8 foods to help build muscle and stamina

 

As a sports nutritionist, I'm always looking for research about how different foods can improve athletic performance, speed up recovery, and build muscle mass.

When I tell people what I know, they often feel the effects right away. And I love it when they say things like, "Wow, what a change!" or "I don't feel my age."

Here are 8 foods on my "eats for athletes" list, along with the research that shows why they should be on your training table and easy, healthy ways to get the most out of them.

Beet juice 

Beets might give you more energy than caffeine or almost anything else you can buy in the supplement aisle.

And in a 2017 study published in the journal Nutrients, researchers found that athletes who drank beetroot juice had better heart and lung health.

Buy a juicer to improve your performance and get fresh beets any time of the year. Or look for beet juice in a bottle, which you can drink straight or mix into a smoothie to drink before a workout.

Blueberries 

Blueberries are a great food for healing because they are full of fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants. They also help reduce inflammation.

In a 2018 study published in the Iranian Journal of Public Health, researchers looked at how blueberries help healthy athletes recover and fight inflammation.

Researchers found that eating blueberries made the athletes work out longer and use more oxygen (VO2 max). The athletes also had fewer signs of inflammation. 

If you can't bring fresh blueberries to the gym, you can put dried or freeze-dried ones in your bag. You can also add them to smoothies and put them on top of yogurt.

Tart Cherries

 Tart cherries may improve muscle function and reduce muscle damage, oxidative stress, inflammation, and muscle soreness in athletes.

One study published in 2020 in the Journal of the American Nutrition Association found that athletes' endurance improved when they took tart cherry juice or powder for 1.5 hours before working out for seven days.

Only in late summer are fresh tart cherries in season. But you can get frozen, dried, and 100% tart cherry juice all year long.

Dark chocolate

Dark chocolate, which has a lot of flavonoids, is good for your health in many ways. One of these is that it protects your body from exercise.

In a 2018 study that was published in Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, some of the best football players were given dark chocolate (>85% cocoa). After 30 days, the players who ate dark chocolate had more antioxidants in their bodies and significantly fewer muscle damage markers. 6

So, having a few squares of dark chocolate that are individually wrapped and eaten every day might help. Dark chocolate can be melted and drizzled over fresh fruit, or it can be mixed into oatmeal, smoothies, or parfaits.

Coffee 

Coffee is one of the drinks that people around the world drink the most. Also, caffeine helps you do better when you work out.

One study, which came out in 2021 in the journal Nutrients, looked at how coffee affected muscle glycogen resynthesis after a very hard workout. Glycogen is the way that the body stores carbs.

The researchers found that when people drank coffee with milk, their muscles recovered glycogen faster than usual. They came to the conclusion that adding coffee to a drink with enough carbs could increase muscle glycogen for almost four hours after hard exercise. 

When you put more energy into the "piggy banks" in your muscles, you can work out harder or longer than usual. So, you can drink your coffee hot, or cold, or mix it into a smoothie however you like.

Honey 

Honey is a natural sweetener that has the same effect on exercise performance as other carbs. For example, honey, which is a good source of carbs, helps keep athletes from getting tired by giving them a natural energy boost. Also, honey is quickly broken down by the body, which raises blood sugar.

In a 2019 study that was published in Nutrients, researchers looked at male cyclists who ate honey for several weeks. When the cyclists worked out over and over again, their bodies responded with less inflammation than usual. 

Organic raw honey that is certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for quality and purity is a good choice. You can eat it right off the spoon or mix it into a snack like oatmeal to eat before a workout.

Pea Protein

Pea protein powder has a lot of branched-chain amino acids, which keep you from getting tired as quickly when you work out. Pea protein is a full plant protein because it has all nine essential amino acids. 

Yellow pea protein powder may help the immune system because it contains arginine.

 At the same time, lysine helps the body absorb more calcium and lose less, which helps keep bones strong. More than 25 grams of lean protein can fit into one scoop.

You can mix pea protein powder with almond milk, almond butter, cinnamon, and frozen cherries or berries to make a smoothie.

Pomegranate 

Pomegranates have antioxidants that may help improve memory and brain activity.

In 2016, PLoS One published the results of a study that found that pomegranate juice helps muscles recover.

The researchers found nine top weightlifters in their early 20s. They gave each of them either a placebo or pomegranate juice before two Olympic weightlifting sessions. The group that got pomegranate juice did better than the group that got a sugar pill. 

Pomegranate is a fruit that grows in the winter. But you can find frozen foods at any time of the year. Just let them thaw and add them to oatmeal, parfaits, or garden salads. You could also try small shots of 100% juice.