Four eating fixes for healthy running
Myth-busting some commonly held habits
If you struggle with your weight, it can be tempting to listen to the latest fads, supplements and supposed super foods promising weight loss. New scientific research clears up a few common misconceptions.
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The truth about added fibre
Foods naturally high in fibre (beans and legumes, whole grain foods, fruits and vegetables), take longer to digest because insoluble fibres take time to mulch, while soluble fibres hold water and move slowly through your gut. These two actions make you feel full while your body works – and this fullness can slow how quickly you reach for another food.
Yet food companies have taken this idea and run a little too far with it – added fibres don’t seem to work in the same way as naturally occurring fibres do.
In a study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, researchers from the University of Minnesota challenged the idea that added fibre aids fullness. Participants ate two meals a day as a low-fibre snack bar or one that contained 10 grams of added fibre. The added fibre bars ended up having no impact on how full the participants felt.
Instead of buying fibre-added processed foods, go natural. Stick to whole grains, include lots of vegeta- bles and fruit throughout the day, and make beans a regular menu item.
Drink milk and lift weights
There’s a reason why the majority of protein powders available are whey-based. Whey is affordable and it works. But even more effective than protein powder is the original source of that whey: good old fashioned milk. With protein, B-vitamins, carbohydrates and vitamin D, this nutritionally balanced food really is the best recovery drink.
In a Medicine and Sport Science review on the effect of resistance exercise and milk consumption on weight loss, researchers from McMaster University detail a beautiful relationship: women who lift weights and drink milk increase lean mass and decrease fat mass more than women who don’t.
To build muscle mass and lose weight, choose regular milk over chocolate milk. If milk bothers your belly, choose lower lactose dairy products like plain yogurt or aged cheese. Whey protein has less lactose than milk, and whey protein isolate has none.
Fuel your run with slow release carbs
If you’ve managed to ignore the popular demonization of this essential nutrient, the carbohydrate conundrum may get even more confusing. Some recommendations advise you to eat high glycemic index (GI) carbs – white bread, sugary drinks – in your pre-run meals because they are digested quickly and the energy is easier to access in comparison to low GI foods. Yet high GI foods are less satisfying – making you hungry sooner than you want to be.
But a study from the University of Saskatchewan and published in the British Journal of Nutrition pokes some holes in this long-practiced recommendation.
Participants ate either a low GI or a high GI meal two hours before and one hour after performing two 90 minute running workouts, separated by a three-hour break, over two days. Researchers found no difference
Run fast, but eat slow
In a 2011 study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers in New Zealand looked at the eating speed of 2,500 women and their body mass indexes. Faster eating rates were clearly associated with higher body mass indices. The same is true for men. In a 2012 study from the journal Metabolism, faster eaters had higher BMIs and greater risk of diabetes.
Unfortunately, our environment doesn’t favour slow meal times. Taking longer lunch breaks however, may just be the answer in your weight loss dilemmas. Slow eating gives your body the chance to know when it’s full. You’ll also be more aware the sensory features of food – not just taste, but smell, texture and sound – giving you more pleasure with fewer bites.
By Bobbi Barbarich
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