If you’re an athlete or runner, chances are you need a little extra get-up-and-go in your diet that supports your active lifestyle and rockin’ body. For anyone serious about their health and performance, emphasizing the overall importance of nutrition leads to excellence.
In recent years, athletes have been bombarded with information pertaining to the best ingredients that support a lean body: skinless chicken breasts, protein shakes and even chocolate milk. However, these foods and beverages aren’t as “clean” as they seem. Some animal-based foods contain very inflammatory sources of fats and proteins. Drinks with high protein content contain heavily processed ingredients such as protein extracts, for example, protein blends from plant-based food ingredients or whey protein.
What’s more important for individuals who live an active lifestyle is paying attention to the source of the nutrition rather than the benefits of each individual nutrient.
When you think about it, the food we eat is what we end up becoming. Food is just language that speaks to our bodies’ cells. Cells are pathways of communication that control everything from our metabolism to our brain function. Through millions of years of evolution, human cells have never been exposed to processed food ingredients until very recently, much less than a century. It’s unfortunate, yet not surprising, that processed foods cause all kinds of health problems, from food allergies to serious diseases including diabetes, heart disease and even cancer.
For individuals living an active lifestyle, like athletes or runners, high-quality sources of nutrition are needed. What aren’t needed are inflammatory foods or foods with high amounts of cholesterol, saturated fats, sugars, toxins and contaminants from processed ingredients. For example, protein blends are so highly processed; we can’t determine what actually takes place during production.
Runners with an active lifestyle need specific amounts of carbs, fats and protein to thrive, nutritionally speaking. These macro-nutrients should come from clean, plant-based foods and should be eaten at each meal. This balance will provide your body with fuel for performance and speed up recovery, muscle growth and repair. It will also prevent any nutritional shortages that can hinder performance.
You can use the charts below as guides to calorie consumption and key nutrient ratios for your gender and age:
Choosing the Karviva Divine Three Plant Based Nutritional Smoothie, soon to be known simply as “Harmony,” means choosing a clean beverage for speedy recovery post-workout. With no-added sugar and simple, clean, natural whole plant ingredients, a 12oz bottle of Karviva Divine Three (Harmony) contains 8 grams of natural plant protein (16% of DV) and 6 grams of dietary fiber (21% of DV). In addition, these smoothies contain excellent amounts of iron, potassium, magnesium and zinc from clean, natural whole plant sources, not from purified ones.
In the end, educate yourself beyond what is being promoted to you as an athlete. Proceed with caution after seeing advertisements for whey protein or plant-based proprietary protein blends. Instead, make plant-based whole food products for performance your go-to! These foods provide living nutrients your cells easily recognize and can process into energy. They also care for your muscles, heart and body overall.
Be active and be smart. Choose your food based on the proven and truthful medical benefits that support your choices.