How Juice Improves Performance for Athletes
Here in California, juicing may seem like another health fad that we do just to be trendy. Running errands in yoga pants while sipping a green concoction makes you look the part. But juicing does have some incredible health benefits, especially for athletes.
One factor that can help athletes get a competitive edge is how well you recover after exercise. If you can reduce your recovery time between workouts, you can make huge strides in your athletic performance. When it comes to physical recovery, nutrition is the key. Think of juicing as one of those “secret” weapons you can keep in your arsenal.
Is Juicing Healthy or Not?
First, let’s discuss some common misconceptions about juicing. The term “juicing” refers to the extraction of juice from fresh fruits and vegetables. The best method for juicing is by pressing the juice out of the fruit or veggie with a masticating juicer, rather than blending the fruits and veggies with a centrifugal juicer. Centrifugal juicers are more common and less expensive, but the spinning blade generates heat, which can damage enzymes in the juice, making it less nutritious. Masticating juicers are better at keeping the fresh nutrients intact.
Whether or not juicing is healthy for you depends largely on what you juice. Fruit tastes great, but too much will have you consuming too much sugar. Additionally, juicing removes the non-soluble fiber from the fruit and vegetables, which is one of the primary reasons for consuming these foods. An important thing to remember is that you are not using juice as a replacement for your fruit and veggie intake, but rather to increase your overall nutrition. You should still be turning to raw veggies for snacks, salads with lunch and dinner, and fruit as a dessert for optimal nutrition. Fresh pressed juice can make an excellent primer before breakfast or you can drink it before a workout for energy or after a workout for recovery.
The best way to maximize your nutrient intake and avoid too high of a sugar intake is to start with a 50/50 blend of fruits and veggies, and then work your way down to less fruit, more veggies, or as much as you can tolerate. Find some good recipes that utilize specific foods for your specific results, and get creative with the taste.
Which Juice is Good Before the Gym?
Before a workout, you want to incorporate juices that can increase your blood flow, reduce inflammation, and give your respiratory system a boost. Green juices are the best thing to accomplish all three.
Best pre-workout juice blends include:
- Kale, cucumber, apple and mint
- Pineapple, kale, celery and ginger
- Carrot, beet, ginger, apple
- Fennel, celery, apple and lemon
Do Beets Improve Athletic Performance?
According to a study conducted at the University of Madrid, drinking beetroot juice increases levels of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide increases blood flow, gas exchange, strengthens muscle contractions and helps cells increase their mitochondrial mass, which leads to greater muscle gains. Another study conducted by the University of Exeter showed that beets can improve athletic performance by up to 16%.
It should be noted that improvements may not be seen among athletes training and competing at higher elevations. The change in altitude may affect how nitric oxide delivers oxygen to the muscles. Additionally, some people have a difficult time tolerating pure beet juice. Some have reported nausea and vomiting after drinking the juice from one whole beet. It’s a good idea to start slow, add only a quarter of a beet to your juice recipe, and see how your body reacts. You can increase the amount of beet juice, and even transition into drinking pure beet juice if you find it works for you.
Beets are also high in oxalates (as is spinach, kale and other leafy greens), so as with all things, you don’t want to get too carried away with consuming high oxalate foods, even with other health benefits. One glass a day is likely OK, but if you are going to start juicing regularly, you’ll want to incorporate a variety of ingredients so that you don’t throw your system off balance.
Most studies agree, however, that beet juice is an excellent way for athletes to improve endurance and overall performance.
How Much Beet Juice Should I Drink Before a Workout?
Again, to test your personal tolerance of beet juice, you should start by juicing about a quarter of a fresh beet and mix it with other vegetables. If you find that you have no adverse reaction to the beet juice, increase the ratio of beets to other veggies, until you can tolerate a cup of pure beet juice. Alternatively, you can shred a raw beet and mix it into a fresh green salad.
Do this about 30-minutes to an hour before your workout to reap the athletic benefits.
Which Juice is Better After the Gym?
After a workout, you need a drink that will replenish your body with energy and electrolytes that you lost through your sweat glands. These will often be higher in fruit content, which is OK because if you exercise intensely enough, your body will be burning through the sugar at a rapid pace.
Best post-workout blends include:
- Watermelon, cucumber
- Cucumber, mint, lime, celery and coconut water
- Orange, carrot, ginger and golden beets
- Avocado, apple, and wheatgrass
What Vegetables Should Not Be Juiced?
In general, there are really no off-limits vegetables when it comes to juicing. But as stated above, you want to make sure to incorporate a variety of vegetables and fruits so that you don’t throw your body off balance. If you find yourself always juicing large volumes of spinach and kale every day, you may find yourself battling kidney stones at a later date. If you already have thyroid problems, you may find that juicing large amounts of raw cruciferous vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, and kale, may disrupt your thyroid and make you feel worse.
Also, there are some fruits and vegetables that are somewhat mushy or just don’t produce a lot of juice. Those can be blended in at the end, or you can alternate juicing with smoothies and use these to add more fiber and bulk to your liquid meals. These include avocados, bananas, figs, berries, eggplant, rhubarb, mangoes, and papaya.
Again, the key is to vary your intake of fruits and vegetables to ensure you get a well-rounded supply of nutrients in your juice.
Can You Juice a Banana?
Bananas are too mushy to juice. They are best added to smoothies or blended into your juice at the end.
Do I Need to Peel Apples Before Juicing?
No, you do not need to peel an apple before you juice it. You can juice the whole apple, peel and all.
Do You Core Apples Before Juicing?
I typically core apples before I juice them, but you don’t have to.
Do you peel cucumbers before juicing?
Whether or not you peel cucumbers is a matter of taste, as well as whether or not you buy it organic. If you can’t get hold of an organic cucumber, you should peel it to avoid consuming pesticides. But because most of the vitamin K of cucumbers resides in its outer skin, you should always try to juice organic cucumbers with the peel on.
Should I Peel Ginger Before Juicing?
Follow the same rule of thumb with ginger as with cucumber–if it’s not organic, peel it first. One trick to juicing ginger is to put it through the juicer before putting through juicier fruits and vegetables so that you can get the maximum amount of flavor. Ginger is not very juicy, so it often gets trapped in the tube of the juicer. If you “wash” it through with other fruits/veggies that have a higher water content, you’ll be sure to get all the flavor out of it.
Is Coconut Water Good Before a Workout?
Coconut water is high in potassium, which has led many athletes to think it’s a great drink for workout recovery. The problem is that while it is a great source of potassium, it is a poor source of sodium, which is what you’ll need to consume before and/or replenish after an intense workout.
For the average gym-goer, or for athletes getting in a light workout, coconut water is a great alternative to water for hydration. But if you’re an athlete looking to train, you should blend coconut water with a fruit or vegetable that is high in sodium, such as celery or beets, to provide the balance of nutrients your body needs for recovery.
Learn more about improving athletic performance.
More about juicing!