Eating The Right Foods For Exercise

Nutrition is important for fitness

Eating a well-balanced diet can help you get the calories and nutrients you need to fuel your daily activities, including regular exercise.

When it comes to eating foods to fuel your exercise performance, it’s not as simple as choosing vegetables over doughnuts. You need to eat the right types of food at the right times of the day.

Get off to a good start

Your first meal of the day is an important one. Eating breakfast regularly has been linked to a lower risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Starting your day with a healthy meal can help replenish your blood sugar, which your body needs to power your muscles and brain.

Eating a healthy breakfast is especially important on days when exercise is on your agenda. Skipping breakfast can leave you feeling lightheaded or lethargic while you’re working out.

Choosing the right kind of breakfast is crucial. Too many people rely on simple carbohydrates to start their day. A plain white bagel or doughnut won’t keep you feeling full for long.

In comparison, a fiber- and protein-rich breakfast may fend off hunger pangs for longer and provide the energy you need to keep your exercise going.

Pack protein into your snacks and meals

Protein is needed to help keep your body growing, maintained, and repaired. Protein is also essential for building and repairing muscles, helping you enjoy the benefits of your workout. It can be a source of energy when carbohydrates are in short supply, but it’s not a major source of fuel during exercise.

 

Boost your fruit and vegetable intake

Fruits and vegetables are rich sources of natural fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other compounds that your body needs to function properly. They’re also low in calories and fat. Aim to fill half your plate with fruits and veggies at every meal.

Every time you go to the grocery store, consider choosing a new fruit or vegetable to try. For snacks, keep dried fruits in your workout bag and raw veggies in the fridge.

 

Fuel up before exercise

When it comes to fueling up before or after a workout, it’s important to achieve the right balance of carbs and protein. Pre-workout snacks that combine carbohydrates with protein can make you feel more energized than junk foods made from simple sugars and lots of fat.

Consider stocking your workout bag and refrigerator with some of these simple snacks:

1)   Bananas

Bananas are full of potassium and magnesium, which are important nutrients to get on a daily basis. Eating a banana can help replenish these minerals while providing natural sugars to fuel your workout. For added protein, enjoy your banana with a serving of peanut butter.

 

2)   Berries, grapes, and oranges

These fruits are all full of vitamins, minerals, and water. They’re easy on your intestines, give you a quick boost of energy, and help you stay hydrated. Consider pairing them with a serving of yogurt for protein.

3)   Nuts

Nuts are a great source of heart-healthy fats and also provide protein and essential nutrients. They can give you a source of sustained energy for your workout.

Pair them with fresh or dried fruit for a healthy dose of carbohydrates. However, test these options to see how they settle. High-fat foods can slow digestion, and they may make food sit in your stomach too long if your workout is coming up quickly.

4)   Nut butter

Many grocery stores carry single-serving packets of peanut butter that don’t require refrigeration and can be easily stored in a gym bag. For a tasty protein-carbohydrate combo, you can spread peanut butter on:

  • an apple
  • a banana
  • whole-grain crackers
  • a slice of whole-grain bread

If you don’t like peanut butter, try almond butter, soy butter, or other protein-rich alternatives.

 

Balance is key

As you settle into an active lifestyle, you’ll probably discover which foods give you the most energy and which have negative effects. The key is learning to listen to your body and balancing what feels right with what’s good for you.

Follow these tips:

  • Aim to make breakfast a part of your routine.
  • Choose complex carbohydrates, lean protein sources, healthy fats, and a wide variety of fruits and veggies.
  • Stock your fridge and gym bag with healthy workout snacks.

The right balance of carbohydrates, protein, and other nutrients can help fuel your exercise routine.

Amazing Health Benefits of Himalayan Pink Salt

Despite the “Himalayan” in its name, Himalayan pink salt is found primarily in Pakistan. It’s a form of salt that is sought after for its lovely pink hue and is marketed as a healthier substitute for table salt.

In truth, while Himalayan pink salt may have trace higher amounts of certain important nutrients, such as magnesium, it doesn’t contain enough to make an impact. Nutritionally, this pretty salt is extremely similar to regular salt.

 

How to use Himalayan Salt

You can use is for regular cooking or as a finishing salt. It offers a burst of saltiness for your palate. Himalayan salt is also good for seasoning meat as it clings to the surface well and spreads evenly.  You can also blend the sweet and savoury and use a pinch in desserts.

