We are so excited by our new partnership with Runna - a personal running coach in your pocket providing world class training, coaching, nutrition + injury support for everyone. To kick-start this partnership, we have created our new Runner’s Bundle.
We understand that to achieve high performance, the preparation and recovery are key; they’re the foundation of bringing your best to race day. With that in mind, we have brought together three of our performance teas to create our Runner’s Bundle. All you need to fuel your miles and everything in between.
We believe that too much caffeine is too readily available, and that many people consequently consume far too much of it. Through years of this overconsumption, we have wound up in a state so far away from our ‘natural energy’, people have forgotten what it feels like. This is where we hope to step in.
For runners and athletes, this might seem scary. Caffeine is increasingly used as a method to support training goals through offsetting fatigue from training and mitigating sleep disturbances. Caffeine is also spoken about as an ergogenic aid, with some studies suggesting increased alertness and analgesic (pain relief) properties so surely more is better for performance? While that sounds logical, the relationship is not so linear. Caffeine doesn’t just impact your energy levels, there are other effects on the body too, some of which can actually be detrimental to performance (e.g. increased anxiety, gastrointestinal disturbances, the caffeine crash).
Runner’s Bundle Blend information:
Perform is designed for sustained athletic performance with a real consideration on optimising fuel stores during exercise. The key ingredient for Perform is the Yerba Maté. This leaf is a game-changer in the sports nutrition field; yerba maté is being increasingly researched showing consistent but small benefits of fat oxidation, thus encouraging metabolic flexibility during exercise [1]. That is, using our fat stores as opposed to internal and external CHO stores. This is suggestive of a glycogen sparing potential for exercise performance, which could contribute to maintenance of high performance for longer [1]. It is also used alongside Green tea, which as mentioned above, is a great source of sustained caffeine release and L-theanine. Perform also has ingredients of spearmint which is a nootropic (cognitive enhancer) that has suggested benefits in attention and reactive agility [2,3] and gotu Kola which has shown notable improvements in blood flow [4]. The nootropic elements are great for athletes. Drinking it before and during training or racing means the ingredients will begin to take effect as your training begins, which is great timing to pull out a solid run.
Hydrate is designed to support performance through boosting hydration levels and a sustained state of energy. Alongside our yerba maté base, antioxidant rich, slow release caffeine and metabolic supporting ingredients have been selected to help maintain your performance:
- Matcha green tea which has a reputation as a leading health ingredient. As this leaf is ground to a powder, the whole leaf is ingested meaning we are able to absorb a much higher proportion of contents (...and consequently ~137x more antioxidant power of a regular green tea) [5].
- Maca is an adaptogen (antistress) which has some evidence of improving endurance capacity, although these effects are more apparent in higher doses [6,7]
- Baobab contributes towards the high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of this blend, as well as being a source of immune supporting micronutrients, and importantly in this blend, electrolytes [8].
- Himalayan Salts were also added to increase electrolyte content. These salts are an underdog of the nutrition world containing 84 trace minerals, all of which the human body needs for optimal function [9].
If you are on a longer session too (>2 hours) it might be worth taking a sachet of hydrate with you. Again, room for flexibility here, as some people like to chuck it in their bottle and sip on it during their runs to stay on top of hydration. Another option is to have hydrate as a shot for a more ‘concentrated’ dose - i.e. same bioactives, just less water - if overhydrating is something you are concerned about.
While both these blends contain some caffeine, it is the right type of caffeine. Green tea works well as a caffeine source because it also contains an amino acid called L-theanine. This has a number of reported benefits but most attention has been paid to its ability to reduce stress and anxiety whilst simultaneously improving awareness [10]. Essentially, it helps to put you in the zone, so you get the same buzz but with longevity and without any jitters.
Post runs, our Recover blend is used and loved by many athletes. Blended to help reduce any negative effects of stress and anxiety and contribute to normal immune and muscle damage recovery functions. Rooibos is associated with anti-inflammatory outcomes and has suggested applications for stress-management by impacting the stress-hormone releasing pathway [11,12]. In combination with this, Ashwagandha also has strong, and consistent evidence of anti-anxiety benefits and another nootropic, Gingko Biloba, is renowned for cognition supporting and suggested stress reduction benefits [13,14]. However, more high quality studies are needed to validate these findings. The Ashwagandha in Recover contributes to reduced inflammation from stressors such as muscle damage [15]. There is some evidence that tulsi supports immune function [16] as well as being found to have positive effects in counteracting both metabolic and psychological stress, both of which are consequences of the demands of athlete life.
