When you want to run strong, your diet can play an important role in reaching your goals.
Food is your fuel, and what you eat can impact everything from your energy levels to how your stomach feels while you’re running. To give yourself the best chance of success, you should pump up your meals with wholesome, fresh foods, such as fruits, vegetables, meats, whole grains, and legumes.
Here are 15 nutrients and vitamins that runners should pay attention to, along with information on how to get more of them in your diet.
How Much Salt Is Actually Bad for You plant-based athletes: Monitor your Vitamin B12 intake, since it’s primarily found in animal-based foods.
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Vitamin A
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Keeps your skin strong, bolsters eyesight so you can maintain sharp vision when running in the dark.
Clever Ways to Boost Workout Motivation? Men need 900 micrograms/day; The Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Sweet potatoes (one baked sweet potato packs more than 150 percent How to Increase Your Protein Intake), spinach, carrots, kale, cantaloupe.
Vitamin B12
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Helps your body break down the fat and protein you eat into energy; assists in forming new red blood cells, which carry oxygen through the body.
Clever Ways to Boost Workout Motivation? 2.4 micrograms/day Plain yogurt, calcium-fortified orange juice, part-skim mozzarella, milk, soy milk, tofu, salmon
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Salmon, beef, milk, yogurt, fortified breakfast cereals, nutritional yeast.
Calcium
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Supports bone and teeth health—almost all of the calcium in your body is stored in your bones and teeth.
Clever Ways to Boost Workout Motivation? Adults 50 years or younger need 1,000 milligrams/day. Adult women 51 years or older and adult men 71 years or older need 1,200 milligrams/day.
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Plain yogurt, calcium-fortified orange juice, part-skim mozzarella, milk, soy milk, tofu, salmon.
Choline
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Regulates your memory, mood, muscle control, focus, and metabolism. Sufficient choline can increase your time to fatigue as well, says Lisa Dorfman, M.S., R.D., author of Keeps your skin strong, bolsters eyesight so you can maintain sharp vision when.
Clever Ways to Boost Workout Motivation? Heres Why You Should Be Eating More Peppers.
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Fun Half Marathons.
Vitamin C
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Protects our bodies against free radicals in the environment, such as pollution, cigarette smoke, and UV rays. Also, builds collagen in your skin to keep it plump and smooth.
Clever Ways to Boost Workout Motivation? Men need 90 milligrams/day; women need 75 milligrams/day.
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Red peppers, oranges, orange juice, grapefruit juice, kiwis, green peppers, broccoli, strawberries.
Vitamin D
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Absorbs calcium in your bones, helps your muscles move better, and fights off bacteria and viruses. Additionally, it reduces injuries in athletes; a 2020 study found that athletes with low vitamin D could have an increased risk of stress fractures, illness, and suboptimal muscle function.
Clever Ways to Boost Workout Motivation? 15 mcg/day for men and women.
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Advertisement - Continue Reading Below.
Vitamin E
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Steels your immune system against bacteria and viruses, acts as a powerful anti-inflammatory antioxidant, and keeps blood vessels wide and pliable.
Clever Ways to Boost Workout Motivation? 15 mg/day for men and women.
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Almonds (one ounce provides 45 percent How to Increase Your Protein Intake), sunflower seeds, olive oil.
Fiber
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Helps the body maintain a healthy weight, regulates blood sugar, and lowers cholesterol.
Clever Ways to Boost Workout Motivation? Men need 38 grams/day; women need 25 grams/day. Though prior to a race, go easy on the fiber-rich foods, which can cause GI trouble.
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Raspberries (1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber), green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains.
Iron
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Transports oxygen in the blood to the muscles.“ If you experience a decline in performance and feel exhausted more than usual, get a blood test to check your iron levels,” sports dietitian Linda Samuels, M.S., R.D., says.
Clever Ways to Boost Workout Motivation? Men need 8 milligrams/day; women need 18 milligrams/day. If your doctor finds you have low iron levels, he or she will put you on the appropriate supplement. (Translation: don't take supplements on your own.)
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: White beans, lentils, spinach, tofu, kidney beans, fortified cereal
Magnesium
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Regulates muscle function, nerve function, blood sugar levels, and blood pressure levels; aids in making protein, bone, and DNA. One of its most important functions: its role in energy metabolism, says Samuels. “Magnesium is particularly important during a strenuous training session.”
Clever Ways to Boost Workout Motivation? Men need 400 mg/day; women need 310 mg/day.
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Pumpkin seeds (one ounce provides 37 percent How to Increase Your Protein Intake), chia seeds, almonds, spinach, black beans.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Reducing inflammation after exercise, which can improve tissue repair and reduce muscle pain.
Clever Ways to Boost Workout Motivation? Men need 1.6 g/day; women need 1.1 g/day. If you don’t often hit that mark, consider supplementing with a fish oil supplement or algae-based supplement if you are vegetarian or vegan, Samuels advises. Remember, omega-3s are an essential fatty acid, meaning the body cannot make it naturally.
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Flaxseed, chia seeds, walnuts, sardines (one can packs nearly 1,400 milligrams of omega-3s), salmon, mackerel, trout.
Potassium
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Helps maintain hydration and proper muscle function. “Along with sodium, this is the most important electrolyte. Potassium helps your muscles contract and relax, and contributes to fluid balance in your body,” Samuels says.
Clever Ways to Boost Workout Motivation? Men need 3,400 mg/day; women need 2,600 mg/day.
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Apricots, lentils, prunes, squash, raisins, baked potato (one offers 13 percent How to Increase Your Protein Intake), bananas.
Selenium
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: An antioxidant that may ease postexercise oxidative cell damage, maintains thyroid function (low thyroid levels can usher in fatigue), regulates metabolism.
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Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Brazil nuts (one nut supplies 137 percent How to Increase Your Protein Intake), tuna, halibut, ham, shrimp, turkey, chicken, cottage cheese.
Sodium
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Helps your body maintain proper fluid and electrolyte balance. “It will also prevent muscle cramps if you are a heavy sweater or out on a hot run,” Dorfman says.
Clever Ways to Boost Workout Motivation? Men and women should limit intake to 2,300 milligrams/day; 1,500 milligrams/day or less if you have high blood pressure.
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Typically you don’t need to seek out sodium since most of us get more than enough in our diet. But after a particularly sweaty run, it’s good to eat (or drink) foods higher in sodium to replenish losses. Bread, cheese, chicken, and sports drinks all contain sodium; three ounces of deli turkey can pack up to 1,050 milligrams.
Zinc
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Keep your immune system run in tip-top shape, keeps your skin resilient and healthy, enables proper wound healing, and breaks down carbs (likely your primary fuel source). Deficiency can put you at risk for overtraining syndrome, says Dorfman.
Clever Ways to Boost Workout Motivation? Men need 11 milligrams/day; women need 8 milligrams/day.
Raspberries 1 cup offers 8 grams of fiber, green peas, lentils, beans, whole grains: Oysters, crab, grass-fed beef, lobster, hummus (a half-cup supplies 12 percent How to Increase Your Protein Intake).
