Tag: exercise

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Running is great exercise. A dietitian talks about what runners should eat ― and when ― for optimal nutrition and performance. @HopkinsMedicine

If you run regularly, whether it’s an easy jog around the block to stay fit or an intense training regimen to prepare for a marathon, you need proper nutrition.

Here are some tips to help keep runners well-nourished and ready to win.

Foods for Runners and Joggers

A good diet can boost your physical health and help you meet your fitness goals. Make sure your meals emphasize the following basic components:

  • Fruit and vegetables for vitamins, minerals and antioxidants
  • Lean protein such as fish, poultry, beans, lentils and tofu
  • Healthy fats such as olive oil, avocado and nuts
  • Healthy carbohydrates such as rice, whole grain breads/pastas and oatmeal

Individuals may have different optimal balances, but in general, people who include running or jogging as part of their fitness regimen should get 60% to 70% of their calories from carbohydrates, with lean protein and healthy fats each accounting for 15% to 20% of their remaining calories.

Don’t skimp on carbohydrates

Although low carbohydrate diets are popular go-to’s for people wanting to lose weight, they’re not ideal for distance runners, who thrive on carbohydrates for endurance.

That is why very low carbohydrate diets, such as the ketogenic diet, plus running is not a good idea. Experts do not recommend keto to runners unless they have been told by their doctor that this a medically safe option for them and they are being monitored while in ketosis.

Distance runners need more carbs than people who aren’t training. Undereating carbohydrates can be hard on your body and affect your recovery after your run.

Here’s why: Running uses both glucose in the blood and your stores of glycogen. Glucose is the form of sugar that circulates in the bloodstream, and glycogen is the sugar stored in your liver and muscles that acts as the primary fuel for endurance exercise.

Eating plenty of carbs helps ensure that these energy stores are ready to support your training. When those stores get too low, runners are more likely to run out of energy and “burn out” or “hit a wall” while training.

Running Diet — Vitamins and Minerals

Running changes your body and your nutritional needs. Often when people start a running regimen, they are trying to lose weight or get in shape quickly, and they don’t realize they need to adjust their diet.

Especially in women runners, dietitians report seeing a tendency to overdo the running while not eating enough, and this can have an effect on health if they do not adequately replenish lost vitamins and minerals in their diet.

For women in particular, calcium and vitamin D are essential for bone health to avoid loss of bone mineral density and the risk of stress fractures.

For more vitamin D, include these foods in your meals:

  • Vitamin D-fortified dairy and almond, soy or rice based beverages
  • Eggs
  • Cereal fortified with vitamin D
  • Tuna
  • Salmon

For more calcium, try:

  • Yogurt and cheese
  • Tofu
  • Edamame
  • Almonds
  • Canned fish with bones (such as sardines)

Iron deficiency can affect women and even have an impact on their running performance. Menstruation puts people at higher risk of iron deficiency, and if iron isn’t replenished in the diet, decreases in hemoglobin can occur and bring on anemia. Hemoglobin is what carries oxygen throughout the body, including the muscles, so if there is a deficit, the muscles may feel the effect of insufficient oxygen during exercise.

Iron-rich foods include:

  • Poultry and other meat
  • Legumes, such as peas and beans
  • Dark, leafy green vegetables such as kale
  • Dried fruits and raisins
  • Iron-fortified breads and cereals

Dietitians recommend eating eating iron rich foods in combination with foods high in vitamin C, such as citrus, bell peppers or berries, since vitamin C helps increase the body’s absorption of iron.

What to Eat Before Running ― and When

The best time to eat a full meal is about two to three hours before you hit the road, track or trail. Have a good source of carbs paired with protein, making sure the meal focuses on a healthy carb source.

If it’s been more than three to four hours since you’ve eaten, a carbohydrate-rich snack a half-hour before running can ensure you have adequate glucose available before you head out. Directly before a run, it’s best to stick with easy-to-digest carbohydrates to avoid gastrointestinal [GI] distress such as cramping or diarrhea.

Try these:

  • Bananas
  • Applesauce
  • Crackers, pretzels or cereal
  • White bread
  • Potatoes

Glucose Boosters for Long Distance Runners

If you are training for a marathon or distance event and are going to be out for over an hour, you will want to bring some fuel with you. Energy drinks, gel tubes and other sources of quick blood-glucose boosters are available, but you can also use something as simple as fruit snacks.

Try practicing with these items as you train so you can pick the formulas that are best for you, and you can work on accessing and ingesting them smoothly without breaking stride.

