“Choosing the Right Foods to Eat Before Exercise: Expert Insights on What to Avoid and What to Consume”

If you exercise on an empty stomach, which is a hypoglycemic state, the rate of using body fat as an energy source, rather than blood sugar composed of carbohydrates, increases. Glycogen stored in the liver and muscles also decreases, helping to burn fat. There are also results of measurement studies that exercise on an empty stomach burns 20 to 30% more fat on average than exercise after eating.

Fasting before exercise is good, but if the exercise intensity is high compared to the low muscle mass, it can lead to loss of body fat and muscle during exercise on an empty stomach. If you don’t have enough carbs, this is because your body uses muscle protein as an energy source when you exercise.

Therefore, it is good to eat simple food 1-2 hours before exercise. However, food that takes a long time to digest is not good because it diverts blood to the gastrointestinal tract rather than to the muscles. I put together the opinions of experts and exercise trainers and picked ‘foods that are good for the body, but are not good to eat before exercise’.

Foods rich in dietary fiber, called the ‘seventh nutrient’, are also not good before exercise.

Green vegetables such as lettuce and broccoli are sure to be healthy foods rich in dietary fiber, but you need to be careful if you consume them before exercise. Dietary fiber, which is slow to digest, is broken down by microorganisms in the large intestine. During this process, gases such as hydrogen and carbon dioxide are generated, making it difficult to concentrate on exercise because you feel abdominal distension. It is rich in fiber, and because it is an uncooked raw food, digestion is slower. Nuts, which are rich in dietary fiber, are also not recommended to be consumed before exercise.

Foods containing spicy ingredients such as red pepper, mustard, and wasabi also take a long time to digest. Spicy ingredients such as capsaicin in red pepper and sinigrin in mustard or wasabi irritate the gastric mucosa and take a long time to digest. If you exercise before these ingredients are digested, you may experience abdominal pain, heartburn, and even vomiting in severe cases, so it is better to avoid it before exercise.

It is also good to avoid eating a lot of soup before exercise because the refined salt in the soup can strain the kidneys and hinder blood circulation.

Refined carbohydrates such as white flour and white rice have a high glycemic index (GI), which raises blood sugar levels rapidly. GI is a measure of the rate at which blood sugar rises in our bodies when we eat foods that contain carbohydrates. When you consume refined carbohydrates, insulin secretion is promoted, and sugar accumulates in the body rather than being used as energy for exercise, reducing the exercise effect. Simply put, insulin reduces the effectiveness of exercise by storing energy in the body that we need to use when exercising. It also has high calories, which hinders muscle building through exercise or dieting (weight loss).

Fried foods and carbonated drinks that are not good for the body are not good even before exercise.

Eating fried foods and exercising takes a long time to digest and puts a strain on the stomach. Fatty foods that increase blood flow viscosity and hinder blood circulation may cause stomach acid reflux symptoms. The same goes for high-fat foods like pizza and hamburgers. Drinking soda before exercise can cause gas and abdominal pain during exercise. You may think that eating a sweet snack before exercise will replenish your energy, but this is not good because it is a refined carbohydrate as described above.

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If you must eat, what is the most effective thing to eat before exercise?

It is also good to consume fruits such as apples and bananas before exercise.

The high-quality glucose in apples provides energy before exercise. Polyphenols in apples prevent fat from being absorbed into the body. The nutrients in bananas are quickly absorbed by the body and are easily converted into energy. Minerals such as magnesium and potassium, which are abundant in bananas, prevent muscle cramps caused by electrolyte imbalance in the body. It is better to eat the fruit raw rather than juice. Whole grains, which raise blood sugar levels slowly, also help keep insulin levels constant and give you a feeling of fullness, which helps with smooth exercise.

It’s not good before exercise, but a meal consisting of sweet potatoes, brown rice, and vegetables is very good as a post-workout diet. Fish is also a source of omega-3 fats and protein, which is effective in relieving inflammation levels that can cause post-workout pain. A diet with a good balance of protein and carbohydrates helps the body recover after exercise.

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