References:
[1] Alkhatib, A. (2014). Yerba Maté (Illex Paraguariensis) ingestion augments fat oxidation and energy expenditure during exercise at various submaximal intensities. Nutrition & metabolism, 11(1), 1-7.
[2] Fallarini, S., Miglio, G., Paoletti, T., Minassi, A., Amoruso, A., Bardelli, C., ... & Lombardi, G. (2009). Clovamide and rosmarinic acid induce neuroprotective effects in in vitro models of neuronal death. British journal of pharmacology, 157(6), 1072-1084.
[3] Falcone, P. H., Tribby, A. C., Vogel, R. M., Joy, J. M., Moon, J. R., Slayton, C. A., ... & Herrlinger, K. A. (2018). Efficacy of a nootropic spearmint extract on reactive agility: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel trial. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 15(1), 1-14.
[4] Cesarone, M. R., Incandela, L., De Sanctis, M. T., Belcaro, G., Bavera, P., Bucci, M., & Ippolito, E. (2001). Evaluation of treatment of diabetic microangiopathy with total triterpenic fraction of Centella asiatica: a clinical prospective randomized trial with a microcirculatory model. Angiology, 52(2_suppl), S49-S54
[5] Weiss, D. J., & Anderton, C. R. (2003). Determination of catechins in matcha green tea by micellar electrokinetic chromatography. Journal of Chromatography A, 1011(1-2), 173-180.
[6] Stone, M., Ibarra, A., Roller, M., Zangara, A. & Stevenson, E. A pilot investigation into the effect of Maca supplementation on physical activity and sexual desire in sportsmen. J. Ethnopharmacol. 126, 574–576 (2009)
[7] Yang, Q., Jin, W., Lv, X., Dai, P., Ao, Y., Wu, M., ... & Yu, L. (2016). Effects of macamides on endurance capacity and anti-fatigue property in prolonged swimming mice. Pharmaceutical biology, 54(5), 827-834.
[8] Zahra’u, B., Mohammed, A. S., Ghazali, H. M., & Karim, R. (2014). Baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L) parts: nutrition, applications in food and uses in ethno-medicine–a review. Ann Nutr Disord & Ther, 1(3), 1011.
[9] Hendel, B., & Ferreira, P. (2003). Water and Salt: The Essence of Life. Natural resources Incorporated.
[10] Xu, H., Wang, Y., Chen, Y., Zhang, P., Zhao, Y., Huang, Y., ... & Sheng, J. (2016). Subcellular localization of galloylated catechins in tea plants [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze] assessed via immunohistochemistry. Frontiers in plant science, 7, 728.
[11] Smith, C., & Swart, A. C. (2016). Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) facilitates an anti-inflammatory state, modulating IL-6 and IL-10 while not inhibiting the acute glucocorticoid response to a mild novel stressor in vivo. Journal of Functional Foods, 27, 42-54.
[12] Schloms, L., Smith, C., Storbeck, K. H., Marnewick, J. L., Swart, P., & Swart, A. C. (2014). Rooibos influences glucocorticoid levels and steroid ratios in vivo and in vitro: A natural approach in the management of stress and metabolic disorders?. Molecular nutrition & food research, 58(3), 537-549.
[13] Chandrasekhar, K., Kapoor, J., & Anishetty, S. (2012). A prospective, randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study of safety and efficacy of a high-concentration full-spectrum extract of ashwagandha root in reducing stress and anxiety in adults. Indian journal of psychological medicine, 34(3), 255-262.
[14] Santos, R. F., Galduróz, J. C. F., Barbieri, A., Castiglioni, M. L. V., Ytaya, L. Y., & Bueno, O. F. A. (2003). Cognitive performance, SPECT, and blood viscosity in elderly non-demented people using Ginkgo biloba. Pharmacopsychiatry, 36(04), 127-133.
[15] Wankhede, S., Langade, D., Joshi, K., Sinha, S. R., & Bhattacharyya, S. (2015). Examining the effect of Withania somnifera supplementation on muscle strength and recovery: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 12(1), 1-11.
[16] Mondal, S., Varma, S., Bamola, V. D., Naik, S. N., Mirdha, B. R., Padhi, M. M., ... & Mahapatra, S. C. (2011). Double-blinded randomized controlled trial for immunomodulatory effects of Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum Linn.) leaf extract on healthy volunteers. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 136(3), 452-456.