What foods should runners avoid?

Before a run or the night before a big race, Eidel recommends going easy on:

  • Spicy foods or foods overly high in fat, which can cause GI upset
  • Foods that are very high in fiber, which can cause gas and cramping
  • Caffeine ― Although it is tempting to grab a caffeine boost right before a run, runners should remember that for some people, caffeine can stimulate the GI tract, which can result in diarrhea or the need for an emergency bathroom break

Does carb-loading work?

It might. Carb loading is the practice of eating a lot of carbohydrates ― particularly those that are easily absorbed, such as white bread, pasta and rice ― for 24 to 48 hours before a big race or distance run, to shore up your body’s stores of glycogen and lessen the risk of burnout before finishing the event.

Some studies show carb loading is beneficial for people preparing for a race, but it’s important to make sure during that time you’re also allowing your body to rest and giving it time to store what you are ingesting. The number of carbohydrate grams will be differ from person to person, but in general, evidence shows carb loading can be beneficial prior to a distance event.

In contrast, casual runners likely do not need to carb load. Ensuring that their day-to-day diets include extra carbohydrates can be sufficient.

What to Eat After a Run

It’s common for people not to feel hungry after a run, but a snack or light meal of complex carbohydrates and protein within the first hour after running can help replenish glycogen stores and to support recovery and rebuild stressed muscles. For example:

  • Peanut butter and banana
  • Egg on toast
  • Sandwich with deli meat
  • Pasta with meat or plant-based protein
  • Veggie burger on a bun
  • Protein shake or smoothie

Running to Lose Weight

If you’re interested in running as part of a weight loss plan, getting adequate nutrition is a must. Even casual running or jogging burns calories and can be hard on the body. Runners can become undernourished at first because they don’t understand how much energy they’re burning when they run and what they need to properly recover.

Eating enough is also essential to building muscles, which can aid in fat burning ― a plus for people working on achieving or maintaining a healthy weight.

For optimal weight loss, your plan should not rely on running alone but also include strength training and proper nutrition.

Listen to your body

If you run regularly, you should pay attention to the effects of what you eat and when, especially on running performance. Learning what works best for you can take some time and a little trial and error, but it is worth it, since running, jogging and other regular aerobic exercise offers so many health advantages.

Always feel free to consult a dietitian or doctor, and listen to your body if you’re not keeping up with your training goals.

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English peas in pod pasta recipe with mint and grated Parmigiano Reggiano.@ClevelandClinic #heartaware

There is something special about using fresh peas straight out of the pod. This recipe was inspired by our root-to-stem philosophy of cooking: It always seems like such a waste to throw away the pea pods, but they are relatively inedible. To make use of the pods, we’ve pureed them into a spring-fresh pasta sauce. Remember: Pasta for breakfast is a great choice, especially when it’s loaded with healthful pea protein.

Ingredients

Kosher salt
1 pound fresh English peas in pods (yields about 1 cup shelled peas and about 3 ½ cups pods)
½ cup water
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 small spring onions or 2 large shallots, chopped
2 small spring garlic (whites) or 3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt (optional)
12 ounces whole grain pasta, such as linguine, rigatoni or small shells
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup fresh mint (peppermint preferred), thinly sliced
Espelette pepper to taste (optional)
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (optional)

Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add enough salt to make it salty like the sea.
  2. Meanwhile, wash the peas. Pull off the stem ends: remove the peas and place in a small bowl. Reserve the pods.
  3. Fill a bowl with cold water. Set aside. Add the empty pea pods to the pot of boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or spider, remove the pods from the boiling water and transfer to the bowl of cold water to cool quickly. Drain the pea pods and add to a Vitamix or high-speed blender. Add ½ cup water. Puree for 2 to 3 minutes.
  4. Place a fine strainer over a bowl and add the pea pod puree to the strainer, pressing on the solids to release as much puree as possible into the bowl. Discard the solids in the strainer. Reserve the puree in the bowl; season to taste with salt and pepper.
  5. Cook the pasta in the pot of boiling water until al dente, stirring occasionally.
  6. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the peas and cook 2 minutes. Stir in the reserved pea pod puree and Greek yogurt, if using, and cook just until heated through. (Don’t overcook the peas or puree as the sauce will turn brown).
  7. Using tongs or a spider, transfer the pasta to the sauce in the skillet. Toss until combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer the pasta to the serving bowl. Add the basil and mint. Serve with Espelette pepper and grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, if using.

