paleo diet for athletes
The Paleo Diet is popular among athletes because modern science has determined that athletes have stronger, bulkier muscles and better athletic performance happens when one eats the foods in the Paleo diet.
According to scientific studies, the Paleo diet gives the athlete the best use of his or her fatty acid pathways. Eating a low carbohydrate diet causes intramuscular stores of triglycerides in the muscle tissue and stored fat is more efficiently broken down. Glycogen or sugar stores in the liver, muscle, and bloodstream will be conserved in a more efficient way so that the blood sugar stays normal (without wide fluctuations) while the athlete exercises. Instead of burning sugar during exercise, you burn fat and this makes you leaner with stronger muscles.
The Paleo Diet eliminates all those things not available to our prehistoric ancestors such as processed foods, legumes, grains, sugar, salt, coffee, alcohol and dairy products. Among vegetables, potatoes have to be eliminated because today's potatoes have changed so much with biotechnology that they bear no resemblance to the tubers eaten by prehistoric man. Cereals and other grains came along much later to man and are excluded from the diet. This leaves you with a diet of fish, poultry, lean meats, eggs, most vegetables, nuts, fruits mushrooms, fresh herbs, and spices—plenty of food to get your workout started.
You should not eat as much fish as the Paleolithic man probably ate. The reason for this is that the fish they ate in prehistoric times were not contaminated with mercury and other contaminants you find in just about any fish you eat, in particular, freshwater fish. It's doubtful that Paleolithic man ate many ocean fish but as they are high in Omega-3 fatty acids which are helpful to your body, you can probably choose a good salmon or tuna cut.
Athletes who are not strictly weight trainers need to adopt the Paleo Diet with the exception that some extra carbs are necessary to restore blood sugar and sugar stores after a bout of exercise. The ideal diet for the endurance athlete is to eat a low to moderate glycemic index food containing carbohydrates (vegetables or tubers would do) two hours before the actual exercise. This is followed by a high glycemic food or drink during exercise (such as fruits or berries). Immediately after exercise, you drink or eat a recovery food that is a 4:1 or 5:1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein such as raisins, sweet potatoes or yams. In between exercise activities, you eat strictly the Paleo Diet with meats, fruits, and vegetables. In the athletic version of the Paleo Diet, there are higher protein requirements and lower carbohydrate requirements than many athletes eat.
Why all the talk about eating carbohydrates when Paleolithic man had no access to sugar and ate mostly proteins with complex carbohydrates. The fact is that research shows that its carbohydrates provide fuel for endurance training and even resistance (weight) training. The wise Paleolithic man probably ate berries while hunting and ate some complex carbohydrates a few hours before running the fields to catch and killdeer because he instinctively knew that his physical performance was much greater when he added these things to the diet in the order they were added. If complex carbs are limited before exercise, the Paleolithic man would run out of steam and would suffer from low blood sugar after straining himself physically during a day of hunting.
Scientifically, researchers have come to know that, after an exercise experience, one needs a snack that offers an amount of carbohydrate to proteins that are about 3:1—eaten about half an hour after exercise. Doing this allows muscle proteins to be re-synthesized and for glycogen stores to be replenished. In fact, an athlete needs to continually replenish glycogen stores in order to keep the blood sugar stable and have enough nutrition for the next day of physical activity. In the Paleo Diet, this can come from snacks containing vegetables, fruits or even dried fruits like raisins along with some nuts for added protein. Remember that protein doesn't always need to be from meat and that nuts are an excellent form of protein that is quickly absorbed and taken up by muscles and other body tissues.
In addition, carbohydrates don't have to mean cakes, pies, cookies, and bread. In the Paleo Diet, athletes can enhance their physical performance by eating plums, apricots, apples, oranges, mangoes, papaya, raisins, and other fruits during and immediately after exercise. Foods with a lower glycemic index are emphasized in the Paleo Diet as well and come in the form of greens, sweet potatoes, yams, carrots, radishes and other vegetables that do not raise the blood sugar as fast but provide sustained glucose sources that allow for increased endurance in events such as skiing, running and biking.
The Paleo Diet for athletes can easily provide stronger muscles and faster performance by carefully utilizing the diet to eat the proper amount of carbohydrates before during and after exercise. Protein helps build muscles, which is definitely covered under the Paleo Diet.
