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How Is Running Speed Affected by Unhealthy Foods?

Jun 12, 2011 | By Kate Brennan
How Is Running Speed Affected by Unhealthy Foods?
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Running subjects your body to a lot of stress. Running pace, or speed, can be affected by many things, including natural ability, training, nutrition and hydration. If you are trying to improve your running pace for either racing or personal satisfaction, you should train consistently and avoid injury. You should include foods in your diet that support your overall health and your running plans.

Running Nutrition

Your body needs certain things to thrive as a runner, such as calcium for strong bones, carbohydrates for fuel, protein for building muscle, water to stay hydrated and many other vitamins and minerals. If you are not getting enough of these elements into your diet, your running will suffer. You can make sure that you are getting the right types and amounts of nutrients through planning your daily food intake and incorporating healthy, unprocessed foods as often as possible. Although "unhealthy" foods can provide some nutrition, your body does not get as much of a benefit from them as it does from "healthy" foods.

Healthy Vs. Unhealthy

Healthy foods tend to be whole foods or organic foods. Healthy foods don't have a lot of sugar, preservatives or additives. They do have moderate amounts of the good fats, such as unsaturated fats, and natural sugars, such as fructose. Fruits, vegetables, yogurt and whole grains fall into the healthy foods category. Unhealthy foods are heavily processed foods with chemical additives, sugar and saturated or trans fats. Fast food, most baked goods and frozen dinners tend to fall into the unhealthy foods category.

Sugary Foods

Runners tend to eat a lot more than people who don't work out because they burn a lot of energy. This means that runners are hungry often, particularly following a run. It is very easy to grab some fast food on the way home from a run or to chow down on cookies or other sugary foods that don't require much preparation. This isn't bad in moderation, but your body needs carbohydrates that it can store as glycogen for use during exercise. If you rely on carbohydrates from sugary foods, you will not have built up a glycogen store because your body will burn the sugary foods fast. Without a glycogen store, you will feel sluggish and tired during your run and you won't run as fast.

Vitamins and Minerals

Another downside to unhealthy foods is that they are not as rich in vitamins and minerals as healthier foods. Runners, especially female runners, need to ingest plenty of calcium to keep their bones strong. Food sources rich in calcium include dairy products and fortified juices and cereals. Vitamin C may play an important role in reducing circulating levels of harmful chemicals and hormones after long races. Focus on foods rich in vitamin C, including citrus and tomatoes, to clear out potentially harmful hormones after distance runs so you recover as quickly as possible.

References

Article reviewed by JamesS Last updated on: Jun 12, 2011

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