MICHELLE LAU

Do you find that after a good night’s sleep, not only do your run seems smoother, you also tend to make wiser, more nutritious food choices? It turns out sleep affects the body’s muscle and body fat levels. Inadequate sleep can lower the body’s muscle mass and can result in extra visceral fat around the middle because during sleep, particularly REM sleep, the body repairs and builds muscle while also breaking down fat for energy. Without enough quality sleep, the body might not be able to build as much of muscle or burn as much fat. Moreover, it causes hormone imbalances that negatively influence our dietary choices.

Studies have found that lack of sleep can cause leptin (the fullness hormone) levels in the body to drop, while increasing the ghrelin (the hunger hormone) levels. Given the hormone imbalance, it’s not surprising that we are more prone to food cravings and tend to consume higher fat foods when we are sleep deprived and thereby increasing the number of calories we consume. In addition, sleep is known to affect concentration, decision-making, and mood, all of which can play into the types of foods we incorporate into our daily diet. What's more? Stress hormones are also influenced by sleep habits. While deep sleep neutralizes stress hormones, lack of sleep triggers the release of stress hormones like cortisol, increasing the risk of heart disease, midsection fat accumulation, and muscle breakdown.

Sleep and nutrition in athletes is an often overlooked aspect of recovery and performance. Chronic sleep loss can negatively impact glucose metabolism, leading to increased risk of obesity and insulin resistance. Moreover, glucose metabolism also affects glycogen synthesis, which is important for sports such as running. Sleep deprivation can also affect the secretion of hormones, an increase in catabolic hormone and a decrease in anabolic hormones, that play a role in protein synthesis, resulting in impaired recovery, training adaptations, and body composition. While quality sleep has positive effects specifically on athletic performance, a lack of sleep is detrimental to performance. Mentally, sleep deprivation reduces the ability to react quickly and think clearly, increases risk of injury and negative performance.

Nourish for Better Sleep

Melatonin
Did you know? You don’t necessarily need to pop a pill to get a dose of melatonin? Melatonin is a hormone that our bodies make naturally to help us regulate day and night. When melatonin rises in the body, we start to feel sleepy. We can get a boost of this sleep inducer by eating a variety of plant foods like walnuts, tart cherries, grapes, tomatoes, and oats.

Magnesium
Not only does magnesium regulate muscle and nerve function, it also plays a large role in sleep regulation. It is a natural relaxant that helps our brain and body relax and prime us to sleep as it acts on a similar pathway in our brain as anti-anxiety drugs. This essential mineral is found naturally in many foods such as leafy greens, whole grains, nuts, seeds, whole grains, pulses, and dark chocolate.

Tryptophan
Tryptophan is an amino acid – one of the building blocks of protein. It's the precursor to our body’s serotonin production and the neurotransmitter serotonin is a precursor to the hormone melatonin, which is important for the body’s internal clock to regulate our sleep wake cycles. This nutrient can be found in turkey, chicken, eggs, sweet potatoes, chia seeds, hemp seeds, bananas, and dairy products (low fat, please!).

Vitamin B (B6)
This essential vitamin helps to modulate our body’s stress response and relax our nervous system. It helps in converting tryptophan into serotonin, a neurotransmitter that regulates the sleep/ wake cycle. Good sources of vitamin B6 include bananas, yogurt (sugar-free, please!), avocados, fish, tomatoes, spinach, and eggs.

Carbohydrate
Carbohydrate intake can increase the amount of the amino acid tryptophan and, therefore, can promote a better night of sleep. Moreover, carbohydrate-containing foods, complex carbohydrate in particular, are a great source of fiber. The fiber content of plant based foods, which, in addition to benefits like improving digestion to help prevent heart disease, is also a major player in stepping up sleep quality - studies show that greater fibre intake led to more time spent in the stage of deep, slow wave sleep. Aim to fill at least half of your plate with plant-based foods like fruits, veggies, nuts, whole grains, and pulses.

Healthy Snacks for Snooze and Pre/Post Run:

• a banana with low-fat yogurt
• low-fat cottage cheese with a few 100% whole-grain pita chips
• peanut butter smear on 100% whole-grain crackers
• apple slices with mozzarella string cheese
• A glass of tart cherries juice (studies show that consuming tart cherry juice causes an increase in melatonin production)

Last but not least, the basis of a balanced diet go hand-in-hand with general tips for avoiding sleep disruptions related to food and drink:

• Limit caffeine intake, especially in the evening when its stimulant effects can keep you up at night.
• Limit alcohol consumption since it can dehydrate you and throw off your sleep cycles even if it makes you sleepy and fall asleep at first.
• Try not to eat too late so that you aren’t still digesting at bedtime and are at less risk of acid reflux.
• Limit sugary treats before bedtime as sugar-rich foods can quickly spike up our insulin levels and mess up our natural sleep cycle.