 

Why does the body need salt?

Sodium is an essential trace mineral found in salt. The body needs this for a variety of functions.

It can support:

  • contracting and relaxing muscles
  • maintaining proper fluid balance and preventing dehydration
  • sending nervous system impulses
  • preventing low blood pressure

Recent research has suggested that eating salt can reduce the risk of infection and kill harmful bacteria.

 

Click here for more Himalayan Pink Salt nuts mixes product

Recipe: White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

This easy recipe for White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies is healthy, gluten free, and made with simple ingredients. They are slightly chewy and are soft to the touch, and rival the traditional cookie.

Ingredients

1) 1 egg

2) ¼ cup honey

3) ¼ cup melted coconut oil

4) 1 tsp vanilla

5) 2 cups almond flour

6) ½ tsp baking powder

7) ¼ tsp salt

8) ¾ chopped macadamia nuts

9) ¾ cup chopped white chocolate

 

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 350F

2) In a large bowl, mix together egg, honey, coconut oil and vanilla

3) In a small bowl, mix together almond flour, salt and baking powder

4) Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until combined

5) Add in some nuts and chocolate, saving some to place on top

6) Let dough chill for 30 minutes in fridge

7) Scoop out dough (about 2 tablespoons) and flatten slightly on baking sheet

8) Top with more nuts and chocolate

9) Bake for 11-13 minutes or until slightly golden

 

 

Get your freshness Macadamia here.

Which is the Healthiest Nut?

 

Which is the Healthiest Nut?

Despite the fact that every nut has its own benefits, all of them are good for you. At the moment, walnuts
are considered to be the most well-researched variety, so their positive effects on the body are best known. They are particularly good for the brain and heart health. Cashews are the best nuts for pregnancy.

Note that any nuts are high in calories, so you should eat them in moderation. Generally, a handful of nuts per day as a snack is all you need to get their numerous benefits.

How a Handful of Nuts a Day Makes You Healthier

Eating healthy foods makes your body stronger, and nuts are one of the best options you can find. They are good for the heart, vessels, and brain, and they are incredibly tasty. Today we’ll explain what exactly a handful of nuts does to your body.

First of all, it’s important to bust the myth about this food being bad for the diet because it contains lots of fat. This is not the case as the fats in nuts are unsaturated. They are often called ‘good fats’ because they reduce the levels of ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol.

Health Benefits Provided by a Handful of Nuts

Nuts are good for you because they contain lots of valuable nutrients:

 

They improve your overall health due to omega 3 fatty acids.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They improve your overall health due to omega 3 fatty acids

Omega 3 are essential fatty acids that help our bodies reduce the level of inflammation. Some of the processes happening within our bodies are inflammatory in nature and necessary for supporting our life. However, if they get out of control, the body develops a wide range of diseases. Maintaining a healthy balance of omega 6 (promote inflammation) and omega 3 (reduce inflammation) fats is vital for your overall health. Vegans and vegetarians, in particular, have a hard time doing this because the richest source of these fatty acids is fish. Nuts are the best alternative among plant-based foods.

 

They protect you from free radicals due to vitamin E

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They protect you from free radicals due to vitamin E
All nuts contain varied amounts of this important antioxidant. Vitamin E helps keep your hair and nails strong, your skin unblemished, and your blood vessels flexible, because it helps stop the development of plaques in the arteries. A handful of nuts will help you meet your daily requirement of vitamin E and give you a boost of other important nutrients.

 

They reduce cholesterol absorption due to plant sterols

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They reduce cholesterol absorption due to plant sterols

Plant sterols are a substance that affects the natural level of cholesterol absorption. They don’t stop this process completely but help slow it down to manageable levels. Their efficiency has been tested during numerous studies. They’ve been proven so effective that today some of the ‘worst’ cholesterol-rich foods (like margarine) are enriched with these sterols to make them more heart-friendly.

 

They keep the arteries healthy due to L-arginine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They keep the arteries healthy due to L-arginine
Nuts contain natural L-arginine, an amino acid that transforms into a neurotransmitter, which makes your arteries relax. It improves circulation and reduces the risk of severe health problems, like heart attack, heart disease, stroke, etc. It also helps relieve chest pain and improves the condition of people suffering from clogged arteries.