Eat like an Olympian: Top sports nutrition trends
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As the mainstream market moves toward less processed foods, cleaner and more natural sports performance products are rising, including in the Olympics. Vega formulator and Ironman triathlete Brendan Brazier (pictured here) is on the forefront of the plant-based, holistic sports nutrition trend. We highlight the growing number of leaner products–sans GMOs and common allergens–and dive into what natural companies are driving the trend in our NEXT: The Natural Products Industry Forecast 2013.
The Paleolithic Diet, otherwise known as "the caveman diet," has been promoted as an alternative healthy lifestyle since the mid-1970s. Based on the premise that a cavemen would naturally eat much more than we do today, dieters adhere to strict rules of eating no processed food, as well as no grains, dairy, legumes or sugar. Paleo has become the choice diet for the inventive sport of Crossfit and its athletes—self dubbed as “the fittest people in the world.” As the cult-like sport of Crossfit continues to garner more national attention with sponsors like Reebok, retailers can take advantage its popularity by pledging to fuel this new breed of athlete. Contributed by Kyle Corbin
You can’t write about Olympic nutrition without mentioning the most decorated athlete in history, Michael Phelps. His reported 12,000 calorie per day diet drew an enormous amount of attention since his debut in Beijing. But according to a recent interview in Details magazine, his diet isn’t as outrageous as we all love to think. “People make a big deal out of what I eat, but it's not that crazy. I had a three-egg omelet and three pieces of French toast and coffee this morning,” Phelps said. That’s a far cry from his breakfast in 2008, which included “three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise. Two cups of coffee. One five-egg omelet. One bowl of grits. Three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar. Three chocolate-chip pancakes,” according to the
In the Beijing 2008 Olympics, swimmer Ryan Lochte famously filled the majority of his daily caloric requirements via McDonalds, according to an interview with NBC. Granted, he was only 16 at the time. Now Lochte has cleaned up his act. And he has the gold medal to show for it. Ryan Lochte said he refined his diet for the London Olympics. He stopped eating fast food, and adopted foods like lean protein, whole grains and healthy fats. A typical recovery meal includes grilled chicken, whole grain spaghetti and a green salad with lemon juice and olive oil, according to ABC news—a meal that gets our seal of approval.
With all the innovation in the natural foods industry, one might expect an Olympian’s diet to be, well, more interesting. Instead, simple whole foods are the go-to for top American medalists. Beach volleyball’s Misty May-Treanor’s power food is Greek yogurt and honey, and pal Kerri Walsh Jennings describes her food philosophy as "the greener the better." The two won their third consecutive Olympic gold medal yesterday during their final match together. Two-time Olympic gold sabre fencer Mariel Zagunis cites a hearty zucchini soup as her go-to fuel, while marathon runner Kara Goucher opts for quinoa. And swimmer Natalie Coughlin, an 11-time Olympic medalist, is a gardener and a kale fanatic. “I have an entire bed dedicated for kale and another for herbs,” she told Huffington Post.
Nastia Liukin, gymnast and 5-time Olympic medalist, says the best nutrition advice she ever got was to eliminate processed, packaged foods. “Living that organic lifestyle and eating clean I've really noticed a change in my energy level as well,” she said. “My approach is to have a clean diet and eat fresh food, and eating organic is definitely important to me.”
Apollo Ono, speedskater, said he ate “colostrum and oatmeal” to prepare for the last 2010 Olympics. He ate a super healthy, extremely refined diet, because he wanted to know that he had done everything in his power to do the best he could and have nothing to blame but himself at the end of the day—he said he lived kind of like a monk. His favorite foods? “I love all kinds of foods—Mexican, Asian, Italian—so it really depends on the mood I’m in. For training purposes, it’s lots of lean protein like fish and chicken, carbohydrates like rice and potatoes, and leafy green vegetables,” he told Eating Well.
Click here to dive into Olympic athletes and supplement use–and which athletes use supplements as a scapegoat for “accidental” doping. Here’s a preview: not all sports supplements are spiked and yes, athletes do use them for increased performance. Olympic rower Susan Francia (pictured) and triathlete Laura Bennett, both sponsored by BioEnergy Ribose, reveal why they use ribose during their training in the articles linked here.
Click here to dive into Olympic athletes and supplement use–and which athletes use supplements as a scapegoat for “accidental” doping. Here’s a preview: not all sports supplements are spiked and yes, athletes do use them for increased performance. Olympic rower Susan Francia (pictured) and triathlete Laura Bennett, both sponsored by BioEnergy Ribose, reveal why they use ribose during their training in the articles linked here.
From junk food to organic, Olympians’ nutritional strategies vary as much as the sports they play. As sports nutrition gets cleaner, we take a look at how Olympians and athletes get their fuel.
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