Beyond a healthy, sleep-friendly diet, there are other ways to help support better sleep: 

• Create an environment that is ideal for sleeping by making sure your bedroom is quiet, dark, and cool. 
• “Wind-down” 30 minutes before bed. Build a relaxing bedtime routine with calming practices like dimming the lights, listening to soothing music, meditating, or reading. Find what makes you feel the most relaxed and stick with it! 
• Go for a run and get a dose of natural sunlight first thing in the morning and limit exposure to bright light in the evening to help normalize your circadian rhythm. 

Hands off any electronics and screens at least 30 minutes before bed as blue light is believed to reduce melatonin production.

We all know the importance of fueling up after a marathon or an intense run but often times you may find yourself giving more importance to your pre-run meals.

Proactive recovery nutrition is even more important if you complete two or more training sessions in one day or two sessions in close succession (e.g. evening session followed by early morning session the next day). To understand what makes an ideal recovery meal or snack, you have to first understand what is happening in the body after exercise and how what you eat can influence how you recover.

What happen to our bodies with inadequate/inappropriate recovery nutrition?

• Increased fatigue
• Reduced performance at the next training session or event
• Suboptimal gains from the session just completed
• Increased muscle soreness
• Depressed immune system

The 3 goals of recovery nutrition is to follow the ‘3 Rs of recovery’ after every workout: Refuel, Rehydrate, (Re)build

1. Replenish the liver and muscle glycogen stores that were used or depleted during activity.
2. Rehydrate with fluids and replace the electrolytes that were lost in sweat.
3. Support the growth and repair of muscle tissues that were stimulated during exercise.

What we also need to know is that recovery nutrition is influenced by the type and duration of physical activity, body composition and your individual aims.

Goal 1. Refuel

Post-run carbohydrate intake helps to replenish glycogen – the main fuel that was used during activity. Protein helps to stimulate muscle protein synthesis and spare protein breakdown. But here’s the catch – your muscles will not use protein to build and repair if they don’t first have sufficient energy (fuel) and that fuel comes from carbohydrates. After a run, there are several strategies to maximize muscle and liver glycogen replenishment, especially when consecutive trainings are performed on the same day.

The amount of carbohydrates is determined by the need to replenish muscle glycogen stores, which is related to the need for muscle growth and repair, the time to next run, and the amount of carbohydrates consumed before and after. Because exercise sensitizes muscle tissue to certain hormones and nutrients, the body is most effective at replacing carbohydrate and promoting muscle repair and growth within 60-90 minutes post-exercise, and this metabolic window of opportunity, although diminishes as time passes, will continue to occur for another 24 hours. Moreover, post-run carbohydrate intake must be individualized based on type and duration of physical activity, body composition, training requirements, health/fitness goals, and the respective feedback from training performance in daily recovery.

According to the International Society of Sports Nutrition, daily carbohydrate needs are as follows:

• Moderate duration/low-intensity training (e.g., 2–3 h per day of intense exercise performed 5–6 times per week): 5–8 g·kg/body mass/day
• Moderate to heavy endurance training (e.g., 3–6 h per day of intense training in 1–2 daily workouts for 5–6 days per week): 8–10 g·kg/body mass/day
• Extreme exercise programs/competition (+6 h per day or high competition frequency during the week): 10–12 + g/kg−1 body mass/day

Below examples each give 30 g carbohydrate:

• Bowl of oats (45 g)
• 2 slices of bread
• ½ serving of pasta or rice (~40 g uncooked)
• 1 large banana
• 1 large potato (~150 g)
• Fruit smoothie (250 ml)

Goal 2. Rehydrate

Another goal during recovery is to replace any fluid and electrolyte loss. Most physically active individuals can sweat from 0.5 – 2.5 L/hour, depending on exercise intensity, duration, and environmental conditions like altitude, heat, and humidity. Moreover, individual characteristics such as body mass, genetic predisposition, heat acclimatization state, and physical fitness, might influence sweat rates. Rehydrating should begin soon after finishing your run, but as a general recommendation, for quick rehydration, it is recommended the consumption of 150% of the weight lost after exercise over a short recovery period, preferably within 4 hours, with some sodium included in the fluid or meal.