Nutritional info (per serving)

Makes 4 servings.

Calories: 554 kcal
Total fiber: 12 g
Soluble fiber: 0.1 g
Protein: 15.5 g
Total fat: 16.7 g
Saturated fat: 2.0 g
Healthy fats: 12.1 g
Carbohydrates: 84 g
Sugars: 7.7 g
Added sugars: 0 g
Sodium: 178 mg
Potassium: 433 mg
Magnesium: 14 mg
Calcium: 134 mg

Source: The What to Eat When Cookbook by Michael F. Roizen, MD, Michael Crupain, MD, MPH and Jim Perko, Sr, CEC, AAC.

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Researchers don’t know as much about the direct effects of long-term stress on blood pressure.  But they do know that stress can impact lifestyle habits and increase your risk of heart disease and other chronic health issues. Luke Laffin, MD. @ClevelandClinic

How Stress Is Linked to High Blood Pressure

Daily stressors can increase BP in the moment, as well as contribute to habits that can feed long-term hypertension

Feeling stressed? If so, you’re hardly alone, given that stress has been called the health epidemic of the 21st century. But have you ever wondered what all this stress means for your blood pressure?

The answer, it turns out, is more complex than you might think. Let’s take a closer look with preventive cardiologist Luke Laffin, MD.

Does stress raise blood pressure?

Stressful moments can totally send your blood pressure (BP) skyrocketing. You feel it deep in your core, too, as your heart thumps harder and your nerves jangle with a fight-or-flight response.

“If we’re in a stressful situation, the normal physiologic response is to increase blood pressure,” explains Dr. Laffin. “But your body can handle these sorts of acute changes in blood pressure pretty well.”

And once the immediate stressor is gone, your BP should return to its typical level.

Of course, not all stress clocks out like it’s a shift worker. Chronic stress tends to linger — and that can contribute to a long list of physical symptoms, including high blood pressure (hypertension).

The connection between stress and hypertension

Researchers don’t know as much about the direct effects of long-term stress on blood pressure. But they do know that stress can impact lifestyle habits and increase your risk of heart disease and other chronic health issues.

“Stress itself doesn’t necessarily cause sustained elevations in blood pressure,” says Dr. Laffin. “But it often has an impact on lifestyle factors, which can absolutely contribute to long-term elevations in blood pressure.”

When you’re chronically stressed, you can fall into habits that can lead to higher blood pressure and increase your risk of heart disease. These include:

  • Sleeping too little, too much or poorly
  • Not exercising as much
  • Make unhealthy food choices
  • Smoking
  • Drinking alcohol

It can be difficult to see when acute stress transitions to chronic stress. But seemingly “temporary” stressors that last for weeks can turn into chronic stressors that need to be addressed for the sake of your heart health.

“What we’re really worried about is chronically elevated blood pressure,” states Dr. Laffin.

Can lowering stress lower your BP?

Finding ways to better manage your stress can help keep your blood pressure from rising and staying at elevated levels, suggests Dr. Laffin. He suggests:

  • Focusing on fitness: “Working out regularly is a great way to feel better, decrease stress levels and better adapt to difficult situations,” says Dr. Laffin. The positive effects of exercise on heart health are also important for your blood pressure.
  • Catching ZZZs: The quantity and quality of your sleep matter for your BP. “For stable blood pressure, you need to get about six to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep at night,” he advises.
  • Minimizing stressors: To reduce stress, you need to address its causes. Of course, that can be easier said than done when stressors involve your job or family. In these cases, additional steps, like therapy, may help you find coping strategies.
  • Adopting a heart-healthy diet: Foods high in sodium and saturated fats can increase blood pressure even before you add stress to the mix. Embracing a Mediterranean-style diet and eating more antioxidant-rich foods can help keep your BP down.
  • Calming techniques: Various forms of meditation can help you calm your mind and tamp down stress. There’s evidence that mindfulness-based stress reduction can lower BP within a few months.

Medications like beta-blockers may also be an option if stress seems to be driving blood pressure into danger zones. Antihypertensives can help bring down high blood pressure, too.

“But managing stress-related hypertension usually comes down to lifestyle,” clarifies Dr. Laffin. “Diet, exercise, sleep — those are all factors that play a big role in keeping your heart healthy.”

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A delicious Greek appetizer with our healthier twist! @ClevelandClinic #spanakopitas

This savory Greek appetizer is usually made with a lot of butter and a lot of feta cheese, which is delicious, but not really heart-healthy. Our just-as-delicious recipe offers a lighter, heart-healthier alternative!

