The Unpopular Truth About Alcohol & Recovery

The Unpopular Truth About Alcohol & Recovery

by Ras

     I've been vexed and chagrined by a recent spate of articles in running magazines and on health websites that have addressed the issue of alcohol intake and athletic performance, with an emphasis on recovery. The conclusion put forth by these fluff pieces has unanimously been, "Well, alcohol may not be an ideal post workout beverage, but everyone loves a cold beer, right?!" While pandering to public opinion may assuage readers' gourmand guilt, I feel an obligation to uphold a higher journalistic standard. After all, it's a matter of biochemistry, not opinion.

     Recovery not only prepares you for your next effort, but it is the process wherein you reap the benefits of your most recent workout. The goal of every workout is to strengthen and adapt your body to your sport or activity, and this is accomplished in recovery. During this time, your body needs carbohydrates to replenish glycogen stores (1), protein to repair damage to existing tissues and build new tissue (2), and antioxidants to counteract the flood of free radicals (cell damaging unstable molecules) produced by training and exercise (3). The truth is that alcohol counteracts every one of these vital processes.

     According to a publication by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, when your body metabolizes alcohol it has numerous deleterious effects, including, but not limited to:  

• Reducing the amount of antioxidants
• Producing additional free radicals 
• Impeding glycogen assimilation
• Increasing systemic inflamation    
• Damaging cell mitochondria (4)
• Interfering with amino acids that form key proteins, including:

1. those found in the membranes surrounding red blood cells
2. tubulin, which is necessary for protein transport within cells as well as cell division
3. hemoglobin and albumin, two crucial blood proteins
   and
4. collagen, the main structural protein of human connective tissues  

     It doesn't take a biochemist to see that the effects of alcohol consumption exactly countermand the needs of the body during recovery. And these consequences are inescapable. When alcohol enters your system, whether it be beer, wine, or hard liquor, the body treats it as a poison and prioritizes metabolizing the alcohol, halting assimilation of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats (5, 6). 

     I am not emotionally invested in whether or not other athletes have a beer after a race or take a shot at an aide station or guzzle a suitcase of PBR on a wild Friday night. But when respected information sources in the running and health communities fail to make substantive information available to their readers, the iconoclast in me must make himself heard. And for the record, I only have access to the same information sources as anyone with an internet connection. All of the alcohol related information in this article came from the first page of a Google search.

     If you think of your recovery as the Andrea Gail, alcohol is the perfect storm.

(1) "The key to enhancing the replenishment of muscle glycogen is to ingest carbohydrates immediately after your workout. Science shows that this is related to the hormone insulin as well as the enzyme glycogen synthase (discussed above). Insulin stimulates glycogen synthase which then converts more carbohydrate to glycogen. Insulin simultaneously increases the transport of this glycogen from the blood into the muscles. Choreographed perfectly, the hormonal system and associated enzymes work to not only replace the glycogen you lost during exercise but they do it in the most efficient and rapid way.

Once scientists began to focus on insulin's role in glycogen replenishment, another connection was made that impacts the recovery routine. It turns out that ingesting protein along with the carbohydrate increases your insulin response. As a result, up to 30% more glycogen is stored than if you just ingest carbohydrates." – Greg McMillan source

(2) “Protein repairs exercise-induced muscle damage, reduces the response from the stress hormone cortisol and even helps speed glycogen replacement, the goal of taking in carbohydrates, says Jackie Dikos, a registered dietitian and competitive runner who competed in the 2008 U. S. Olympic marathon trials.” – Runner's World source

(3) "Excess free radical formation has been hypothesized to contribute to cancer, atherosclerosis, aging and exercise associated muscle damage. Regular low to moderate physical exercise enhances the antioxidant defense system and protects against exercise induced free radical damage. Heavy exercise increases the level of free radicals. Free radical production or loss of antioxidant protection can adversely affect performance." – Effects of free radicals and antioxidants on exercise performance source

(4) “Mitochondria are responsible for creating more than 90% of the energy needed by the body to sustain life and support growth. When they fail, less and less energy is generated within the cell. Cell injury and even cell death follow. If this process is repeated throughout the body, whole systems begin to fail, and the life of the person in whom this is happening is severely compromised.” – United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation source

(5) “Alcohol is considered a poison by your body, and all efforts are made to excrete it, including the cessation of maintaining healthy blood glucose levels. Studies have shown that alcohol interferes with all three sources of glucose and the hormones needed to maintain healthy blood glucose levels.” – MedicineNet.com source

