CyFitness CyFitness Magazine October - December 2014 | Page 24

νUTRITION CyFitness

R
I

believe the most important
meal of the day is the post
workout meal. Why I believe
that? The reason I believe this is
because in a hard workoutout, you
can use up all you stored glycogen,
easily sweat over two liters of water
and break down both muscle and
red blood cells. This is why what
an athlete consume in the minutes
or hours after your training is so
crucial to both performance and
recovery. The term recovery covers
a range of processes like, replenish the muscle and liver glycogen
stores, consuming protein to assist
with musscle repair, restoring fluid
and electrolytes lost in sweat and
supporting the immune system to

23 | CyFitness Mag |Issue 2

ecovery
foods after
a workout

The best foods to incorporate them into your
post-workout routine

packs the protein (milk, protein
powder, chia, and nuts), carbs
(honey, banana, berries) and antioxidants (thanks to the berries)
you need to recover properly. The
cold shake also helps bring down
your core body temperature,
helping to reduce inflammation
throughout your body, a key step
on the way to recovery.
Honey
Honey supports the immune
system and has anti-inflammatory
properties. Why it works? Manuka honey is made from bees that
feed on Manuka flowers in New
Zealand, possesses anti-inflamatory properties, not to mention
the carbohydrates needed to help
reebuild muscle fibres. Manuka
honey has a high level of non-peroxide antibacterial components,
unique to this type of honey. Mix
honey with fat free Greek yogurt
for a quick and easy recover meal.
Ginger and Turmeric

handle the damage. You have a
window of 30-45minutes after
exercise to get something into your
system. Wait longer and its too late
to stop the body from producing
cortisol, a hormone created during
exercise that causes muscle to atrophu. Even a bottle of Gatorade and
a protein bar will get your muscles
on the road to recovery. Presenting out lise of recovery foods for
athletes.

The Power Smoothie
it can help you reduce inflammation. Often after a workout I feel
less like eating, but mor e like
drinking, says Personal Trainer
Orestis Papapetrou. That’s not
surprising. A buildup of acids in
your body after intense workouts
will often cause loss of appetite,
and sometimes even cause nausea. Nonetheless, it’s important
to get carbs and protein into your
body within 30 to 45 minutes of
finishing your workout in order to
deliver your muscles the nutrients
they need to repair themselves.
Oresti’s smoothie recipe is light
enough to stomach, and also

A natural anti-inflammatory for
post-workout soreness. Tumeric
and ginger have been used for
centuries as a painkillers in eastern medicine. Curcumin, the active ingredient in both roots, was
shown to suppress a sub-cellular
switch that triggers an inflammatory response. “The natural antiinflammatory benefits are longer
lasting, do not delay the inflammatory process, and have no side
effects so you can recover faster
and keep the body in balance.

Salmon

Coconuts

The omega-3 fatty acids found
in fish oil appear to help reduce
post-exercise muscle inflammation. Scientists are still debating
this one, but the omega-3 fatty
acids found in fish oil appear to
help reduce post-exercise muscle
inflammation. The conventional
wisdom is that omega 3s lower
the amount of prostaglandin, a
naturally produced compound
in the body that can accentuate
inflammation. Salmon is also
packed with lean protein. Stanford University sports nutritionist
and physiologist, Stacy Sims, adds
the fish to her endurance athlete’s
post recovery meal in order to
enhance muscle repair.

Coconuts are a good source of
potassium. Ever cramp after, or
during, a tough workout? That’s
because your body doesn’t have
enough electrolytes like potassium, sodium, and calcium. It’s
potassium that prevents involuntary muscle contraction, and the
nutrient is found in abundance
in both bananas and coconuts.
Mash one pound of ripe bananas
in bowl. Stir in the zest of one
lemon, seven ounces of coconut
milk, and one teaspoon of vanilla.
Chill for about 45 minutes in the
refrigerator. Then eat.

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