If recovery time and opportunities permits, the consumption of sodium-rich foods, such as crackers, nuts, bread, milk, cheese, and soups, may be sufficient to regain the state of euhydration. However, if the recovery time is less than 12 hours, more aggressive rehydration strategies and the use of moisturizing beverages like glycerol might be required before the next training or event. The ideal fluid post-exercise depends on your goals. If you are using fluid mainly to rehydrate, then water or electrolyte drinks are good options. If you are also drinking to meet your carbohydrate goals, then opt for sports drinks as they contain carbohydrates, fluid, and electrolytes to help hydrate and fuel your body at the same time. Dairy-based fluids such as smoothies and flavoured milk are especially handy if you want to protein, carbohydrate, fluid and electrolyte in one go.

Goal 3. (Re)build & Repair

Research has suggested that muscle protein synthesis (MPS) can be stimulated by either a physical allostatic challenge like resistance exercise stimulus or by dietary protein intake, with synergistic effects when protein is consumed before and immediately after exercise, resistance exercise training in particular. According to the International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand on nutrient timing, post-exercise ingestion (immediately to up to 2 hours) of high-quality protein food represents a robust stimulus that impacts positively on MPS. Runners might develop and maintain a negative nitrogen balance, which is an indicator of protein catabolism and negatively affect recovery, as a result of insufficient amount of post-run protein ingestion. Over time, this can lead to muscle wasting, injury, disease and intolerance to training. In spite of the anabolic effect of exercise is long-lasting (up to 24 hours), athletes can take advantage of the higher muscle sensitivity to nutrient uptake after exercise due to the likely diminishment over time.

According to The International Society of Sports Nutrition position recommendation on proteins for recovery:

• Post-exercise recommendations are 0.5 g of a high-quality protein/ kilogram of body mass, or an absolute dose of 40 g.
• Protein per meal should be between 0.25 and 0.40 g of protein/kg of body mass, or absolute values of 20 g.

Below examples each offers 10 g of protein.

• 2 small eggs
• 50 g fish or chicken  
• 120 g tofu
• 200 g yoghurt
• 40 g cheese
• 60 g nuts or seeds
• 150 g kidney beans

Beside post-run nutrition, there are many other factors that runners need to consider when trying to recover optimally - sleep, relaxation, adequate recovery between sessions, and the list goes on. That being said, nutrition is undoubtedly one of the most crucial pieces to the recovery puzzle.

Nutrition is crucial for runners, and having a healthy diet can be the difference between smashing your PB or bonking at half mark in your next marathon. There is no perfect runner’s diet as diet should be individualized to be tailored to the training and recovery for each individual. More and more runners, whether it’s for health, ethical, environmental, or performance reasons, are transitioning to a plant-based diet, whether it be vegetarian or vegan. But with the change in diet comes unique challenges, like figuring out how to choose the right foods to sustain energy and satisfy hunger. Although plant-based foods don’t always have the same amount of calories and nutrients as their meat counterparts, rest assured that going meatless can and should be as energizing, filling, and nutritious as an omnivorous diet, if done properly.

First thing firsts, what's a plant based diet?
Plant-based diets encompass a number of different patterns of eating, including:

Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian: eat dairy and eggs but not meat or fish.
Lacto Vegetarian: Eat dairy but not eggs, meat or fish
Vegan: Don’t eat any foods of animal origin at all, including honey
Flexitarian: Eat dairy, meat, poultry, or fish occasionally
Pescatarian: Eat fish

Recent research shows that plant-based diets can help athletes improve their performance by decreasing weight, promoting leaner bodies, and improving stamina. While better performance is not dependent on completely plant-based diet and can also be achieved by an omnivorous diet, runners who require weight restrictions, speed, and endurance for competitive reasons can consider the benefits of plant-based diets. 

Even if research supports the benefits of plant-based diets, some runners may still be concerned that they won't get enough nutrition to fuel their performance with a plant-based diet, especially a vegan one. While it may require some additional planning, runners can address these concerns and find an eating pattern and plan that work for them.

Protein

Runners require additional protein to support physical demands and repair muscle protein breakdown caused by intense training as insufficient protein consumption can lead to negative nitrogen balance and poor muscle recovery. Many atheletes worry they won't get enough protein on a plant-based diet but it is possible for individuals to consume enough protein when eating a plant-based diet of any kind, including vegan. The challenge is that plant-based foods have less protein than animal-based foods and they are higher in fiber so it can be more challenging to get the appropriate quantities. For example, 1 ½ cups of beans would give you the same amount of protein (21 grams) as a palmful (3oz) chicken breast or fish.

