Sustaining Your Stride with Nutrients the Older Runner Needs

Hi Running Friends!

For those of us older runners, there are some nutrients that we need to pay attention to. This episode talks more about what we need in general, rather than running specific fueling, but the same things also enhance our runner bodies.

Resources from the Episode:
The Wrinkled Runner Podcast-
Essential Amino Acids with Dr. Wolfe 
Fueling for the Runner

The Wrinkled Runner YouTube Channel:
Real Food for Runners  - check out the recipes in the description (which are also videos), they are different than the recipes below

Recipes for the Nutrients in the Episode:
Phytonutrients- This is a list of recipes from the Cornell Cooperative Extension
Protein- A list of 5 recipes that are high in Protein, and developed for athletes so there are a good amount of carbs in there, too
Calcium- This isn’t a recipe, but if you cook up a bunch of baby bok choi, you will get in a load of calcium without having to drink milk (which I hate)
Vitamin D- Roast Salmon with Lentils
Omega 3 Fats- Chia Seed Pudding

If you are looking for a coach to help you reach your running goals, even if it's just to start to run, take a look at my Coaching Services page on the website. I do virtual, in-person (Buffalo, NY area) and also offer single zoom sessions for those would just like to chat with a coach one time.

Find my additional outlets over at the YouTube channel and at wrinkledrunner.com. Sign up over on the blog for the once-a-month newsletter! If you would like information on utilizing a running coach, check out what I can do for you here.

If you have any running-related questions, please send an email to sherry@wrinkledrunner.com…I answer every one. 

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:23

Today I'm going to talk about fueling for older runners, but in a more general sense than like what to eat before a run or how to fuel a marathon. There's a ton of information out there regarding that and a lot of us eat carbs, but as we age, there are things that we can eat and just be more aware of nutritionally. I am a nutrition coach but I am not a registered dietitian and while I can make recommendations around fueling, I cannot prescribe supplements or make meal plans or diet plans, so be aware of anyone who is not an RD that says that they can. I can talk about how many grams of macronutrients you should eat, based on different factors, but I can't tell you how to get those proteins in. Besides a general recommendation, for example, saying to you that eating chicken breast is a food with protein in it and would be a better choice than a piece of fruit if you wanted to get in a certain amount of grams of protein. One of the reasons our diet may need to change a bit as we get older is the fact that everything about us is just older Our cells, our bones, our skin. They have all been working for a lot longer than someone in high school say, Reducing cell damage can be had by ingesting phytochemicals, and those are also called phytonutrients you might see it said that way as well and they are found in fruits and vegetables and we all know we need to get those veggies in and the berries and the fruits, but sometimes grabbing something processed seems to be an easier route. So, you know, if we're more thoughtful about having those things around the veggies and the more whole foods instead of grabbing, you know, a protein bar or whatever, then we can up the ways that real food can help us as we age those of us who are runners and if you're listening to this, my assumption is that is most of you we really need the anti-inflammatory action and the help against bone loss that those phytochemicals can provide. So any fruit, berry or vegetable you eat will have these in them. So it should be easy to incorporate more of them, like I said, if we are more thoughtful about it.

Speaker 1: 2:40

Now, when I you know I hate the grocery store, I like, really hate it. So one benefit of the pandemic was so many stores. Now delivery of whatever they sell is just an option and it's easy and you know, you just have an app and that's how I do most of my grocery shopping. I miss out on some things because sometimes I just don't see that it's available. And every once in a while when I go in a grocery store, you know I'll find something else that, wow, that looks like something I want to try. But for the most part I buy pretty much the same stuff every week. And because I hate going to the grocery store so much, the app that I use, instacart to get my groceries delivered. I can see everything that I usually buy and just kind of click, click, click, click, click. So one thing that I pretty much do every week is buy out the produce department and I get all the berries, all the fruits, all the vegetables and I just have all that available all the time.

Speaker 1: 3:52

And salads are a big part of what I eat. I love making a huge salad for lunch and I basically just chop up any vegetable that I have and I throw fruit in there too. I love fruit in my salads. I put in seeds, I put in seeds, I put in nuts, I sprinkle it with all kinds of herbs, cardamom seeds in salads, believe it or not, taste great. You know things with crunch in them. And I just put in all the things. Like I don't follow a recipe really. I just chop stuff up. I have like a handheld chopper thing that I just feed all the vegetables through and the little hopper thing is full. I dump that in a bowl and just keep chopping until the salad is done, and sometimes I can't even finish it.

Speaker 1: 4:41

But it's just one way that I use to make sure I'm getting all those fruits and vegetables in, and it's only possible because I have all of it available. It would be so much easier, like if I didn't have all that stuff available, to open up a can of processed soup or, you know, make a sandwich with deli meats which are not all that great, and that's another thing too. That I like to do is I will just roast a whole turkey breast and then I will just use that as the turkey in my sandwiches instead of from the deli counter. And you can look up all the different things about deli meat that you know why. It's not great. But finding ways to get whole foods in is just a really great way to get those phytonutrients or phytochemicals that I'm talking about. But if it's not in your house, you're not going to do it. So plan ahead and just be, like I said, mindful about having all those things available to be able to do that.

