Foods You Can Use
Posted: February 11, 2009
Here's a list of 25 of the top foods for athletes. Try to incorporate them into your diet as you make healthier decisions in 2009.
1. Almonds: Because almonds are loaded with the antioxidant, Vitamin E, they may help reduce muscle damage and fend off age-related diseases. They come with a healthy dose of important minerals, such as magnesium, iron, calcium, and potassium. Almonds do contain a hefty amount of fat, but it's mostly the heart-healthy monosaturated type.
Serving: 1 ounce, 24 almonds
Suggestions: Make a trail mix of almonds, cereals and assorted dried fruits and seeds or lightly toast them on a non-stick pan.
2. Bagels: This easy-to-eat snack comes packed with muscle-fueling carbohydrate. Truly one of the old standbys for before or after exercise.
Serving: one plain bagel
Suggestions: Eat plain or with jelly to avoid adding too much fat with toppings, such as cream cheese.
3. Bananas: Chock full of carbohydrates and easy to digest, bananas are another classic. They come with a high dose of potassium, an important mineral in keeping blood pressure low. Bananas also supply plenty of vitamin B6, which helps fuel exercise.
Serving: one medium banana
Suggestions: Eat alone or combine with peanut butter.
4. Beans: If you're a vegetarian, black beans, lentils chick peas and other beans are your best source of protein, iron and soluable fiber. High in carbohydrate, beans are also loaded with folate (folic acid), which may prevent birth defects during pregnancy and fight heart disease.
Serving: 1 cup
Suggestions: Buy canned beans, and throw them in a blender with some spices to make tasty sandwich spreads; or add them to soup and salad.
5. Breakfast Cereal: Packed with carbohydrate and fortified with vitamins and minerals, a bowl of cereal is a lot like a multivitamin but with a lot more fiber. Best of all, cereal takes less than a minute to prepare and only a little longer to clean up.
Serving: 1/2 cup
Suggestions: Eat with low-fat milke or mix with low-fat yogurt and fruit.
6. Broccoli: Broccoli has it all. It's a great source of vitamin C, which may reduce exercise-related muscle damage. It's also a good source of folate and the bone-builders: calcium and vitamin K. Broccoli also comes packed with cancer-fighting phytochemicals.
Serving: 1/2 cup
Suggestion: Steam broccoli and squeeze some lemon over it, or chop it up and add it to your favorite pasta dish.
7. Brown Rice: All types of rice pack a powerful carbohydrate punch, but brown rice does more because it provides a wealth of antioxidants. These will help in the battle against heart disease and even muscle soreness.
Serving: 1 cup
Suggestion: Cook a bunch and freeze it, because it takes 45+ minutes to prepare. That way, you only have to add 2 tablespoons of liquid per cup, thaw, and cook it in the microwave. Or, buy instant, but it has slightly less fiber and nutrients than regular brown rice.
8. Canola Oil: For optimal performance, endurance athletes need to obtain about 30% of their calories from fat. And of all the different sources of fat out there, canola oil is the best, according to nutritionist columnist Liz Applegate of Runner's World Magazine. Compared to other oils, canola has the lowest level of artery-clogging saturated fat and one of the highest levels of monounsaturated fat, which lowers risk of heart disease. Canola is also rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, which can also be found in fish and are known to fight heart disease.
Serving: 1 tablespoon
Suggestions: Use canola oil instead of other fats, such as butter and margarine, when cooking or baking.
9. Chocolate: You have to splurge every once-in-a-while to keep your diet from getting boring. Chocolate tastes great and, unlike many other sweet treats, it contains the same phytochemicals found in red wine, known to fight heart disease. In fact, when researchers recently studied the antioxidant capacity of various foods, chocolate beat our other powerhouses like strawberries and tea.
Serving: 1 ounce
Suggestions: Stick with dark chocolate, since it contains more phytochemicals than milk chocolate. White chocolate doesn't contain any.
10. Clams: An excellent low-fat protein source, each 3-ounce serving of clams contains a whopping 24 milligrams of iron, enough to last you for two days. Clams also supply a healthy amount of zinc, an immunity-boosting mineral that's notoriously low in many athletes' diets. Be sure you're consuming the 15 milligrams of zinc you need each day.
Serving: 3 ounces, chopped
Suggestions: Drain and rinse canned clams, which actually have less fat and cholesterol than the steamed version. Add them to spaghetti sauce.
11. Fig Bars: These mini "energy bars" are great high-carbohydrate snacks that satisfy your sweet tooth without packing fat into your arteries.
Serving: 2 small bars
Suggestions: Eat 'em as is, right out of the package.
12. Flax: Sold as seeds, oil or ground meal, flax contains high amounts of alphalinolenic acid, a type of fat that can boost immunity, blood flow and possibly even endurance. Flax also keeps your platelets (flat cells in your body) from clumping together and forming dangerous clots.
Serving: 1 tablespoon
Suggestions: Use ground flax seeds when baking muffins, buy breakfast cereals that contain flax, or mix flax seed into your salad dressings. Store flax seeds in your refrigerator to keep htem from turning rancid.
13. Ginger Root: Besides settling your stomach, this spice may act as a natural anti-inflammatory, reducing joint and muscle pain. It also may prevent heart attacks by thinning your blood.
