9 GREAT Foods for Athletics and 1 CRAZY AWESOME One
Posted by Kitty on Jun 23rd 2016
Maintaining a healthy body is a major reason behind why people cycle. What you do when you're not on the bike is just as important as your cycling routine. Having a balanced diet with proper nutrition and a healthy amount of exercise is the only thing that will help you maintain your best self. Always, always, always, consult your physician about your personal dietary restrictions and physical limits.
Here we go, 9 GREAT foods for athletics and 1 CRAZY AWESOME ONE
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1. Watermelon Watermelon is great for hydration, and is one of the tastiest sources of lycopene, an anti-inflammatory AND antioxidant. 2. Papaya Rich in cholesterol reducing fiber, great source of Vitamin C, low in sugar. Papaya helps lower levels of cortisol, the hormone that encourages fat storage. |
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3. Bananas Bananas have a lot to offer. But for someone athletic, one of the most important things bananas offer is potassium. Potassium aids in smooth muscle contraction, making it important for normal digestive and muscular function. There's no food on this list that comes with its own packaging, is portable on your ride, and offers as much as a banana. |
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4. Mushrooms Did you know that the cell walls of mushrooms are undigestible unless they're exposed to heat, so you need to cook the mushrooms to get maximum nutritional benefits? Also mushrooms have mild toxins that dissipate in the cooking process. Cook your mushrooms! |
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5. Berries Blueberries in particular are filled with health benefits, and aid in lowering cholesterol. Raspberries are a great source of strong antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. Blackberries have the highest antioxident levels of any fruit. Strawberries have fiber, iodine, magnesium, phosphorous, and omega 3's. |
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6. Sweet Potatoes/ Yams
Vitamin A and your B vitamins are what these delicious root vegetables have to offer. They also have magnesium, which is great for relaxation and anti-stress. |
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7. Spinach
IRON STRONG. STRONG BODY. STRONG LIKE IRON. Did we get our point across? 8. Avocado Avocado is first and foremost absolutely delicious. Use it to spread on that toast instead of butter. Dip your veggies in a super tasty guacamole and you'll get all the mono-unsaturated and oleic fatty acids and potassium you need for that day. Some even say eating avocado with other foods helps you absorb the nutrients from those other foods better. |
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9. Seeds & Nuts
These are great power snacks, when you need to pack a lot of punch in a small amount of time or space. They have great protein content and unsaturated fats (just because it has the word 'fats' doesn't mean it's bad, it just means they're a type of fats your body needs that won't turn into unhealthy fat)
10. Bacon Just kidding, we meant to write cookies. Yesssss chocolate chip with sea salt. Bacon and/or cookies. Your choice. |
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In all seriousness, you need to know when and how to treat yourself because moderation and self control are integral to maintaining a healthy diet. So basically you NEED to treat yourself. As in, bacon. And make sure you get the good stuff. Like pancetta. But just like, one or two.
Treat yourself