Speaker 1: 5:46

One thing that studies are showing that we need as we get older is a higher quantity of protein. Now, because we are runners, we may be a lot more carb focused, and because of the running that I do, I do incorporate a lot of carbs into my diet. But those same studies that are finding that, as we get older, we may need more protein, they're finding that we may need less carbs. So, as athletes, we need anywhere from 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, and so that means you may do some calculations if you're trying to figure that out. Now, for those runners who may be dealing with overtraining, or, as I've discovered, as I've researched ways on helping some of my athletes that have overtraining, researched ways on helping some of my athletes that have overtraining Now they're in. Some circles are calling it unexplained underperformance syndrome. I think sometimes it can be explained, so maybe not the best way of putting it, but anyway, a daily intake of two grams per kilogram may be in order for a time. So underfueling is a big reason a lot of runners become over-trained. So I think, with runners and with athletes in general.

Speaker 1: 6:59

Sometimes as an individual you kind of have to experiment with those recommendations and find out what works for you. We do have to fuel more to get the energy that we need to bang out those runs, and sometimes our science kind of mixes in with the prescribed science of what different people need. I find that if I take in all the carbs based on a formula that I just feel very heavy on my runs, very bloated, and it doesn't work well for me. So I've had to kind of tweak the formula, I guess, and the grams of carbs that I can tolerate on a run. And one of the reasons may be is when I was starting to figure out like the kind of macros, especially when I'm in marathon training, I Maybe I'm following along with what the studies are showing and I just didn't know it. Like I don't need as many carbs but I do need the upper level of the protein. So if you are figuring out macros and all that kind of stuff, sometimes it does take some experimentation with finding out what works best for you. But what's going to work best for everybody is absolutely more fueling. You can't just all of a sudden you know, run marathons and run more, or, you know, work out more and not up the fueling level, because you do need that energy in order to perform well. So another needed nutrient is calcium. Now we put a lot of stress on our bones as we run. A lot of times we don't think of our skeletons when we run. We think more of the muscular system. But we do need to maintain our bone health because we're putting a lot of stress on those bones and calcium is, of course, a big builder of the bone health.

Speaker 1: 9:04

Now, I'm someone who does not like cow's milk, so I have to really think about getting my calcium in, and one way that I did not realize that we can get calcium in is oranges. I did not realize that oranges is a source of calcium. Now we all know, of course it's great for vitamin C, but it's going to give you calcium and that fiber too that we all need. You know, a lot of us do not get enough fiber in as well. So if you don't like milk, you can also eat kale, bok choy, broccoli. All those things will help you get calcium in. Now, even though I hate milk, I do love yogurt and cottage cheese and sour cream. I love all the things that are made with milk. I just have never liked milk, even when I was a kid. I haven't had cereal in years, but I, you know I would eat it in my cereal. And then I switched to almond milk. I don't know what it is, but I hate it and I I can't drink it. So I have to be very, very mindful of how I'm getting my calcium in.

Speaker 1: 10:20

Along with our calcium needs for that good bone density, which of course, does start to deteriorate as we get older, vitamin D is also needed for that bone density and it's also needed to absorb the calcium that we eat. So one of the big ways that we get vitamin D that we all know is being out in the sun. Now if you live in Buffalo, new York, like I do, during the wintertime you are not getting your vitamin D from the sun. It's not there, even if there's no snow on the ground. We don't have a lot of sunny days in the winter in Buffalo. So you also have to think about how you're going to get that vitamin D in when you aren't running around outside in the sun and if you run early in the morning when it's dark, you know, even in July, you're still not getting that vitamin D in. So that's another vitamin that you need, that you have to be mindful about, to be mindful about. So eat that yogurt outside in the sun to get that full circle of the calcium with the vitamin D that you need for the absorption.

Speaker 1: 11:30

There's also some evidence to support the idea that vitamin D helps those of us in peri or postmenopause with hot flashes and night sweats. So that is a huge reason for those of us women who are older to get our vitamin D in. So things like mushrooms which I love, which I know are not in everybody's you know a lot of people don't like mushrooms but salmon and other fatty fish, eggs, again, yogurt and oranges are all good sources of that vitamin D. So eating an orange is giving you that whole circle system that I'm talking about of the, you know, vitamin D and the calcium. That go hand in hand.

Speaker 1: 12:16

Since we run, you know, partly anyway, to get our cardio in, we need to pay attention to omega-3 fats. Those are found in fatty fish. You know oily fish. Reducing inflammation is good for your heart, so enhancing everything that the heart does for us is so important, especially as we get older. So the salmon is, you know, one of those oily fish Fseed, which is a great source of fiber also that we need, and chia seeds are ways to get those omega-3s in. So you've probably heard of chia seed pudding.

Speaker 1: 12:51

There's tons of recipes out there, either in overnight oats, which is a great source of all the things I'm talking about, or just as a dessert. That can be a tasty way of getting more of what we need into our diets. So one thing I love doing for myself is eating those real foods to get the nutrients in, like I said before. So while I do, you know I will use protein powder or fiber supplements. I really feel that it can be so much more filling to get these in food form. So if you're like me and you like recipes that are getting you the nutrients that you need with whole foods, then you can go to the show notes and I'm going to link you to recipes that represent each one of the nutrients that I talked about today.