Sports Nutrition for Runners: Part 2

Our Growlife Bridge to Brisbane team came out guns blazing recently thanks to part 1 of this blog series. However, I think I speak on behalf of everyone when I say the hours and days following the race were... well to sum it up in one word... sore! This made us all acutely aware of the importance of RECOVERY! In part two of this blog series, we will explore how to feed for recovery.

When it comes to post- exercise nutrition, many people think of protein shakes. While this can be part of an athlete’s recovery nutrition strategy, it is not the be all and end all.

Key components of recovery nutrition include:

Rehydrating
Re-fuelling
Repairing muscles
Rest

That’s right! The 4 R’s!

Replacing lost fluids during exercise is often considered the first priority of recovery nutrition, and should be actioned ASAP after exercise. Most athletes will experience fluid losses through sweat during their session, and adequate hydration is required for normal body functions. Relying on thirst, to determine how much fluid needs to be consumed following exercise may result in inadequate rehydration as our thirst signals are typically decreased during this time.

The amount of fluid a person needs to have after exercise depends on multiple factors such as exercise duration and intensity, environmental conditions, and muscle mass. Therefore, working with a sports dietitian to develop a unique rehydration strategy can be useful. Some tips to get you started include:

Start to rehydrate as soon as exercise is completed
Aim to replace 100-150% of the losses incurred during exercise (you can figure this out by weighing yourself directly before and after your exercise session)*
Drinks such as oral rehydration solution (eg Gastrolyte, hydralyte), milk and juice are more effective at rehydrating than water or sports drinks (Gatorade, powerade) - this is because some of the different nutrients in these drinks effect how our body handles them. For example, the electrolytes in oral rehydration solution help our body retain fluid, while the nutrients in drinks such as milk and juice are absorbed more slowly
Eating something salty along with your drinks helps the body to absorb more fluid

*If you have a history of an eating disorder, disordered eating or find knowing your weight triggering, ask a trusted person to help you with this.

Protein plays an essential role in supporting the repair and growth of muscles following exercise. There are several factors to consider with regards to protein intake:

Choosing good sources of protein – these include:
Meat, chicken, fish, eggs
Dairy (milk, yoghurt, custard and cheese)
Spreading protein across the day. A good guide is to choose a protein rich food at each meal.

While protein supplements are not required, they can be useful.

If you decide to take a supplement, ensure that you choose one which is batch tested. Looked for the Informed sport or HASTA certification. This decreases the risk of your supplements being contaminated with substances which are banned and/or could have a negative impact on your health.

There are a number of factors which can place an individual at higher risk of developing an eating disorders. These include but are not limited to:

A history of dieting and weight loss attempts. In fact, dieting is widely recognised by experts as being a very strong risk factor for the development of an eating disorder. This includes being exposed to diet culture in the family home, at school and through social media.
Genetics, for example, having a parent or family member who has experienced an eating disorder
Personality traits for example perfectionism, obsession, impulsivity. It is not uncommon for people who experience an eating disorder to be a high achiever and to believe they are fine. It is important to note that despite excelling across various areas of their life, if the person is experiencing signs and symptoms of an eating disorder these warrant investigation and treatment.
Co-occurring mental illness eg Obsessive compulsive disorder, social anxiety, borderline personality disorder, depression
Experiencing childhood trauma and abuse
Neurodivergence including ADHD and Autism
Body dissatisfaction
A lack of secure and consistent access to food
Having an illness that requires a person to pay close attention to what they eat for example Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes
Inflammatory GI diseases for example Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis

Preventing vascular disease is as simple as checking and managing the above risk factors. When you see your Grow Medical GP for a vascular risk checkup, you can expect to be well looked after and have all your questions answered. We will check your:

height
weight
blood pressure
smoking status
discuss any symptoms you may have experienced like chest pain, weakness or cramping in the calves.

For patients with risk factors for vascular disease, the nurse will obtain an Ankle Brachial Index reading for the doctor (a screening test for blood vessel blockages to the legs). Your doctor will check your cholesterol, sugar and kidney function blood tests, and where necessary arrange for you to update these tests. Based upon your risk assessment, your doctor may order an Electrocardiogram (electrical tracing of the heart rhythm) or refer you for a cardiological assessment if necessary. Depending on the complexity and your individual requirements, we may be able to do this over one long appointment, or split between a number of appointments.

While a post-competition beer can feel like an obligatory part of the Australian sporting culture, it is important to consider how it can negatively impact on your body's recovery process. These consequences include:

Decreased ability to refuel (produce glycogen) - this is likely due to reduced consumption of carbohydrate when drinking alcohol.
Decreased muscle repair + growth – importantly this appears to occur even when athletes consume protein.
Reduced cognitive function the following day which can increase injury risk
Decreased sleep quality
Impair repair of soft tissue injuries.
There are also performance impacts such as reduced upper body power, decreased aerobic performance

Take a post-race snack with you so that you don’t have to go looking for one when you are tired after your run
Have access to water or electrolyte drinks after your race
Keep an eye on the colour of your urine to assess rehydration
Don’t go overboard with the alcohol

As you can see nutrition plays an important role in supporting your body to recover and adapt to exercise. Recovery nutrition entails rehydration, refueling, repair of muscle tissue and rest. Within this article we have scratched the surface on nutrition strategies to support recovery, for more information or for help understanding how to apply these strategies to your circumstances book an appointment here with our Sports Dietitians.