What is the best recovery food?

Question:

I’ve recently upped my training volume and intensity and was wondering which drinks (or even food) are best to aid recovery between sessions. What ingredients should I be looking for and avoiding? I’ve heard milk is one of the best recovery aids. Is this right and how does that work?
Kate Johnson, email

Answer:

Let’s assume your increased energy needs to fuel training and recovery is around 500 kcals per day. “Feeding” this increase is best achieved by small calorie increments throughout each day, eating 5-6 small meals. Here are a few “training specific” points to bear in mind. The pre-training meal is important to provide “fuel” for the upcoming training session. The body needs carbohydrates to fill the glycogen stores of the liver and muscles, to be “burnt” for energy. Note too, that the body also uses fat during prolonged exercise, and fat oxidation can be “optimised” by keeping insulin levels low prior to the onset of exercise. To achieve this, consume mainly low GI (slow-releasing) carbohydrates, a little protein, and minimise consumption of refined “fast” sugars. The pre-training meal also needs to be “light” and easy to digest and not eaten too closely to exercise. Preferably 3-4 hours should elapse between eating and exercise – the larger the meal, the longer the time needed for complete digestion. A good “pre-training” meal could be oats, banana, seeds and natural yogurt, providing the necessary carbohydrate, and a little protein to be used as a back-up or adjunct fuel during exercise. Post-training fuel is all about “recovery” and replenishment, and re-hydration too. It is during the recovery phases of training, that fitness, strength and body composition changes take place. So taking great care of post-training nutrition is almost more important than any other aspect of your “performance diet”. First and foremost, the body needs fast replenishment (ideally within 30 minutes of finishing), as following exercise the body’s cells are in a highly receptive state to the uptake of carbohydrates (~30-60g) & amino acids/protein (~10-20g). One of the best foods immediately post-exercise is fresh fruit, especially bananas – full of natural sugars and easy/fast to absorb. Milk can be a good recovery food, provided a person fully digests milk, and has no food allergies, intolerances or “reactions” to either the milk sugar (lactose) or the group of milk proteins – i.e. casein and whey proteins, which can be used by the body for protein synthesis and muscle growth promotion. If you are going to drink milk, I would strongly suggest you go with organic, and regards “recovery”, boost this by taking with some extra carbs in the form of fresh fruit. Try making a smoothie with organic milk, banana/berries and honey – an excellent post-workout recovery drink. By the way – for those who prefer not to drink milk, simply use a nut milk instead, or natural “live” yogurt… a healthy fermented food. Even better would be to do a “green” smoothie of spinach, ripe banana or mango, and water – perfectly “alkalising” for your tired “acidic” body! Personally, I would drink organic coconut water – the perfect recovery drink, with a natural balance of electrolyte minerals, carbs, healthy fat and protein. I might mix this with a dark berry juice (cherry, pomegranate or dark grape juice) too, to benefit from their rich antioxidant content, which aid in calming muscle inflammation and promoting faster recovery. If you can find some raw coconut meat, eat that for the protein and healthy fat. Enjoy a banana too, especially if you have had a long workout. When you are ready to prepare a post-training meal, this ideally should be rich in “whole food” carbohydrates (vegetables are the best!), more protein than the pre-training meal, and plenty of vitamins, minerals and antioxidant nutrients to fuel cell repair and recovery. Essential fats also contribute to reducing muscle cell inflammation and soreness… so how about grilled salmon steak, plenty of steamed veggies and wholegrain rice or quinoa?

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