Ingredients

  • Olive oil cooking spray
  • 1 small onion, minced
  • One 10-ounce package frozen, chopped spinach
  • 1/3 cup crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
  • 1/4 cup 1% cottage cheese
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 1 tablespoon egg substitute
  • 5 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
  • Refrigerated butter-flavored cooking spray

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Coat a baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray.
  2. Coat a large nonstick skillet with olive oil cooking spray. Add the onion and spinach; saute over medium-high heat until the spinach is thawed and the onion begins to wilt, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir frequently to break up clumps of spinach. Add the feta and cottage cheese along with the nutmeg, dill, pepper and egg substitute; mix well. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.
  3. Cut the phyllo dough into four lengthwise strips, covering the dough you’re not using with a damp tea towel so it doesn’t dry out. Coat each strip with the butter-flavored spray. Place a tablespoon of spinach mix on top of a strip of dough and fold over to make a triangle; continue folding over as if folding a flag. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat, using all the remaining phyllo and filling. Coat each triangle with the butter-flavored spray. Bake for about 20 minutes, until browned. Serve warm.

Nutrition information (per serving)

Makes 20 pieces (10 servings/2 pieces serving)

Calories: 50
Total fat: 1.5 g
Protein: 3 g
Carbohydrate: 7 g
Dietary fiber: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 180 mg
Potassium: 60 mg

— Cleveland Clinic Healthy Heart Lifestyle Guide and Cookbook (© 2007 Broadway Books).

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Why a strong core is important + exercises to try. @ClevelandClinic

cleveland evrything starts wit your core

If you’re planning to start an exercise program and wondering where to begin, start with your core first, says physical therapist Brittany Smith, DPT. People often think of the core muscles as being the abdominal muscles, but the core includes the muscles in the abdomen, back and hips, all working together as a group.

“The core muscles provide stability for the entire body as it moves,” says Smith. “These muscles are activated when you stand up, turn, bend, reach, twist, stoop and move in most other ways. Everything starts with your core.”

Strong core muscles help you maintain good posture, while weak ones can lead to slouching and slumping. Poor posture can be a cause of aches and pain, especially in the back.

Getting started with your core

To get your core muscles in shape, you need to exercise.

“Our bodies were made to move, so any physical activity is really important,” says Smith.

She recommends these specific core-strengthening exercises below.

The first one engages the deep muscles in the abdomen, called the transverse abdominis. “These muscles help hold us in a better position to stabilize our core, thereby stabilizing our arms and legs,” says Smith.

“The more you work on these muscles, the more it will become second nature to hold these muscles tight when you’re lifting grocery bags, doing yard work or any other kind of physical activity,” says Smith. This will help support your body.

Other muscles that tend to be weak are the gluteus maximus in the buttocks, and the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus on the side of the hip. The bridge and clamshell exercises can help strengthen these muscles.

Smith emphasizes that getting the proper position of these exercises correct is more important than the number of repetitions you do. “It’s better to take your time, maybe do fewer reps, but with better quality,” she says. For that reason, it can be helpful to have the guidance of a physical therapist to get started.

Move on from the core

Core exercises are the starting point of overall fitness because you need to hold those muscles engaged while you strengthen other muscles, such as the biceps in the arms or the quadriceps in the legs.

Smith suggests setting short-term goals (for about a month) and then more long-term goals. Once you have achieved short-term goals, such as getting around more easily, add other types of weight-training or resistance exercises to build muscle elsewhere.

With any exercise you do, always listen to your body, warns Smith. If you have pain other than muscle burn, take it easy. Reduce the number of repetitions, the weight or the duration of the exercises. Then build up gradually. “You don’t have to be in pain to make gains,” she says.

Beginner exercises for core strength

For each of the following, work up to one to two sets of 10 to 15 repetitions once a day.

Abdominal bracing

Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Contract your abdominal muscles, and press the arch of your back down toward the floor, pulling your belly button toward your spine. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds. Make sure your lower back stays flat on the floor. Relax and repeat.

Bridge

Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor with your arms at your sides. Squeeze your abdominal and buttocks muscles, push your heels into the floor and slowly lift your buttocks and hips off the floor. Keep your back straight. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds.

Clamshell

Lie on your side with knees bent in line with your hips and back, draw up the top knee while keeping contact of your feet together as shown. Don’t let your pelvis roll back during the lifting movement. Hold for 5 seconds.

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