INFLAMMATION REDUCES PERFORMANCE, so how can diet affect a rider’s ability to recover more effectively?

It would seem that anti-inflammatory diets have taken the cycling world by storm. The Garmin-Slipstream team have been using these plans to improve their recovery from hard training bouts and to allow their bodies to endure the successive days of hard riding required of them. Indeed Dr. Matthew Rabin, the team’s chiropractor and general recovery miracle worker, has been busy testing levels of inflammation from blood samples taken from the team and watching inflammatory markers reduce as a result of their adapted ‘Zone Diet’ meal plan.

Testing inflammation
Rabin has been working closely with Dr. Allen Lim, Garmin’s head physiologist, to implement this way of eating since before last year’s Tour de France. The change in blood lipid profiles in the riders has been significant according to Rabin, who speaks of Magnus Backstedt’s turnaround prior to last year’s Tour.

“Two weeks out from the Tour, Magnus’s levels of inflammation were so high he wouldn’t have been able to get through the tour, but the changes we made to his diet not only had an impact on these profiles, but had an impact fast. On the start-line he was back within norms, which is completely down to following the anti-inflammatory plan rigidly.”

Rabin tests the riders’ blood samples for lipid ratios on a regular basis. By altering their diets to bias anti-inflammatory fats and foods, and reducing intake of pro-inflammatory fats and foods, the blood lipid profile changes. This has a positive effect on recovery, the immune system and general health.

Going against the grain
It seems cycling teams have lived on wheat-based foods for many years as their staple food, arriving at hotels to be greeted with trays of pasta selections and large quantities of bread to fill up on.

Rabin says: “Garmin decided to make a change to positively improve the diet of the riders.” They began to order special menus for the riders in hotels, and often inserted their own chef “Willy” into the kitchens.

They made the change from wheat-based products, due to their association with increased markers of inflammation in the body, to oat-based foods, and reduced consumption of red meats, which are also associated with increased inflammation, by substituting white meats and lots of fish. This diet is far removed from the high carbohydrate pizza and pasta-based feasts that many endurance athletes select in the belief that they are effectively refueling for their next straining session.

What is inflammation?
INFLAMMATION is a set of symptoms that includes pain, swelling, heat and redness of an affected organ or tissue. It is the way the body’s immune system responds to an attack, infection or injury.

Hard training causes muscle micro-damage that begins this process of inflammation, often only being seen as post-exercise muscle soreness for riders, and possibly mild inflammation of the sites of the body that have worked excessively. This stiffness can often be felt when we get back on the bike and can negatively affect the next ride, mostly through reduced power in the short-term. It can also increase risk of injury if not addressed. Food can help to control this inflammation (being anti-inflammatory) or increase it (being pro-inflammatory) and therefore has a large role to play in any serious cyclist’s training regime. In the longer term, increasing inflammation through food (even without regular training) can lead to chronic inflammation in the body, and the development of a range of conditions such as arthritis and various auto-immune diseases. So, there is a reason, beyond performance, to incorporate anti-inflammatory foods in your diet.

Food that helps to control inflammation
A KEY element in selecting foods to reduce inflammation in the body is choosing ‘good’ fats over ‘bad’ ones. ‘Bad’ fats – namely saturated fats and trans-fats – lead to the release of inflammatory hormones, and ‘good’ fats – fats that are high in polyunsaturates and monounsaturates, and contain essential fatty acids (EFAs) – lead to the release of anti-inflammatory hormones. So, favouring the latter is critical for short-term recovery and longer-term health.

Dr. Rabin assists the team by ensuring they each supplement their diets with EFAs, focusing on Omega 3 fatty acids. These are found mainly in cold-water fish like mackerel, salmon, sardines and herring. In addition, the oils of wild-caught fish contain a significantly higher proportion of Omega 3 than the oils of farm-raised fish. Other vegetable sources of Omega 3 are nuts and seeds, including walnuts, brazil nuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. Rabin is looking to see a favourable ratio of EPA (an omega 3 fat) to AA (arachidonic acid). Yes, you guessed it, arachidonic acid is present in the ‘bad’ fats, mainly found in red meats, processed foods and some margarines. The reality is that even after cutting these foods down in the diet, our bodies can still make AA, so eating the anti-inflammatory foods is critical to controlling this consumption.

Phytonutrients
Rabin recommends the riders eat to these guidelines and also supplement on EFA capsules. Some of the riders are taking doses as high as nine to 12 grams per day; well above the three to six grams per day recommended to the general population.

In addition to the ‘fat’ guidelines, the riders eat plenty of phytonutrient-rich foods such as vegetables and fruit. Foods, such as onions and apples, containing quercetin, a natural anti-inflammatory, are included in the diet, as are fruit and vegetables containing key antioxidants, vitamins A, C and E, including blackberries, strawberries, kiwi fruit, peaches, mango, apples, carrot, sweet potato, spinach, greens, broccoli and cabbage as well as lentils, chick peas, brown rice and non-instant oatmeal.

Garmin’s anti-inflammatory strategy is followed throughout the day, but the key time, when it’s a monitored focus, is on the bike and in recovery.

Feeling that too many sugary foods were being consumed on the bike which could have been increasing inflammation, Dr Lim recommended the riders switch to rice cakes, made from rice, vegetables and eggs, with sweet and savoury options for added variety, that are made up pre-ride/race and handed to the riders en-route. The rice will deliver sustained energy, eggs provide protein, and bacon, ham and the other selected savoury ingredients are adding further protein and assisting the replenishment of salts that will have been lost in sweat during training.

Dr. Lim’s Rice Cake recipe

1 cup of sushi rice cooked
3 eggs, scrambled and cooked in olive oil
Bacon or Ham (add all together and mix)
Other ingredients as desired, selected from:
Parmesan
Liquid Amino’s
Salt
Soy Sauce
Honey
Fruit

These ingredients are cooked, mixed and packed into a flat tin. Once cooled, they produce a sticky mixture that is easy to section into small portions, wrap in foil and consume on the go.

THE POST-RIDE MEAL
Three courses

The CW team experienced part of the team’s recovery protocol on our trip to their training camp in Girona. Starting from the recovery formula right after their ride, they then consumed a number of anti-inflammatory courses:

Course 1:
A large salad containing onions, apple, green salad and walnuts heavily drizzled with olive oil.

Course 2:
Roasted vegetables including carrots, artichokes and onion soaked in olive oil. Parmesan was added to the riders’ dishes.

Course 3:
Rice paella with fresh fish, olive oil marinade.

In reality, most of us mere mortals getting off our bikes would not require this quantity of food, but following the principles of consuming your recovery drink straight after your ride, and then including a variety of anti-inflammatory ingredients in your next meal (ideally within an hour), should assist the recovery process and control inflammation.

Eating in “The Zone”
The team’s anti-inflammatory meal plan originates from ‘The Zone’ eating plan but with modifications for an athletic lifestyle.

Concentrating during the day on low-glycaemic foods, that are also low on the inflammatory list, and high-glycaemic foods during training, they get the perfect mix for energy and recovery.

As Rabin himself says: “When there is often such a small margin between winning and losing, a diet such as this could make the difference.”

Aiming to get the best diet for both performance and long-term health, this team appear to be receiving world-class nutritional support.

You can find out more about ‘The Zone Diet’ at www.zonediet.com, but ensure you insert energy-providing high-glycaemic foods before, during the immediately after training.

This article appeared in the April 09, 2009 issue of Cycling Weekly UK. www.cyclingweekly.co.uk