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Ergogenic foods for performance and health from personal trainer Scarborough

The "magic bullet" for weight reduction, weight gain, and/or performance improvement is something that supplement firms proudly advertise as having in the field of sports nutrition. Many of these products are expensive, include numerous fake substances, or lack supporting data. Some of them may even be harmful to your health, such as energy drinks that promote agitation and insomnia and certain herbs that may harm your kidneys and liver.

Supplements shouldn't be used as a replacement for a balanced diet. It is ideal to use nutrient timing and proper nutrition to improve your performance. You can use many of the foods you can get your hands on as ergogenic aids.

Note: personal trainer Scarborough giving clients access to these ergogenic foods.

WHY DO ERGOGENIC AIDS EXIST?

Simply said, an ergogenic aid is a substance that improves athletic performance. This falls under the category of ergogenic foods, which are foods that improve athletic performance through specific nutritional advantages.

Here is a list of a few ergogenic foods along with their benefits for performance.

ERGOGENIC MEALS FOR PERFORMANCE IN SPORTS

JUICE OF WATERMELON

Watermelon consumption before exercise speeds up recovery and improves performance. Citrulline, an amino acid that can be converted into arginine, an amino acid that is only conditionally necessary for humans, is abundant in watermelon. The nitrogenous substrate used in the production of nitric oxide is arginine.

By speeding the clearance of lactic acid and enabling athletes to engage in more rigorous training, it plays a crucial part in immunological and cardiovascular health. The final outcome? quicker recuperation following each workout. 500 mL of genuine watermelon juice as the dosage.

SUNFLOWER JUICE

Nitrate-rich foods include leafy greens and beetroot. The stomach and small intestine rapidly absorb dietary nitrate. Nitrate may be an effective ergogenic aid, as evidenced by studies showing that six days of dietary nitrate supplementation in the form of beetroot juice (0.5 L/d) can decrease pulmonary oxygen absorption (VO2) during submaximal exercise and increase tolerance to high-intensity labour rates.

LEAFY TEA

In a study examining the effects of green tea extract (GTE), it was discovered that 0.5% GTE supplementation over a 10-week period increased exercise and endurance performance by up to 8–24%. Lower respiratory quotients and greater rates of fat oxidation were shown to be associated with the 8–24% increase in swimming time–to–exhaustion, according to research from the Biological Sciences Laboratories of Kao Corp. in Tochigi, Japan.

The findings support the idea that stimulating fatty acid consumption is a promising method for enhancing endurance capacity and show that GTE is advantageous for doing so.

Results were obtained by consuming roughly 4 cups of green tea per day.

SUNFLOWER WATER

Eight healthy male volunteers participated in a study by Saat et al. where they exercised in the heat at 60% of VO2max until 2.78 +/- 0.06% of their body weight (BW) was reduced. Following exercise, the subjects sat for 2 hours in a thermoneutral atmosphere and drank amounts of plain water, coconut water, and a carbohydrate electrolyte beverage reflecting 120% of the fluid loss on various occasions.

Comparing coconut water to the consumption of a carbohydrate electrolyte beverage and plain water, researchers discovered that it was substantially sweeter, less likely to cause nausea, and easier to drink in larger quantities.

Researchers came to the conclusion that consuming fresh, young coconut water might be used to rehydrate the entire body after exercise.

PEPPERMINT

An herbal remedy with analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, antioxidant, and vasoconstrictor properties is peppermint.

One 500 ml bottle of mineral water with 0.05 ml of peppermint essential oil was drunk for 10 days in a trial involving twelve healthy male students. The experiment's findings revealed that peppermint essential oil had positive impacts on the young male students' performance, gas analysis, spirometry parameters, blood pressure, and respiratory rate after they underwent a typical treadmill activity test.

The logical explanations were bronchial smooth muscle relaxation, an increase in ventilation and brain oxygen levels, and a decrease in blood lactate levels.

PROTEIN

According to the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), active people need between 1.4 and 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day. The precise amount required will depend on the type and intensity of the exercise, the protein's quality, and the person's energy and carbohydrate intake. In healthy, active people, there is no need to worry that a protein intake in this range is unhealthy.

The best way to meet one's protein needs is to consume entire foods like eggs, meat, fish, poultry, dairy, and vegetable sources like soy and lentils. A secure and practical way to consume high-quality dietary protein is through supplemental protein. Protein consumption soon after exercise can speed up recovery and result in bigger gains in lean mass.

Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT): A Type of Fat

Fushika et al. looked into how frequently taking medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) affected swimmer endurance. The MCT-fed group demonstrated noticeably better swimming ability than the control group. Both trained and untrained participants showed these results.

