Endurance athletes, especially runners, are no strangers to digestional cramping: that feeling during a good run or cardio session that has you sprinting towards the bathroom instead of the finish line.
Cramping and discomfort are extremely common among athletes and runners and have been known to hinder, slow, and some times even prevent performance. Unfortunately, there is no exact known cause for this discomfort. Several researches believe that the cause of the pain is the continuous shaking and jostling of the internal organs during an extended workout, often make worse by when and what is consumed as a pre-exercise meal or snack.
A recent study reported that drinking fruit drinks or drinks high in sugar, eating dairy, high-fiber foods, and carbohydrates just before or during exercise initiates the pain. A few ways to help reduce the risk of digestional cramping is to warm up before exercise and to avoid eating large meals before your exercise session. The more food and liquid you have moving around in your system, the better the chance your bowels are going to object.
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Even though the American Heart Association recommends 25-30 grams of dietary fiber daily to help prevent disease and regulate bodily functions, it has been reported that nine out of ten Americans still consume only about half that amount.
As consumers seek more ways to consume fiber, food companies are responding by reformulating products to include more whole grains and fiber supplements to soups, yogurts, granola bars, baking mixes and even Splenda, a zero-calorie sweetener made from sucralose.
While it’s certainly positive to see people consuming more fiber, Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD, the author of bestselling The F-Factor Diet and SkinnyInTheCity.com cautions that as fiber becomes a nutrition trend, companies are adding fiber to foods that are inherently not healthy.
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The 17 Day Diet seems to be all the rage these days. Created by Dr. Mike Moreno, the diet was recently featured on The Doctors and the Dr. Phil Show. To go along with this “17″ craze, we’re featuring a list of 17 healthy carbs that you should be eating for overall health. With so many healthy options, you’ll never fall into a food rut again!
1. Oatmeal. It may seem boring, but oatmeal is such a delicious and filling breakfast choice. With lots of fiber, five grams of protein, 27 grams of carbs, three grams of fat and only 150 calories, you get a lot of nutritional bang for your bite!
2. Barley. Also high in fiber, barley is great in soups, as a whole-grain side or even as a healthy rice replacement in risotto!
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By the time you read this, some of you will still be munching on Thanksgiving leftovers. But I wanted to take a quick look at one of the items on most people’s holiday plates: the sweet potato. Now, most of us are going to have it with all kinds of sweet treatments such as brown sugar, butter, or marshmallow, but if you can stand just adding a wee bit of butter or butter substitute, you are not only in for a treat, but a sweet nutritional surprise.
Maybe the most amazing thing about the sweet potato is how highly regarded it is by health professionals. In fact, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) ranked the sweet potato the most nutritious vegetable of all.
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You know you can mash them with cream and butter. You’ve heard of au gratin – butter and cheese. But did you know that there are plenty of ways to prepare everyone’s favorite starchy vegetable without added fat and calories?
Despite their reputation as diet delinquents, potatoes can actually be a healthy side dish, especially in the winter when people tend to crave comfort and carbohydrates. Instead of letting them derail your healthy eating plans, learn how to prepare them so that they can be part of your healthy, balanced diet.
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