino acids in a glass of skim milk.

Forget the Protein Powders

Based on such studies, protein researcher Stuart Phillips of McMaster University in Canada concluded, “At present there is no evidence to suggest that supplements are required for optimal muscle growth or strength gain. Strength-trained athletes should consume protein consistent with general population guidelines, or 12% to 15% of energy from protein.”

The average American already gets roughly 18 percent of calories from protein. So if you should ever decide to add a little muscle to your body, start lifting heavy weights and just keep eating the way you’re eating.