Mar 15, 2019
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/ns4WPEqWzG0
Want to boost your long distance running performance in only 4 days? Get yourself on the Mediterranean Diet says investigators from St. Louis University.
They studied 11 male and female 5K runners giving each 4 days of the Mediterranean Diet or 4 days of the typical Western Diet before they ran the 5K on a treadmill. Consuming the Mediterranean Diet with its fruits, veggies, nuts, olive oil and whole grains pumped the runners performance up by a consistent 6 percent compared with their times after consuming the Western Diet’s red meats, processed meats, dairy, refined sugar, and fats.
The researchers attribute the performance boost to the Mediterranean Diet’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Just be aware that these advantages are quickly lost after stopping the diet.
If you want top performance from your body in so many challenging situations, not just in running, eat the fruits and vegetables that your body craves and treat the offerings of the typical Western diet as special treats or desserts.
#MediterraneanDiet #WesternDiet #5Krun
Michelle E. Baker, Kristen N. DeCesare, Abby Johnson, Kathleen S. Kress, Cynthia L. Inman, Edward P. Weiss. Short-Term Mediterranean Diet Improves Endurance Exercise Performance: A Randomized-Sequence Crossover Trial. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2019; 1 DOI: 10.1080/07315724.2019.1568322