How to eat to replenish nutrition after exercise? Soy milk + banana for bowel health

In fact, everyone can see my exercise habits. Sometimes I go to the gym, and sometimes I jog or run outside. Therefore, I do both endurance aerobic exercise and resistance anaerobic exercise separately. Why? Because both have different benefits to the body, a variety of exercise methods can improve cardiopulmonary endurance, muscle quality and strength, body metabolic regulation ability, mental and emotional stress relief and many other aspects!

However, there must be some food that is easy to carry and suitable to supplement my nutrition! So the first combination that comes to my mind is soy milk, a liquid plant protein, and bananas, which are rich in carbohydrates.

During exercise, muscle cells quickly use the glycogen stored in the muscles as an immediate source of energy for exercise. A banana contains about 30 grams of carbohydrates, which is more than the average fruit. It also contains potassium, magnesium, and B vitamins, which can assist in the metabolism of sugars and proteins in the body and prevent cramps caused by electrolyte imbalance (although there are many reasons for exercise cramps, at least diet is the first thing we can prevent).

Therefore, whether you are going to do weight training today and want to eat 2 hours in advance, or you want to eat it after any exercise to replenish glycogen immediately, bananas with medium and low GI values ​​are very suitable. They are also easy to carry and eat (now almost all convenience stores support Taiwanese banana farmers and sell them, so they are super easy to get). Doesn’t this sound great? (It’s really a pretty good natural food)

But! Bananas contain very little protein! And the most important thing after exercise is to replenish the lost water! The next step is to supplement protein and carbohydrates! That’s right, so the soy milk I often drink is the first option that comes to my mind because it meets the requirements of water, protein, and sugar and is also economical and convenient! It’s perfect to be paired with bananas (as if you can see the two of them swaying with their arms around each other’s shoulders)!

They are almost as coordinated and complementary as the Puluo Gongtian Group! In addition to replenishing water, it also contains liquid plant protein (according to the new version of Taiwan's <Dietary Guidelines> released in 2011, changes have been made to protein intake, placing bean plant protein in the "first place" to remind the public that they generally consume too much animal protein (vegetarians are of course the exception) and need to balance their plant protein intake).

The inulin (chicory fiber; inulin) contained in low-sugar and high-fiber soy milk is a nutrient for good bacteria in the intestines. It competes with bad bacteria in order to reduce the number of bad bacteria in the intestines, reduce the amount of bad bacteria snatching the protein we eat, and increase the body's protein absorption. It maintains healthy intestinal flora, so it becomes the first choice. However, during exercise, the amount of water to be replenished should be at least 1.5 times the amount of body fluid lost, so in addition to soy milk, I will also drink more boiled water as a supplement.

When should we eat this banana + soy milk combo? It's very simple!

"Before exercise": Eating 2 to 4 hours before exercise, regardless of what exercise you do next, will help maintain normal blood sugar during exercise and avoid hunger or weakness. (However, in long-distance endurance races, small amounts of supplements are still required during the race)

《After Exercise》: After exercise, take a breath and replenish immediately! Because the nutrients you eat at this time will be absorbed first by the muscles that have just exercised to repair damage and replenish glycogen (muscle building) and it is not easy for the food you eat at this time to be stored in fat cells (fat loss).

But! The advantages of gaining muscle and reducing fat will continue to diminish as time passes after the exercise ends, so you are asked to eat as soon as possible! Studies have shown that even if the amount you eat is the same, the longer you delay eating, the worse the effect of losing fat and gaining muscle will be, or even no effect at all! This may be the reason why many people find that exercising is of no use at all!

This article is from the blog of Yang Chenghua, a sports nutritionist who loves to eat and exercise

※For more information, please see "Love to Eat and Love to Move" Sports Nutritionist Yang Chenghua's Blog