Running to fitness, week 3: Food and sleep choices

Which is a better food for runners: blueberries, walnuts or pasta?

"They've all been around for a long time," said Dr. Mark Langenfeld, a professor with Southeast Missouri State University's Health, Human Performance and Recreation Department. "I'm a strong advocate of a wide variety of foods. There's no 'magic bullet' food."

Langenfeld specializes in exercise physiology, fitness, wellness and nutrition and said the biggest food mistake anyone — runner or not — can make is to follow fad diets.

Instead, he said, follow the food pyramid. (Create a personal food pyramid at www.mypyramid.gov.)

"Bread, pasta, potatoes — not french fried potatoes — those are really the basis of a sporting diet," he said.

He said many people don't understand what high-carb foods are — rice, wheat and corn.

"Those are the primary three grains. We make all kinds of foods out of those," he said. "It's the basis of what we live on. We add to that to meats, dairy and cheese, all around the world."

A balanced diet, rich in grain-based food with "a nice mix of fruits and vegetables" and lesser amounts of proteins and fats should be the goal, he said.

If running is disrupting your sleep schedule, follow these tips from Dr. Brad Bittle of Saint Francis Medical Center, who specializes in sleep medicine and the treatment of lung and the respiratory system disorders.

Late-night exercise "certainly has the potential to disrupt sleep, because of the adrenaline or endorphins released," he said, but so can the aches and pains from overexercising.

He advises finishing a run at least two or three hours before bedtime.

"If you're going to exercise close to bedtime, do more stretching, like Pilates or yoga. Stretching will relax your muscles.," he said. "You still shouldn't do that right before jumping into bed."

Bittle said some adults need as little as four hours of sleep, while others need nine or more.

"The average adult needs between seven and a half and eight and a half hours. Young people, including teenagers, require more — up to 10 hours," he said.