Boost Your Body

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When you’re training hard, especially in the build-up to a target race, it is often the combination of intense training and inadequate nutrition that decreases your athletic performance, and this will also create a higher risk of illness frequency. Therefore, take some of this advice into consideration in the next few months, especially as the flu season hits the country just as you want to take on your Two Oceans or Comrades runs feeling in tip top shape.

HEALTH CHECK LIST

Start by keeping a simple health check-list for yourself, and make sure you meet all these requirements:

• Get enough rest: Incorporate sufficient rest days in your training programme and ensure adequate sleep for at least seven hours per night.

• Avoid crash-dieting and rapid weight-loss: Chronically undersupplying energy, often done by athletes, compromises the immune cell activity. It is important to time meals to meet requirements. Even a subtle delay in food consumption after training may have negative effects. For example, to prevent the degradation of the immune system, ensure that within an hour after strenuous training there is a sufficient intake of energy (carbohydrate and protein) to avoid hypoglycaemia.

• Plan your meals: Organising your daily food intake is of great importance to ensure that the correct foods are consumed in order to meet the nutritional goals for optimal training, recovery and competition.

• Get the essentials: Having an adequate dietary intake of protein and specific micronutrients, including vitamins A, C, E, B6 and B12 along with iron, zinc, copper and selenium, are all critical factors for the maintenance of optimum immune function. Probiotics also play an important role in enhancing gut and immune function, minimising the risk of illnesses that may compromise athletic performance. The important question for athletes is whether or not supplemental form or mega doses of these nutrients are beneficial. Athletes should rather invest in nutrient-rich foods and fluids that are critical for maintaining immune system health, which will provide them with sufficient energy, vitamins, minerals and other important chemicals found naturally in food.

HEALTHY TIPS TO USE

So that’s all the theory, and here are a few examples of putting it all into good practice:

• Include high-fibre carbohydrates such as whole-wheat, multi-grain or low-GI seeded breads, fibre-rich cereals (or add oat bran to meals), brown-rice or whole-wheat pasta.

• Select a wide variety of fruits and vegetables which are packed with nutrients, and keep your plate colourful – the more colour, the better! Fresh fruit makes a good choice snack between training sessions, and make sure you include the peels and skins of the fruit and vegetables to increase your fibre intake, too.

• Include dairy such as milk, cheese and yoghurt that contains probiotics.

• Consume whole-foods instead of processed foods.

While these nutritional tips cannot guarantee that you will not catch a cold, or worse, pick up the flu, as your training hits its peak this time of year, by eating healthier you will give yourself a much bigger chance of staying on the road instead of staying in bed!

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