Pre-run energy
2 carrots + 1 orange + 1 bunch of spinach
What everyone's reading
The vitamin A in carrots plays a key role in energy production. Vitamin C from the orange bolsters your immune system and helps you absorb iron from the spinach. The iron then aids the formation of red blood cells, which carry oxygen and nutrients to hard-working muscles.
Heart health
70g watermelon + 6 strawberries + ½ cm fresh ginger
Strawberries are one of the best fruit sources of folic acid, which is thought to reduce heart disease risk. You need vitamin B6 from the watermelon to absorb it. The ginger contains magnesium which, among other benefits, helps regulate contractions of the heart muscle.
Recover faster
½ beetroot + 2 apples (cored) + 1 kiwi fruit
Nitrates in beetroot juice reduce post-exercise muscular fatigue. Kiwis help replace the electrolytes potassium and magnesium, which you lose through sweat. Leave the skin on the apples; the peel contains ursolic acid, which may help promote muscle growth.
Bone builder
1 handful of kale + ½ pineapple + 1 mango
Kale is one of the richest sources of skeleton-insuring calcium. Sweeten its bitter taste with pineapple – the best source of bone-building manganese. One mango brings half your daily vitamin C to the table; people low in this are more likely to suffer low bone mineral density.
Stress buster
1 avocado + ½ cucumber + 2 limes
Creamy avocado is a great source of essential fatty acids, which help counteract the thickening of the blood that occurs when your adrenaline is pumping. Cucumber provides phosphorus and limes offer vitamin B5, both of which become depleted in bodies under stress.