(6) “The effects that alcohol has on your health start with how it's metabolized. Once alcohol is in your system, your body makes metabolizing it a priority. That means that it will stop metabolizing anything else in order to first get the alcohol metabolized. The reason for this is because unlike protein, carbohydrates, and fat, there is nowhere for alcohol to be stored in our body so it has be metabolized first.” – Monica Reinagel, MS, LD/N, CNS source

All Day Ultra Meal Plan

Vegan Recipes for An All Day UltraAdventure

By Kathy Vaughan

     Running a self or unsupported ultramarathon takes a lot of planning in order to complete the distance. Nutrition for the day of the run is key. I spend the day before an adventure run in the kitchen, preparing the food Ras and I will need to get us through from breakfast until our post run meal. I usually want to spend as little time on my feet right after the run as possible, so having the dinner precooked and only needing reheating is the easiest way to ensure healthy food is ready fast. Of course, each of us brings our own food to fuel us through our trail time, in addition to the meals listed here.

     I will share 3 recipes I commonly prepare ahead of time, for an all day trail adventure. I follow a vegan diet, so all of the recipes I share are vegan. All recipes are my original creations. 

#1 Breakfast     Whole Wheat Banana Muffins: Chocolate Chips Optional 

          3 medium sized, ripe bananas, mashed
          1/3 cup soy margarine, or other dairy-free margarine
          2 T soy or almond milk
          2 T ground flax seed mixed with 6 T warm water or 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
          1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
          2/3 cup cane sugar
          2 t baking powder
          1/2 t baking soda
          1 1/2 c dairy free chocolate chips (I use Guittard or Ghiradelli semi-sweet)

     Stir together bananas, margarine, milk and flax seed mixture or applesauce, until well blended. For fruity & moist muffins, use the applesauce. For more texture & the benefits of omega 3 fatty acids, use the ground flax seed.  Add flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda until thoroughly blended into wet mixture. Add chocolate chips or 1/4 cup of chopped nuts of your choice and stir until mixed in thoroughly. Divide the batter up evenly in a 12 muffin tin. I use a stoneware muffin baking dish for consistently even baking. Bake the muffins in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when tested in the center of a muffin.



#2 Lunch on the trail      Pinto Bean & Rice Burritos

           2 cups dried pinto beans, rinsed & soaked
           1 onion, chopped
           1 green pepper, chopped
           2 T ground cumin
           4 cloves fresh garlic, crushed
           2 T ground black pepper
           3 T Bragg Liquid Amino Acids (or add to taste as beans become cooked)
           1 T chili powder
           2 t onion powder
           1 T Italian seasoning blend (or add oregeno & thyme)
           1 T smoked paprika

     Put rinsed and soaked beans into a crock pot and fill pot to the top with cold water.  Add onion and green pepper and cook on high until beans begin to soften. Add the remaining ingredients and allow to simmer on high for several hours. I like to put this recipe into the crock pot to cook while I am on a long run also, and come home to dinner being all ready.  Beans are done when they are tender and the skins begin to peel.

     Meanwhile, cook a pot of your choice of rice. I like to make brown rice or white jasmine rice. 

     The night before the run, or the morning of, I assemble the burritos and put them into ziplock bags to carry with me in my running vest. I use whole wheat tortillas, but other soft tortillas would work as well. I first put a couple of spoonfuls of the cooked beans down the center of the tortilla. Then I add rice and top with either a salsa verde, Srirachi hot sauce or Tapatio. I like to add chopped black olives and diced onion as well, but you could add whatever other ingredients you might like. Ras likes them simple with beans, rice, and hot sauce. Wrap and roll the burrito!


#3 Post Run Dinner         Tofu Scramble

              2 packages of firm tofu, previously frozen, thawed
              1 onion, chopped
              1 green pepper, chopped
              1 red or yellow pepper, chopped or 1/4 cup roasted red peppers, diced
              1 zucchini, diced
              1 can of black olives, diced
              1 cup mushrooms, sliced
              1/4 cup green olives, chopped
              1 medium tomato, diced or 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
              1/2 cup of frozen or canned corn, optional
              1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
              1 cup chopped kale or spinach
              3 cloves fresh garlic, crushed
              3 T Bragg Liquid Amino Acids (or add to taste)
              2 t ground black pepper
              1 t onion powder
              2 T smoked paprika
              1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes (or add to taste)
              2 to 3 T soy margarine or other dairy free margarine