The Paleo Diet is popular among athletes because modern science has determined that athletes have stronger, bulkier muscles and better athletic performance happens when one eats the foods in the Paleo diet.
According to scientific studies, the Paleo diet gives the athlete the best use of his or her fatty acid pathways. Eating a low carbohydrate diet causes intramuscular stores of triglycerides in the muscle tissue and stored fat is more efficiently broken down. Glycogen or sugar stores in the liver, muscle, and bloodstream will be conserved in a more efficient way so that the blood sugar stays normal (without wide fluctuations) while the athlete exercises. Instead of burning sugar during exercise, you burn fat and this makes you leaner with stronger muscles.
The Paleo Diet eliminates all those things not available to our prehistoric ancestors such as processed foods, legumes, grains, sugar, salt, coffee, alcohol and dairy products. Among vegetables, potatoes have to be eliminated because today's potatoes have changed so much with biotechnology that they bear no resemblance to the tubers eaten by prehistoric man. Cereals and other grains came along much later to man and are excluded from the diet. This leaves you with a diet of fish, poultry, lean meats, eggs, most vegetables, nuts, fruits mushrooms, fresh herbs, and spices—plenty of food to get your workout started.
You should not eat as much fish as the Paleolithic man probably ate. The reason for this is that the fish they ate in prehistoric times were not contaminated with mercury and other contaminants you find in just about any fish you eat, in particular, freshwater fish. It's doubtful that Paleolithic man ate many ocean fish but as they are high in Omega-3 fatty acids which are helpful to your body, you can probably choose a good salmon or tuna cut.
Athletes who are not strictly weight trainers need to adopt the Paleo Diet with the exception that some extra carbs are necessary to restore blood sugar and sugar stores after a bout of exercise. The ideal diet for the endurance athlete is to eat a low to moderate glycemic index food containing carbohydrates (vegetables or tubers would do) two hours before the actual exercise. This is followed by a high glycemic food or drink during exercise (such as fruits or berries). Immediately after exercise, you drink or eat a recovery food that is a 4:1 or 5:1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein such as raisins, sweet potatoes or yams. In between exercise activities, you eat strictly the Paleo Diet with meats, fruits, and vegetables. In the athletic version of the Paleo Diet, there are higher protein requirements and lower carbohydrate requirements than many athletes eat.
Why all the talk about eating carbohydrates when Paleolithic man had no access to sugar and ate mostly proteins with complex carbohydrates. The fact is that research shows that its carbohydrates provide fuel for endurance training and even resistance (weight) training. The wise Paleolithic man probably ate berries while hunting and ate some complex carbohydrates a few hours before running the fields to catch and killdeer because he instinctively knew that his physical performance was much greater when he added these things to the diet in the order they were added. If complex carbs are limited before exercise, the Paleolithic man would run out of steam and would suffer from low blood sugar after straining himself physically during a day of hunting.
Scientifically, researchers have come to know that, after an exercise experience, one needs a snack that offers an amount of carbohydrate to proteins that are about 3:1—eaten about half an hour after exercise. Doing this allows muscle proteins to be re-synthesized and for glycogen stores to be replenished. In fact, an athlete needs to continually replenish glycogen stores in order to keep the blood sugar stable and have enough nutrition for the next day of physical activity. In the Paleo Diet, this can come from snacks containing vegetables, fruits or even dried fruits like raisins along with some nuts for added protein. Remember that protein doesn't always need to be from meat and that nuts are an excellent form of protein that is quickly absorbed and taken up by muscles and other body tissues.
In addition, carbohydrates don't have to mean cakes, pies, cookies, and bread. In the Paleo Diet, athletes can enhance their physical performance by eating plums, apricots, apples, oranges, mangoes, papaya, raisins, and other fruits during and immediately after exercise. Foods with a lower glycemic index are emphasized in the Paleo Diet as well and come in the form of greens, sweet potatoes, yams, carrots, radishes and other vegetables that do not raise the blood sugar as fast but provide sustained glucose sources that allow for increased endurance in events such as skiing, running and biking.
The Paleo Diet for athletes can easily provide stronger muscles and faster performance by carefully utilizing the diet to eat the proper amount of carbohydrates before during and after exercise. Protein helps build muscles, which is definitely covered under the Paleo Diet.
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