Guest Post by Glenn Macnamara | Detox for Athletes?

Jan 11, 2011 by Capoeirasa    No Comments    Posted under: Guest Posts

2011 has arrived as hastily as 2010 disappeared into the annals of Time. Many of us may have embraced the festive season with a little less APE(Athletic Pursuit of Excellence) and maybe too much of the EDBM scenario(EatDrinkBeMerry!) With some new years resolutions involving increased fitness and health, some of us may be wondering how to find our pre Christmas shape!

Is a detox appropriate for an athlete?

A detox is essentially about ridding our bodies of an excess of toxins. A festive season is known for over-eating and drinking. Alcohol and food choices that are often not appropriate for athletes can lead to too many toxins. Our bodies have natural methods of eliminating toxins. If you are prone to high blood pressure, retain water too easily, have bad breath, are irritable, have sugar cravings, there is a reasonable chance you are currently carrying too many toxins for your body.

Will a detox shortly before an important endurance help or hinder our performance?

For me, this is a tough question to answer for each individual. An athlete who has never embarked on a detox before may even experience a mild illness as a reaction to a full detox programme. Certainly a scenario most athletes prefer to avoid! Thus if you have overindulged this festive season AND you are to compete in a week or two I would not recommend a full detox unless you know your body well. A detox programme is best suited to those who are beginning on a Fitness Journey or have a break from important or major events.

What can We Do without a full detox?

A probiotic for the stomach is a sensible idea. A course of probiotics will certainly assist the body find its usual intestinal balance again and go a way to ward off possible visits from Mr. Ill Ness! Fruit Certain fruits will also provide useful additional digestive enzymes. One of the most helpful fruits in this regard is pineapple. It contains 2 digestive enzymes in bromelain and papain (please, I am not suggesting you just eat pineapple all day!) Beetroot is also fantastic in a Detox process too. The liver and kidneys are often quite battered after festive season frivolities. Beetroot helps eliminate excess toxins from the system and help regulate the blood sugar level. To achieve best results beetroot is most suitably accompanied with other juices like carrot for example. Secondly, it is also advisable to consume small amounts of beets. From an endurance sport perspective beetroot also contains useful amounts of iron. To prepare beets, it is ideal to steam them until soft. You could also use a juice extractor and make a beet and carrot juice drink. A formal Note of Observation: It has an unusual taste and does affect the colour of your bowel and urinary movements!(sorry to be graphic…just so you don’t get a fright!)

Water Most of us know water assists our bodies to achieve its natural pH state. Thus, drinking water also assists in an Athletic Short Course to Detox. Liver supplement If you are concerned about your liver, introducing a liver supplement now would certainly be welcomed by this incredible organ. I would recommend milk thistle to achieve this. There is some research to suggest it assists the liver eradicate toxins.

I hope this short piece has been useful and wish you the best of luck for your training and events!

About Glenn Macnamara

Glenn is a professional triathlete. To date he has represented SA in 29 international events including 10 World champs and competed on 4 continents. His top results internationally include a 4th place at a World Cup event in Japan, 5th in Malaysia and Ohio(USA),6th in France and Colorado(USA) amongst others. Glenn is also a freelance as a writer and works as a coach and speaker,  having done talks at corporatres such as Eskom,Audi, Nedbank,FNB amongst others as well as overseas in Alabama,Ohio, Kuala Lumpur, Belgium and the UK.

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