     Heat up a large skillet on the stove top and add margarine. When margarine is melted, add garlic, onion and peppers. Saute on medium high heat until softened. On a cutting board, cut up tofu into bite size chunks. Add to the skillet and mix in well. Allow the tofu to absorb these flavors as you add the Braggs. Add all of the rest of the ingredients, except the nutritional yeast. Add water as needed, to give the mixture a liquid in which to simmer. When the veggies and tofu have been simmering for about 10 minutes, add the nutritional yeast and water again as needed to help create a sauce.  Stir well and continue to allow the mixture to simmer, turning the temperature down now. Cook for about 25 minutes, or until tofu is firm and the veggies are soft. Allow to cool and then store in a container to be reheated after your long run the next day. Serve in a bowl; as a wrap; or on a plate with leftover, cooked pinto beans and hot sauce. 

     Many different veggies of your choice can be added to this tofu scramble dish. The ingredients listed above are the ones I often use, although I will also use whatever I have on hand. Adding cumin as a seasoning, gives the dish a different flair and makes it good in breakfast burritos. Experiment and Enjoy!

Coconut Butter: My Secret Weapon For Endurance Fueling & Recovery

Coconut Butter: My Secret Weapon For Endurance Fueling & Recovery

Secret Training Techniques Of UltraPedestrianDo, Part Two

(The Way Of The UltraPedestrian)

by Ras

     You may never have heard of coconut butter before, but it has become widely available in recent years. Coconut butter differs from coconut oil in that it is the whole meat of a ripe coconut finely ground into a paste, similar to peanut butter or almond butter. Coconut butter is in no way related to cocoa butter, which is made from cocoa beans. Coconuts are the fruit of a variety of palm tree, whereas cocoa beans come from the fruit of the cacao tree, a relative of cotton and okra.

     Coconut butter is extremely palatable and flexible as a food (try stirring two tablespoons of coconut butter and two teaspoons of curry paste into simmering veggies and serve over rice). But my interest in it is as a fuel. I have been eating coconut butter for two years now, and it has helped fuel me for my biggest accomplishments, including my Double Wonderland and Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim to Rim to Rim to Rim to Rim adventure runs.

     Medium Chain Triglyceriedes The main benefit of coconut butter as a fuel for endurance athletes is its fats, which are Medium Chain Triglycerides. MCTs are a unique form of dietary fat that impart a wide range of positive health benefits, including helping control appetite, boosting immune function and purifying blood (due to its lauric acid content), stimulating metabolism, promoting calcium absorption, and regulating blood sugar levels. 

     But the most important thing about MCTs for endurance athletes is that they are immediately metabolized and used by the body, not stored as fat, as Long Chain Triglycerides are. According to Ward Dean, MD, and Jim English, "MCTs are an especially beneficial supplement for fueling physical exertion, given their high energy density content, rapid rate of absorption and quick metabolic conversion into cellular energy. Additionally MCTs can be quickly mobilized in the post-exercise recovery phase to rebuild muscles and prevent the breakdown of proteins (catabolism) that can occur when the body is putting a maximum demand on the body’s energy reserves." (From NutritionReview.org)

     Training Your Body For Fat Fueling This makes coconut butter an ideal food for training your body to metabolize fat. I make an effort each morning to make the first thing I eat high in healthful fats in order to switch on my body's fat prioritization. A couple spoonfuls of coconut butter is perfect for this because it is palatable and easy to eat. It can also be spread on toast in place of butter, or stirred into hot cereal or oatmeal, among myriad other uses.

     Low Oxidation Rate Because coconut butter oxidizes slowly it does not go rancid. It can be  stored unrefrigerated for up to two years. Coconut butter lasts and carries well for extended backpacking trips, and will easily survive an extended stay in a drop bag or food cache.

     Very Low Cost Per Calorie Perhaps the best news of all regarding coconut butter is its incredibly low cost per calorie, as little as $8.00 for a jar containing over 2800 calories. Compare that to specially marketed energy gels, where $8.00 will buy you at most 600 calories. For shorter runs I package a 200 calorie serving in small baggies or plastic wrap, twist the top shut and seal it with a small piece of tape. For multiday efforts I melt the coconut butter and pour it into a resealable plastic jar and eat it by the spoonful directly from the container. 

Try Coconut Butter from Amazon.com

     Coconut butter is readily available from any natural foods co-op or health food store, including the big chains. It can also be ordered from natural food retailers on line, or made at home from scratch. Artisana has recently started packaging it in single serving pouches, which are convenient for short trips.