Eat Well to Stay Well
How the Right Foods Can Keep Your Immune System in Top Shape
By Suzanne Girard Eberle
As featured in the December 1999 issue of Running Times Magazine
Day-to-Day Counter-Measures
Beyond quaffing sports drinks during your long runs and races, you can also bolster your immune system by improving your day-to-day eating habits. Eating a variety of foods, including an adequate amount of carbohydrate- and protein-rich items, will help keep the body’s vitamin and mineral pools at optimal levels. Maintaining a healthy weight also makes sense, as rapid weight loss has been linked to negative immune changes. Eating a diet too low in fat may compromise your immune system, although it’s too early to draw conclusions from the existing research.
How you consume your calories throughout the day can also make a difference. Dan Benardot, Ph.D., R.D., co-director of the Laboratory for Elite Athlete Performance at Georgia State University, contends that runners who consume most of their calories after their daily training place a great stress on their immune system. "Consuming 80% of the food you need during the evening means you’re not in energy balance during the day," reasons Benardot. "We know this is counter-productive to athletic performance and it’s logical that it would be more stressful to the immune system, since your blood glucose will be hitting peaks and valleys throughout the day."
To normalize your blood-sugar level during the day, closely balance the calories you consume with the calories you expend. Benardot advises runners to think about their energy needs on an hour-to-hour basis, not just from day to day. "Most runners know their training and work schedules when they leave the house in the morning. Give the same thought to your eating schedule," he suggests. Avoid going long periods without eating, which can lead to wide swings in blood sugar. Even though heavy training can reduce your appetite, commit to eating every three to four hours while awake. Plan ahead to have healthy foods on hand when you’ll need them and always go into workouts well fueled. Besides giving you more energy to train, these strategies will keep your immune system in better shape to fight off the latest cold making the rounds.