Scientific studies say that some foods actually can help us recover faster from exercise and thus improve our athletic performance faster.
Foods to improve performance in sports
One of the foods that can help us recover faster after training is spinach [1]. According to studies, those who ate spinach for 14 days before the half marathon experienced almost 2 times less oxidative stress after the half marathon compared to those who did not eat spinach.
The study also measured muscle damage with creatine kinase and the non-spinach group had a creatine kinase level of 602±90 24 hours after the half marathon, while the spinach group had a creatine kinase level of 256±35.
Another food that reduces post-workout pain is cherries [2] and cherry juice [3]. Eating cherries may result in less muscle soreness 24, 48, and 72 hours after exercise compared to not eating cherries [2].
Also, drinking 355 ml of cherry juice twice a day for 7 days before the 26.3 km +/- 2.5 km race, including the day of the race, reduced pain after the race to (12 +/- 18 mm) compared to the group that did not drink juice (37 +/- 20 mm) [3].
Another study suggests that, in general, eating fruits and vegetables (with the exception of potatoes) has a positive effect on the growth of muscle power [4].
The study compared how high boys and girls could jump and found that those boys and girls who ate more fruits and vegetables (> 237.71 g/day for boys and > 267.57 g/day for girls) had significantly greater jumping power than those who ate the least fruits and vegetables (<135.09 g/day and <147.43 g/day, respectively).
Similar results have also been observed when fruits and vegetables were consumed separately [4].
Summary
So, what are science-based foods to improve performance in sports?
Well, it looks like scientific research says that spinach and cherry are good foods to eat if we want to improve our performance in sports.
P.S. If you want to learn more about other vitamins, what are their recommended dosages based on science, get healthy meal plan examples, my top science-based recipes that can be cooked in less than 30 minutes each and find out how science-based nutrition can prevent and treat the most common diseases, improve your overall health and help you live longer then you can click here to learn more.
If you don’t want to miss my other articles then click here to subscribe to my Telegram Channel or use the form below to subscribe to my email newsletter.
You can read some of my other latest articles as well:
- Top 10 motivational quotes
- Omega-3 fatty acids recommendations
- What is the best training frequency for building muscle based on science?
- Best plant-based protein foods
- Happy New Year 2023!
- Does meditation help with stress and aging based on science?
- Is salt healthy based on science?
- Foods to improve performance in sports
- Healthy foods that last for a long time without a fridge
- Science-based macronutrient recommendations for athletes
- Top 7 healthy nuts to eat based on science
- Vitamin D recommendations, dosage, its impact on health
- How to live longer by increasing telomere length
- Healthy beverages based on science
- Recipe: whole wheat no-yeast vegan pizza dough
- What is NEAT? How to lose weight with NEAT?
- Are calcium supplements safe based on science?
- Are nuts good for weight loss and health
- 4 simple steps how I gained 1.5 kg (3+ lbs) per week healthily and how you can too
- Top 5 foods to avoid for weight loss and health
- Is fasting safe for weight loss and health?
- Top 10 healthiest berries
- Does healthy mindset really help improve our results (science-based)?
- Are potatoes healthy for you based on science?
- Is HIIT better than cardio based on science?
- What’s the best nutrition tracker app in 2023?
- How to build good habits in 4 simple science-based steps
- What are the scientific benefits of exercise?
- Are eggs healthy for weight loss and in general based on science?
- How to lose weight in 4 easy steps (science-based)
- Is keto diet safe and effective way to lose weight?
- Cardiovascular disease risk factors and treatment
- Is coffee healthy or does it increase the risk of diseases?
- Is laughter the best medicine?
- Can diet prevent and treat diabetes?