Why Runners Should Be Eating Blue Foods

You are probably wondering why in the heck I felt the need to break food up into color categories. I hope that this helps you see how amazing real foods are, especially plant based foods, with all the amazing colors they come in (who needs Red #40 and FD&C Yellow #5 when you have things like beets and turmeric?). It all boils down to this; every new book, piece of literature or study I pick up that touts the amazing effects of a certain food all have ONE thing in common. They are unprocessed real foods. This blog is all about blue/purple foods, which are some of the rarest, but to me some of the yummiest foods. Who doesn’t love fresh picked blueberries in the summer or a purple carrots (yes, that’s a thing, they exist, and they’re fun) to mix things up a bit? The benefits of blue foods come from anthocyanins, know for their antioxidant and anti-aging properties. Each individual blue food will have its own special properties to help athletes. Blackberries are high in vitamin K which promotes calcium absorption, plums are a source of B vitamins, which help metabolize proteins, fats and carbs, and eggplants are high in vitamin C, calcium and phosphorous which are all important for maximum performance and recovery. Purple and blue foods boost immune system activity, support healthy digestion, and improve calcium and other mineral absorption. There it is again, mineral (or what are often referred to as electrolytes) absorption. We all know electrolytes are incredibly important for runners dealing with summer heat so be sure to get in your blue foods so you can run well in the summer heat. For an easy blue food recipe (and a fun way to drink more water) click here to check out my video on how to make blueberry infused water. Happy Running!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*
*
Website