THE ATHLETE’S KITCHEN
Copyright: Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD December 2011
If you are a winter runner, you want to pay careful attention to your sports diet. Otherwise, lack of food and fluids can take the fun out of your outdoor activities. These tips can to help you fuel wisely for cold weather workouts.
Winter hydration
Cold blunts the thirst mechanism; you’ll feel less thirsty despite significant sweat loss and may not “think to drink.”
Winter runners (especially those at high altitude) need to consciously consume fluids to replace the water vapor that gets exhaled via breathing. When you breathe in cold dry air, your body warms and humidifies that air. As you exhale, you lose significant amounts of water. You can see this vapor (“steam”) when you breathe.
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by Dr. Cathy Fieseler
(First in a series)
Knee pain is one of the most common complaints for which runners seek medical evaluation. Running is blamed for many maladies; usually there is an underlying reason for the injury, whether intrinsic (anatomy) or extrinsic (factors outside the body, such as overtraining). Running has been blamed for the development of knee arthritis, though a 20 year study performed by researchers at Stanford University found a lower incident of knee arthritis in runners than non-runners.
Why do runners develop knee pain? A basic understanding of the anatomy is a necessary component in any discussion of knee injuries.
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The Athlete’s Kitchen
Copyright: Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD Sept 2011
Gluten-free seems to be the latest sports nutrition buzzword. Gluten is a protein in wheat, rye and barley that must be avoided by people (including runners) with celiac disease, an inherited autoimmune disorder. Symptoms of celiac vary greatly and can range from digestive problems (diarrhea, constipation, bloating, gas) to health problems such as anemia, stress fractures, infertility in both men and women, migraine headaches, canker sores, easy bruising of the skin, swelling of the hands and feet, and bone/joint pain. The person feels lousy. Yet, some runners don’t even realize they have celiac disease. They feel fine—until they experience iron-deficiency anemia or stress fractures due to poor absorption of iron, calcium, and vitamin D. Other runners complain about “runner’s trots” and undesired pit stops.
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The Athlete’s Kitchen
Copyright: Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD August 2011
Why Is Weight Loss So Hard?
(part 2 of 2)
To read part 1, click Why Is Weight Loss So Hard? (part 1)
Weight loss tactics: So what’s a hungry athlete to do???
Drugs are not the answer. For the past 20 years, no successful weight-loss drugs have been developed and none are in sight in the near future. Drugs that regulate appetite impact many other regulatory centers and create undesired side effects. Hence, we need to learn how to manage the obesity problem at its roots—and that means prevent excessive fat gain in the first place, starting in childhood. Here are a few tips on how to do that.
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The Athlete’s Kitchen
Copyright: Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD August 2011
(part 1 of 2)
How to lose weight is the number one reason runners choose to make a nutrition appointment with me. They express frustration they “cannot do something as simple as lose a few pounds.” While none of these runners are obese, their frustrations match those of dieters in the general population.
At a conference presented by Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, and the Boston Nutrition Obesity Research Center (July 13-14, 2011), researchers addressed some of the issues that contribute to difficulty losing weight. Perhaps the following highlights might offer insights if you are among the many runners who struggle with shedding some unwanted body fat.
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The Athlete’s Kitchen
Copyright: Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD June 2011
Nutrition for Injury Recovery: Update from ACSM
Each year, more than 5,000 health professionals gather at the Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM; www.acsm.org). At this year’s meeting (Denver, June 1-4, 2011), exercise physiologists, sports medicine doctors, and sports nutritionists shared their research and offered updates. One of the updates will be of utmost interest to women runners.
Nutrition for Injuries
Unfortunately, part of being a runner seems to entail being injured; no fun. Runners with injuries should pay attention to their diet. If they are petrified of gaining weight (yes, petrified is a strong word, but it seems fitting to many injured athletes who seek my counsel), they may severely restrict their food intake. One marathoner hobbled into my office saying, “I haven’t eaten in two days because I can’t run…”
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by Dr. Cathy Fieseler
For years, distance runners have been told to drink as much as possible. Lately, I’ve heard about runners dying from drinking too much water during marathons. I’m a bit confused; if I don’t drink enough, isn’t dehydration a problem? Do sports drinks protect me from the danger of too much fluid?
For years, the medical community has been concerned about dehydration associated with prolonged running, such as marathons, especially in warm weather. This concern has led to the plentiful aid stations in races and the development of sports drinks. It was felt that consumption of fluids while running would decrease the degree of dehydration.
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The Athlete’s Kitchen
Copyright: Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD May 2011
(Second of a two part series)
The question arises: What’s so bad about cravings in the first place? Is there really something wrong with eating what you truly want to eat? Cravings are not addictions. That is, if you crave a bagel because it tastes good, why should you not enjoy the bagel?
When you eat a food you crave, your brain experiences a biochemical change that signals happiness. Can eating an appropriate portion (as opposed to overeating “the whole thing”) be a bad thing to do?
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The Athlete’s Kitchen
Copyright: Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD May 2011
(First of a two part series)
“If I crave a candy bar, should I eat a candy bar?”
That’s the title of one of my most popular blog posts! Clearly, food cravings and sugar addictions are a source of concern and frustration for many runners who believe that eating one chocolate bar (or whatever food they crave) will lead to eating ten of them, expand their waistlines, and ruin their health. They avoid chocolate like the plague. Instead, they righteously snack on only “healthy foods” like apples and oranges.
While the natural goodness of fruit is indeed the more nutritious and health-promoting choice, some nice chocolate, enjoyed in response to a hankering, can also fit into your sports diet. By regularly enjoying chocolates, you can avoid the strong cravings that lead to eating a sickening amount—not because you are “addicted to sugar” but because you are doing “last chance eating” before you go back into your self-defined food jail.
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by Dr. Cathy Fieseler
I’m a 25 year old female, and have been an athlete all of my life. I have been running regularly for 10 years and have experienced recurrent episodes of pelvic pain while running. This does not occur every time that I run and does not seem to be related to my menstrual cycle. I have altered my diet and the pain does not seem to be related to this. What is causing this problem and what can I do?
There are a numerous possible causes of pelvic pain. Osteitis pubis is an inflammation of the symphysis pubis (where the pubic bones meet in the front of the body). This area will be extremely tender to palpation. Most women who have had vaginal deliveries will have some changes on x-ray without any symptoms, so clinical exam is important. Osteitis pubis can cause pain radiating into the thighs and lower abdomen; it is aggravated by running.
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