I know you work hard to make the best lifestyle choices. You can improve your health, Destiny and Longevity and there's lots of information out there on how to do just that. So, where do you start? Well, we start with the facts. Welcome to the nutrition facts podcast. I'm your host dr. Michael Greger. My job is to bring you the latest peer-reviewed nutrition and health research and share it with you here. Today, we're going to look at the research on the best.
For optimal athletic performance. Starting with the effects of spinach and berries on oxidative stress inflammation and muscle soreness in athletes, higher
fruit. And vegetable consumption was found to be positively associated with muscle power and adolescents. But that's not who really needs it. What about the consumption of fruit and vegetables and risk of Frailty in the elderly? Higher fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with lower Frailty as well. And a dose-response me.
Manner meaning more fruit less Frailty and more vegetables to, but these were all observational studies, which can't alone prove cause and effect. What happens when you put foods to the test? Well, no positive influence ingesting, chia seed oil and human running performance, but there was an effect found for spinach supplementation, on exercise-induced oxidation stress and by spinach supplementation that meant they just gave some guys, some fresh
Spinach leaves one gram per kilo. So like a quarter of a bunch of day for two weeks, then they have them run a half marathon and they found that chronic daily. Oral supplementation of spinach meaning, like eating a salad had alleviating effects unknown, markers of oxidative stress and muscle damage, and here's what happens. When you run a half marathon without spinach, a big spike in oxidative stress, blood Mound aldehyde levels that stays up hours or even days later.
In the spinach group the before. And after two weeks of spinach doesn't seem to make much of a difference, but put the body under pressure and then you can really see the difference. Your body is better able to deal with the stress and if you look at the resulting muscle damage as measured by creating kinase leakage from your muscles, that, that's an enzyme that should be in your muscles. Not leaking out into your blood. You start out at about a hundred and go up to
After the half marathon right after two hours later but it's the next day we're really feel it that delayed onset muscle soreness with CK levels, reaching 600 before coming back down. Okay, that's without spinach though on spinach, you get a similar immediate post race bump, but that next day, where spinach really shines, you don't get that. Same next day, Spike and so, for a competitive athlete,
That quicker recovery, may get you back training. You know, harder sooner, they attribute this to the anti-inflammatory effects of spinach, same with black currant juice after some hardcore weightlifting, muscle damage, indicators, go up and stay up, where's the same lifting drinking berries and it goes up, but comes right back down. But these were just measures of a biomarker of muscle soreness. What about actual soreness? If you look at the effects of tart,
Cherry juice on recovery, following prolonged, intermittent, Sprints, and soccer players, and you see the same kind of reduction of biomarkers of inflammation, but more importantly, less resulting muscle soreness then they measured maximum voluntary, isometric contractions of the leg muscles. Which understandably took a hit in the days after the intense workout, but not in the Cherry group.
They conclude that participants supplemented with a tart cherry. Concentrate were able to maintain greater functional performance, but that was testing, like, how high you can vertically jump, they didn't actually see if they played soccer any better. But this study on purple, grape juice. Actually showed an ergo genic effect in recreational Runners by promoting increased time to exhaustion where you ramp people up on a treadmill and see how long they can go before. Collapsing, after months of drinking a grape Kool-Aid type placebo.
Troll drink no real change in performance but a whopping 15 percent Improvement in the real grape group hung on for another 12 minutes, they use juice so they can make a matched placebo-controlled. Drink. But you can buy concord grapes fresh or tart cherries. Fresh frozen or water packed in a. Can I mix them with oatmeal cocoa and mint leaves for a chocolate-covered cherry type sensation. You may want to try that for a few days before participating.
In your next, big sporting event.
Next up, we look at the pros and cons of fennel fruits. As a cheap, easy to find non-perishable source of
nitrates,
dozens of studies. Now suggest that the nitrates and vegetables such as beets and green, leafy vegetables, may help both sick people as a low-cost prevention and treatment intervention for patients suffering. From blood flow disorders, such as high blood pressure and peripheral vascular disease.
As well as healthy people as an effective, natural performance-enhancing aid for athlete. Most of the studies were done on beet juice, which is why I was so delighted to see the study on whole beets as I reported before showing the same benefit. But what about studies on whole green leafy vegetables? There was this study while ago suggesting that one of the reasons that have the age many Americans and Europeans are dying. The Okinawan and Japanese are looking for.
Adam any more years of good health which they were is all the nitrate in their green leafy vegetables, which tended to bring down blood pressures when put to the test and the reason I didn't report on it at the time is because I never heard of these vegetables. I know what chrysanthemum flowers are, but I didn't think most of my viewers would be able to find these at the local store. What about good.
American red, white and blue, greens, like frozen, spinach hadn't been tested on till. Now, the one that test the immediate effects on Our arteries of a single meal, containing a cooked box of frozen spinach for both arterial stiffness and blood pressure. First, they needed a meal to increase artery stiffness and pressure. So they gave people a chicken and cheese sandwich, which lowered the elasticity of their arteries.
He's within hours of eating, but add the spinach and the opposite happens after chicken and cheese. The force, the heart has to pump goes up within minutes, but the spinach keeps things level. So, a meal with lots of spinach can lower blood pressure, and improve measures of arterial stiffness, that's great for day-to-day, you know, cardiovascular health. But what if you want a whole food source that can improve your performance?
