Post a good workout you need a good workout snack to help your body recover, rebuild your muscles and get back to shape. It is advisable to consume a post workout snack rich in proteins in 30 minutes of your workout. Priya Kathpal, Nutritionist with BCube Advanced Sports Nutrition gives you seven post workout snack ingredients that will pump your body’s recovery mode. She gives you seven post workout snack ingredients and why they are beneficial for you.Scientifically, there are several reasons why a post workout snack helps the body (Via):
* Replenish muscle glycogen that was depleted during your workout.
* Reduce muscle protein breakdown caused by exercise.
* Increase muscle protein synthesis.
* Reduce muscle soreness and fatigue.
* Greatly enhance overall recovery.
* Reduce cortisol levels.
Expert Speak on post workout snack
“Muscle grows on proteins but when it comes to using energy, good quality carbohydrates are the way to go. Right combination of these two would help build the muscles,” explains nutritionist, Priya.
She lists out these foods that can help you post the workout, “Some of the foods that are great muscle builders are…”
Eggs – possesses extremely high biological value thus a large amount of protein absorbed from eggs is readily available for use in the body.
Eggs are extremely versatile ingredient and you prepare about snack with it.
Mackerel – higher omega 3 content helps reduce the inflammation in the muscle generated post an intense work out, also rich in proteins.
There are several fishes and vegetarian ingredients that are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids. But mackerel has the highest amount of Omega 3 hence it recommended to consume dishes prepared with mackerel.
Low fat cottage cheese – contains a specific protein known as casein which provides a sustained protein release so great for night time to make sure your muscle does not go hungry while you are sleeping.
Lentils – contains loads of fiber and slow burning carbohydrates that can provide energy to your muscles for a long time.
Lentils are part of most Indian foods and all for the right reasons. If you workout then a good lentil dish can take care of the muscles in the body.
Almonds – contains more proteins and fiber than most of the nuts, rich in vitamin E which helps fight the free radicals, high levels of B vitamins helping the energy metabolism; in short a perfect adjunct to any muscle building diet.
What's better for high intensity exercise - water or sports drinks?
It is right to say that sports drinks do a better job of hydration than water. Dehydration during exercise is caused due to sweating in which water and body’s electrolytes are lost. During exercise sweating occurs so as to maintain the core temperature of the body. Carbohydrate stores of the body are also depleted during exercise as the muscles use the glycogen stored in them as well as that of the liver.
Sports drinks are made up of water, salt, electrolytes, glucose or glucose polymers and fructose. Glucose and salt increase the absorb-ability or uptake of water in the body. The absorption of plain water as compared to the sports drinks is less and therefore, sports drinks improve hydration.
There are two main factors which affect the uptake of a drink or fluid in the body
* The speed at which it is emptied from the stomach
* The rate at which it is absorbed through the walls of the small intestine.
Glucose in the drink will prevent blood glucose levels to fall too low and also help to maintain body’s glycogen stores. Sodium and potassium are the main electrolytes which help maintain the hydration and reduce urine output.