The main metabolic effects of the muscle's adaptation to extended MCT administration during endurance exercise were increased enzyme activity for the synthesis of energy and the consumption of macronutrients.

Because MCTs pass the mitochondrial membrane much more quickly than long chain fatty acids and do not require the presence of carnitine, they offer roughly 10% fewer calories and are more immediately absorbed by the body and used as fuel. Less fat is stored as a result of this rapid metabolic conversion, and more fat is converted to fuel for immediate use.

MCTs have grown in favour among athletes who want to boost their energy levels and endurance during intense activity. They can also be used by athletes on high-protein, low-carb diets as a substitute energy source (nutritional ketosis). MCTs can also be promptly mobilized to rebuild muscles and stop catabolism during the post-exercise recovery phase.

A quarter-teaspoon of MCT should be taken multiple times per day (for example, as organic extra virgin coconut oil). Start with a modest dose of MCTs and gradually raise it as tolerated because they can produce nausea and stomach pain.

CARBOHYDRATES

Skeletal muscle tissue primarily uses lipids and carbohydrates as fuel during prolonged endurance activity. The amount of energy these fuel sources provide varies on the length and intensity of the exercise, with carbohydrate providing a larger amount of energy as exercise intensity rises.

The availability of carbohydrates affects capacity and performance throughout prolonged periods of activity. Therefore, a key performance-enhancing method is to increase the availability of carbohydrates during prolonged exercise by consuming carbohydrates.

Consuming carbohydrates while engaging in lengthy, moderate-to-vigorous activity (>2 h) can greatly enhance endurance performance. This is probably connected to the preservation of skeletal muscle glycogen, avoiding the depletion of liver glycogen and the consequent onset of hypoglycemia.

Despite the fact that endogenous carbohydrate stores are unlikely to be limiting, little amounts of carbohydrate ingestion during exercise may also improve the performance of shorter (45-60 min), more intense (>75% peak oxygen uptake; VO(2peak)) exercise bouts. The central nervous system is probably a key player in the mechanism underlying the ergogenic effects of carbohydrate consumption during brief, more intense exercise sessions.

Athletes who play team or intermittent sports also benefit from consuming carbohydrates while exercising. Similar carbohydrate feeding regimens are advocated for these athletes, but they must adjust their exogenous carbohydrate intake based on the intensity and length of their activities.

Researchers examined the use of chocolate milk as a recovery beverage in a study by Lunn et al. The study looked at how ingestion of fat-free chocolate milk affected cellular and kinetic indicators of protein turnover, muscle glycogen, and performance during endurance exercise recovery.

A unique advantage of milk over a carb-only beverage is suggested by the effects of milk consumption on post-exercise muscle protein fractional synthetic rate (FSR), signalling molecules of skeletal muscle protein turnover, leucine kinetics, and performance measures.

The usage of low-fat milk and chocolate milk by both persons and athletes who regularly engage in strength or endurance training is supported by mounting scientific evidence.

Numerous studies indicate that fat-free milk and chocolate milk can speed up recovery from strength and endurance training just as effectively as commercial sports beverages, if not better. Additionally, milk offers additional vitamins and nutrients that are absent from branded sports drinks.

There are lactose-free choices available for persons who are lactose intolerant. Also, organic grass-fed milk with raw cacao and local honey could be a healthier substitute for "conventional" milk.

Bananas have been demonstrated to be a viable alternative when discussing sports beverages and carbohydrates. Nieman et al. used conventional and metabolomics-based profiling to assess the acute effects of eating bananas vs a 6% carbohydrate drink on 75-km cycling performance and post-exercise inflammation, oxidative stress, and innate immune function.

They discovered that eating bananas before and during extended, intense exercise is a successful technique for enhancing performance, both in terms of fuel substrate usage and cost.

RAISINS

Dietary carbohydrates can alter metabolism and endurance differently due to their various glycemic indices.

The possible changes in metabolism and cycling performance following the consumption of raisins versus a high glycemic commercial sports gel were investigated in a study by Kern et al.

Eight cyclists with endurance training finished two trials in a random sequence. 45 minutes before exercising on a cycle ergometer at 70% of their maximum oxygen uptake, subjects were given 1 g of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight in either raisins or sports gel.

A 15-minute performance trial was completed by the volunteers after 45 minutes of submaximal exercise. Blood was drawn 45 minutes before and after the exercise session to measure the serum levels of glucose, insulin, lactate, free fatty acids, triglycerides, and beta-hydroxybutyrate. The gel and raisin trials yielded the same results in terms of performance.

According to the study's findings, compared to sports gel, raisins appear to be a more affordable source of carbohydrates for pre-exercise eating.