Foods You Should Avoid Before Going for a Run
It’s important to take certain precautions before going for a run, especially when it comes to food. If you don’t, your performance may be impaired due to stomach or intestinal discomfort. For this reason, we’re going to show you what foods you should avoid eating before going for a run or moments before a sports competition.
Very fatty foods are a no-go before going for a run
Fats are necessary since they intervene in muscle recovery processes and also have an anti-inflammatory effect. Omega-3 fatty acids are evidence of this, as documented in an article published by the Biochemical Society Transactions journal.
However, foods rich in lipids aren’t suitable to eat before going for a run. The reason for this is their digestion and gastric emptying are slow. As a consequence, people tend to suffer from stomach discomfort after eating them while performing physical activity.
When planning a meal prior to sports practice, it’s better to emphasize the contribution of proteins and even carbohydrates. Of course, you can include fats in a moderate way. However, it’s vital that you avoid preparation methods that require frying or large doses of oil.
Weathering foods
Gas is one of the worst sensations you can have when going for a run. This causes intestinal discomfort and pain, in addition to making sports difficult. To avoid these types of situations, it’s vital that you restrict weathering foods before carrying out this exercise.
A study published in the Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice established that legumes increase the production of intestinal gas. As a result of this, it’s possible to experience flatulence.
For that reason, it’s essential to avoid these kinds of foods before doing sports or any other kind of physical exercise. We advise you only eat foods that are easy to digest.
Carbonated drinks
You mustn’t ingest carbonated drinks or alcohol if you’re going to go for a run. In addition to increasing the risk of stomach ache, those types of products can exert influence on diuresis and blood sugar levels. This situation directly affects sports performance in a negative way.
Therefore, if you want to drink something prior to physical exercise, the best option will always be water. This drink improves your state of hydration and, additionally, you can even dissolve an electrolyte tablet in it in order to reduce the risk of muscle cramps. The important thing to highlight here is that you must avoid consuming carbonated and sugary drinks.
Dairy products
Dairy has high-fat content so it can cause slower and heavier digestion than other types of foods. Of course, it’s necessary and practically essential for our diets. Nonetheless, you shouldn’t consume it before going for a run. Its intake can slow down the digestive process and cause stomach discomfort that makes it uncomfortable to carry out physical exercise.
An effective option would be to choose skimmed dairy to avoid excessive fat intakes before exercising. However, those products tend to be of poor quality, as fat-soluble vitamins are eliminated along with fat.
Foods to avoid before going on a run
The foods we mentioned above are rich in fat or that generate flatulence. For that reason, it’s important to consider not consuming them before going for a run or doing sports. Remember that they can cause stomach discomfort and make it difficult to practice physical exercise.
Before doing sports, we recommend you consume easily digestible foods. Products rich in protein are usually a good choice. Additionally, you could also consume carbohydrates in order to maintain the body’s glycogen stores and delay the onset of fatigue.
Moreover, there’s one unbreakable law of sports nutrition we must mention. Basically, before engaging in physical activity, you mustn’t over experiment with food. Only consume foods that are good for your digestive system.
On the other hand, in case you’re on the fence about whether or not you should consume something before exercising, it’s better not to. This doesn’t mean you can’t ever consume it; you can, just in a different context. This tip becomes even more important when it comes to pre-competition food. In such circumstances, it’s recommendable to always stick to the same foods, that way you know you won’t experience an adverse reaction.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Calder PC., Omega 3 fatty acids and inflammatory processes: from molecules to man. Biochem Soc Trans, 2017. 45 (5): 1105-1115.
- Baldwin A., Zahradka P., Weighell W., Guzman RP., Taylor CG., Feasibility and tolerability of daily pulse consumption in individuals with peripheral artery disease. Can J Diet Pract Res, 2017. 78 (4): 187-191.