Choose the below plant-powered protein to support an active lifestyle:

• Dairy products (milk, yogurt, and cheese) 
• Eggs
• Grains (oats, quinoa, kamut)
• Nuts (almonds, peanuts, pistachios)
• Seeds (pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds)
• Beans (black beans, soy beans, kidney beans)
• Edamame
• Lentils
• Tofu

Energy

Vegetarian and vegan diets are typically lower in calories. But runners have increased calorie needs depending on frequency, duration and intensity of the physical activity. Since a vegan diet, due to the high consumption of fruits, vegetables, and grain products, which are often way higher in fiber compared to animal products and thus promotes the feeling of satiety, this can be at the expense of energy supply. As a result, a runner might run the risk of not consuming sufficient energy, especially in training phases with a high energy requirement. It might be helpful, depending on needs, to switch to lower-fiber carbohydrate sources, such as millet or buckwheat instead of oats or whole grain wheat products, breads and rolls with a lower whole grain content or removing the skin from root vegetables and tubers to make more room for other healthy choices of plant foods to meet caloric requirement for exercises and performance.

Key nutrition concerns for plant-powered runners
Like vegetarians but to a greater extent, the main nutrients that may be a concern for vegan runners are omega 3s, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and iron, and it might be good idea for vegan runners to have annual bloodwork done to ensure they are not deficient in any of these micronutrients.

Vitamin B12, in particular, is a concern because it is only found in animal sources. Vitamin B12 is needed for healthy nerve function and blood cell production. As such, it's recommended that most vegan runners to consult a family physician or nutritionist about including a B12 supplement in their diet.

For calcium, which is required for bone formation, muscle contraction, and other essential functions. Vegans can obtained in their diet by eating calcium-rich foods such as green leafy vegetables, pulses, sesame seeds, and calcium-fortified foods such as plant milks, dairy-free yogurts or calcium added cereals.

A vegan diet might be lacking in omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) that the body needs for a healthy heart and eyes and brain function. Vegetarians can obtain this nutrients through eggs and dairy products, but not vegans as they do not consume all animal products. Eating foods such as walnuts, soy, pumpkin, flax, or chia seeds, will help vegan/vegetarians intake of an omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid(ALA), which the body converts to the other two forms (EPA and DHA), though the conversion is very low. Thus, plant-powered runners can consider supplementing with a product such as a micro algae supplement.

A vegan diet can also be low in vitamin D as this nutrient is presented primarily in animal foods like oily fish, liver, and egg yolks. Good vegan sources of vitamin D include mushrooms that have been exposed to UV light, fortified plant milks.

Plant-powered runners are at greater risk of anemia due to reduced intake of animal products containing iron (and B12). There are two different forms of dietary iron.

Heme iron, the more readily absorbed form of iron, is found in animal meats such as liver, lamb, beef; non-heme iron is derived from plant sources such as legumes, dried fruits, nuts and leafy green vegetables. Hence vegetarian and vegan runner need to be mindful to consume adequate amounts of non-heme iron along with foods that enhance iron absorption (ie. Vitamin C rich foods).

If you are considering plant-based diet or are just looking to switch up your routine, these 5 plant-foods will keep you energized and nourished for your next run:

1. Oats

A half cup of oats has 15 percent the daily value of fiber, plus 5 grams of plant-based protein. It is an excellent source of carbohydrate to fuel your runs, and the soluble fiber can help you feel full and satisfied. Not to mention, oats contain a special fiber called beta-glucan, which has been shown to have positive effects on satiety plus lowering blood cholesterol.

Try: overnight oats for busy mornings with soy or almond milk and extra seeds and nuts for a protein boost.

2. Chickpeas

This legume packs a nutrition punch; a half cup of canned chickpeas has 22 percent of the daily value of fiber and 6 grams of protein. Not only are they delicious, but they contain a mix of good carbs and protein.

Try: roasted crunchy chickpeas with a tiny bit of salt (to help replace sodium lost through sweat during your run) as a quick and nutritious post-run snack.

3. Walnuts

Walnuts are a convenient plant-based food with 4 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber, and plenty of healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Try: walnut crumbles - simply put them in the food processor and pulse, then substitute walnut “meat” into any recipe that calls for ground meat.

4. Brussels Sprouts

This cruciferous veggie is having a moment, and rightfully so. Just one cup of Brussels sprouts has 100 percent of your daily vitamin C (which helps with iron absorption), 4 grams of plant protein, and 16 percent of your daily fiber.

Try: eat them raw in a salad or roast them in the oven with a dash of olive oil and salt.

5. Avocados

This superfood has 20 vitamins and minerals, including healthy monounsaturated fats and 11 percent of your daily fiber. For runners who have high mileage in their training plan, an avocado can fill the stomach and nutrition gap.

Try: avocado toast, need I say more?

Regardless, the science is emerging for a plant-based diet being good for your heart, not to mention the added benefits it might have on your performance. But if cutting out animal foods isn’t for you or you’ve been advised by a healthcare professional not to, then don’t. In the end, a diet needs to work for you and your lifestyle.