Serving: 1 teaspoon
Suggestions: Look for dense roots. Grate the root for stir fry dishes, cold salads and smoothies.
14. Kiwi: This tart and tasty fruit is an excellent source of Vitamin C. It's also high in potassium, which can help lower blood pressure. A juicy kiwi makes a perfect post-exercise snack on a hot day.
Serving: 1 medium kiwi
Suggestions: Simply peel a kiwi after you exercise and eat it plain, or mix it into fruit salads and smoothies.
15. Low Fat (1%) Milk: Drinking low fat (1%) or nonfat milk is the easiest way to get high amounts of calcium into your body. Calcium is one of the more important nutrients for runners, because it's involved in crucial bodily functions such as bone-mineral formation, muscle contraction and nerve conduction. Consuming adequate calcium helps prevent stress fractures, shinsplints and, possibly, muscle cramps. Lastly, milk is a great post-exercise recovery food, because it provides both carbohydrate and protein. Avoid milk just before heavy exercise, however, because it can cause side stitches.
Serving: 8 ounces
Suggestions: Drink it straight, make a fruit milkshake or pour it over your favorite high-fiber cereal. If you're lactose-intolerant, use reduced-lactose milk or milk with live cultures.
16. Oatmeal: Oatmeal ranks as one of the best breakfast foods for those watching their weight, because, as the saying goes, 'it sticks to your ribs'. Oatmeal's high about of water-soluable fiber does more than keep you full; it also lowers your blood cholesterol. High in muscle-fueling carbohydrate, oatmeal is also a good source of iron.
Serving: 1/2 cup
Suggestions: Make it more nutritious by adding dried or fresh fruit.
17. Oranges: An excellent source of carbohydrate, oranges are packed with vitamin C. This powerful antioxidant may help your muscles recover faster after exercise and will keep your immune system running strong. Oranges are also a great source of folate, which helps maintain optimal levels of hemoglobin for your oxygen-carrying red blood cells. The white pith on oranges is loaded with flavonoids that keep LDL cholesterol from turning into plaque.
Serving: 1 orange
Suggestions: Get in the habit of gulping down a large glass of orange juice after heavy exercise. You'll replenish your muscles with carbohydrate, boost your immune system with vitamin C and rehydrate your body with fluid.
18. Pasta: Famous as the quintessential carbo-loader, pasta is low in fat and a great source of folate, which decreases your risk of heart disease. Pasta also serves as a great vehicle for other good-for-you foods like tomato sauce, tofu and clams.
Serving: 2 ounces
Suggestions: Enjoy pasta with a low-fat marinara sauce for the perfect pre-race entree, or combine it with chopped clams and broccoli to power you up for
19. Peanut Butter: Peanut butter is a good source of vitamin E, probably the most powerful antioxidant. The fats in peanut butter are mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, which are the heart-healthy kinds.
Serving: 2 tablespoons
Suggestions: Look for the natural form of peanut butter, sold in health food stores. It's a bit thicker than processed brands, and you'll have to use some muscle power to stir it up, but it contains more healthy fats than the other brands. If you buy processed peanut butter, avoid types that list hydrogenated fats first on the list of ingredients.
20. Pretzels: Both hard and soft pretzels are high in carbohydrate and low in fat. Even salted pretzels are find for those who don't have high blood pressure, as the sodium helps you retain the fluid you drink before the after exercising in the heat.
Serving: 1 ounce
Suggestions: Keep a bag of pretzels at work and on the kitchen counter at home. Make sure you drink plenty of water or fruit juice with them.
21. Raisins: High in carbohydrate and low in fat, this convenient snack supplies plenty of potassium as well as some iron. Like grapes, raisins also contain an abundance of heart-healthy phytochemicals.
Serving: 2/3 cup
Suggestions: Sprinkle them on your cereal, add them to yogurt or simply snack on them throughout the day.
22. Salmon: Salmon and other types of fatty fish come packed with omega-3 fatty acids, important oils that keep your immune system strong. They also may boost bloodflow, which could improve your performance.
Serving: 3 ounces
Suggestions: Grill salmon and top it with fruit salsa of sliced kiwi, papaya cilantro and jalapeno pepper. The salsa provides important antioxidants as well as fiber.
23. Spinach: High in carotene, calcium and iron, spinach is a true 'power food'. The carotene helps ward off age-related diseases as well as protect your muscles from damage. The calcium keeps your bones strong, and the iron keeps your energy high.
Serving: 1/2 cup
Suggestions: Use spinach instead of iceberg lettuce to boost the nutritional value of your salads. Also, sneak cooked spinach into lasagna and other casseroles. Make sure to eat something acidic or high in vitamin C, such as tomatoes or oranges, along with your spinach to incease iron absorption.
24. Steak: Lean red meat is your best source of absorbable iron. Skimping on red meat in an effort to cut calories and fat can lead to iron deficienty, low energy levels and poor performance.
Serving: 3.5 ounces
Suggestions: Make fajitas by marinating flank or round steak, which tend to be lower in fat than other cuts. Chop the steak up with some tomatoes, onions and peppers, and toss them on the grill. Once cooled, wrap it all in tortilla.
25. Strawberries: Strawberries and many other berries are low in fat and high in vitamins, especially beta carotene, vitamin C and folate.
Serving: 1 cup
