Food and Sport

 

Holidays can be a good time to combine a sport we like with a good diet.This combination will be ideal to mobilize and burn all the excesses accumulated throughout the year.If we decide for example to go for a day trip in the mountains, on foot or cycling, we should foresee when and what we’re going to eat.The overall supply should be sufficient for the exercise we're going to do, yet light. That is, foods that nourish us, but whose digestion doesn’t use up the energy needed for walking. For this reason we recommend natural, fresh, energetic foods.

 

Food before exercise:

 

The aim will be to provide sufficient energy reserves and minerals and a good combination of sugars to nourish our muscles.• * miso soup or a remineralizing broth. It can be eaten warm if the weather requires so. This will give us a good mineral supply.* If we're not home, ready-made miso soups can be a very valid and practical option.• Whole grains, such as porridge for breakfast, or in any other form, along with a handful of nuts (almonds ...) and dried fruit (raisins, apricots ...). This combination of simple and complex carbohydrates will give us adequate blood sugar levels to exercise without energy highs and lows.

 

Food during exercise:

Here it is s all about trying to maintain our blood sugar levels, replenishing fluids and minerals, and also freshening. It is essential that food here is light so that it doesn’t interfere with our purpose.• A piece of local, seasonal fruit will be ideal to freshen while providing fast sugars to keep walking. We can have it along with a few nuts.

• If we want something more substantial to walk a few more hours, rice balls with nori seaweed and ummeboshi will provide us with everything we need while keeping it light. Another perhaps more practical option will be a good quality wholegrain vegetarian sandwich, or even one with tuna or sardines with vegetables such as lettuce, endive or carrot.• A good remineralizing broth of kombu seaweed at room temperature is the ideal drink to replenish minerals during exercise.

Food after exercise:

The goal here will be to replenish minerals and glycogen (sugar reserves in our body).• Right after exercising, in order to refresh and recover, fresh fruit, either blended or liquefied can help.

• Later when we are relaxed and our metabolism is back to its normal rhythm, it is a good time to have a full meal. We can start with a good miso soup, to replenish minerals and prepare us to absorb food better. Afterwards, we can have a dish of good quality grain with green vegetables to refresh, round and root vegetables to relax and provide quality sugars, and some protein to nourish our muscles.

To exercise healthily we need to give our body quality fuel so it will not need to use energy directly from our reserves. For this reason it will be essential to avoid taking fast sugars such as soda drinks, pastries, etc. This would only give us a lot of energy for a short period of time, producing the usual energy slumps and encouraging further mineral loss.

If sport if practiced in moderation and in accordance with our potential, it is very healthy for our heart and our cardiovascular system, as well as to mobilize and burn fat.

 

David Gasol Mestres