Super Foods 10 - Nut Butter

Renee McGregor (Dietitian, Author of ‘Training Food’) - Vibe Fitness nutrition expert

No matter who I am working with, elite, recreational or non-athletes, the key is to help them to tailor their nutritional intake to their training, lifestyle, family commitments and budget. Many of these so-called super foods on the market are costly; you need to eat an awful lot of kale to get the rich nutritional value that is quoted for health benefits. 

In my new book, Training Food” and in my daily practice I have introduced my list of “hero foods” for athletes. The list is by no means exhaustive but in my opinion these particular budget friendly hero foods are my top 10 and are a must on all athletes shopping lists.

Hero Food 10 – Nut Butter

 Most athletes are surprised when i mention they can eat nut butter. Yes they are high in fat but they are high in good fats and provide you with so many other essential nutrients too such as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and Vitamin E.

The high fat content means they help to keep you full and so can actually be useful for people who are trying to lose or watch their weight but do be careful about quantity! Nuts also provide protein so these can be very useful particularly in vegan and vegetarian diets. One thing to watch though, they don’t make such a good choice post high intensity training session as the fat content means that it slows down the absorption of protein needed for recovery. One way round this is to have a glass of milk first, soya if you are vegan, and follow up with your nut butter!