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Maximize energy, strength, endurance and
fat loss with these 5 performance foods.
BY LISA TURNER
Fuel Your
Active Life
with Food
Avid exerciser or weekend warrior?
Focus on foods that fuel your body,
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improve strength and build muscle. Turn
your frame into a lean, mean, moving
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Beets are high in naturally occurring
nitrates, which are converted by the body to
nitric oxide, a compound that dilates blood
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performance. In one study, athletes who drank beet
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especially fast-twitch muscles, which impact bursts of
speed and strength. In another study, runners who ate
cooked beets ran 5% faster. And in a review of 23 studies,
researchers concluded that drinking beet juice can
improve cardiorespiratory endurance (the ability of the
circulatory and respiratory systems to supply fuel during
sustained physical activity and to eliminate compounds
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improve performance and increase time to exhaustion.
Recipe tips:
- Wrap whole beets in foil and roast until tender.
- Add cooked and cooled beets to a smoothie with
bananas, blueberries and Greek yogurt.
Sweet potatoes are high in carbs,
critical for energy before high-intensity exercise.
Unlike other sources of carbohydrates, such as
pasta or bagels, sweet potatoes are grain-free, gluten-
free and rich in potassium, an electrolyte that’s depleted
during high-intensity exercise. Low potassium levels
impact muscle contractions, energy and endurance,
so it’s important to replenish them with natural sources.
Sweet potatoes are also high in beta-carotene, a powerful
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compounds that help reduce pain and swelling.
Recipe tips:
- Mash cooked sweet potatoes with almond milk,
cinnamon, chopped almonds and raisins for a grain-free
breakfast bowl. - Make “lasagna” with sweet potatoes thinly sliced
lengthwise in place of noodles.
86 cleaneating.com SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019
Get the recipe
cleaneating.com/beetlatkes