You're out hiking or something beets and spinach, aren't the most convenient of foods is there anything we can just add to our trail-mix aisle? If you look at the list of high nitrate, vegetables, you'll see, there isn't much. You can just stick in your pocket online. Less fennel seeds have a lot, which are actually not seeds at all, but the whole little fruits of the fennel plant, let's find out.
Out fennel seeds are often used as mouth fresheners after a meal, and both the Indian subcontinent and around the world. You'll typically see a bowl of candy coated fennel seeds as you walk out of Indian restaurants. And when you chew fennel seeds, you can get a significant bump in nitric oxide production, which has the predictable vasodilator effect of opening, up blood vessels, making them a cheap easy way to carry a lightweight non-perishable source of nitrates.
They single out Mountaineers thinking chewing fennel seeds could help maintain oxygen levels at high altitudes and help prevent H. AP PE high altitude pulmonary edema. One of the leading killers of mountain climbers. Once you get more than like a mile and a half above sea. Level, not to be confused with h, AF e caused by the expansion of gas at high altitudes, a condition known as high altitude flatus.
Expulsion known to veteran Backpackers as Rocky Mountain barking spiders.
But fennel seeds may help with that too. As traditionally, they've been used, as a carminative meaning, a remedy for intestinal gas fennel has also been shown anti hirsutism activity, combating excessive hair growth in women. The so-called bearded woman syndrome, but applying a little fennel seed, cream can significantly reduce it but a fennel seeds have such a
Hormonal effect should be be worried about showing them. Well, there have been cases, reported of premature breast development, among young girls. Drinking fennel seed tea, a couple times a day for several months. Their estrogen levels were elevated. But after stopping the T, their chests and hormone levels went back to normal, current guidelines recommend against prolonged, use in vulnerable groups of children under 12, pregnant, breastfeeding women, and perhaps
Perhaps your pet rat as rodents metabolize. A compound and fennel called Esther goal into a carcinogen, but ourselves appear able to detoxify it. Finally today, what is the latest science on the performance enhancing qualities of nitrate-rich vegetables? Let's find out. Nitrates concentrated in green, leafy vegetables, and beats underwent, a great makeover, a few years ago from inert substances to having profound
Effects on the power plants within all of our cells. Reducing the oxygen cost during exercise meaning we can bust out the same amount of work with less oxygen. So one little shot of beet juice allows free divers to hold their breath for over four minutes to get about a half minute longer for others. This improved muscle efficiency allows athletes to exercise that higher power output or running speed for the same amount of breath that was back in 2012. What's happened?
And sins. Well, this all led to many athletes at leat and amateur alike, consuming beetroot juice prior to competition. But what does the new science say? Well, most of the studies were done on men. Turns out, it works on women to even African-American women and even more, neglected, research demographic, same workload, power outputs using significantly less oxygen after drinking be Jews. But forget Beach is what about hole?
It's cheaper. Healthier can find them in any produce aisle, but there had never been any studies. An actual beets until now whole beetroot consumption. Acutely, improves running performance, they gave physically fit men. Women a cup of half of the baked beats which is equivalent to about a can of beets seven, five minutes before running a 5k. They started out the same but during The Last Mile the 5K race. The beep group pulled a
Ahead compared to the placebo group. Who were given berries instead though they were running faster, their heart rate wasn't any higher. If anything to be troop group, reported less exertion faster. Time with less effort, they don't call them Block rock and beats for nothing, but if the Matrix is so good, why not? Just take them in a pill nitrates supplements with names like Hellfire although they can work their long-term safety.
Is questionable non vegetable, sources of nitrates may have detrimental health effects, so you want to improve our performance. We should really ideally obtain nitrates from Whole vegetables. The industry knows this instead markets and Ray of nitric oxide stimulating supplements. However, there's little or no evidence of a performance Improvement following supplementation with these so-called. No boosters, the evidence is with the vegetables.
How much money can companies make selling Beats though. So how about a novel, beetroot enriched bread product? We've tried to get people to eat their fruits and veggies and where has that gotten us? But hey, lots of people eat white bread so why not have them eat red bread and indeed it worked, red beet, bread bought down, blood pressures. Improved the ability of arteries to relax and dilate naturally bread. Therefore may be an effective vehicle to increase vegetable.
Without significant dietary changes because Heavens forbid people should have to change their diet to improve their health.
We would love it if you could share with us your stories about Reinventing Your Health to evidence-based nutrition. Go to nutritionfacts.org / testimonials we make share it on our social media to help Inspire others to see any graphs charts Graphics images or studies mentioned here. Please go to the nutrition facts podcast, landing page there, you'll find all the detailed information. You need plus links to all the sources we cite for each of these topics.
For a vital timely text on the pathogens that cause pandemics you can order the e-book audiobook or the hard copy of my last book, how to survive a pandemic for recipes, check out my new, how not to diet cookbook. It's beautifully designed with more than a hundred recipes for delicious and nutritious meals and all proceeds ever seen from the sales of all. My books goes to charity, nutritionfacts.org.
Self is a non-profit sized based Public Service where you can sign up for free daily updates on the latest in nutrition research via bite-sized videos and articles everything on the website is free. There's no ads, no corporate sponsorship and it's strictly non-commercial. I'm not selling anything. I just put it up as a public service, labor of love as a tribute to my grandmother, whose own life was saved with evidence-based nutrition.
