Putting good stuff into your body is an important part of running. Nutrition as we always say must be an EQUAL part of your training plan, not the afterthought.
As well as what you put in though, have you thought about how well that 'stuff' gets digested or broken down. We talk a lot about the bio-availabilty of vitamins and minerals. Some food may have the same vitamin content as another, but if it is not readily available to be 'unlocked' your body will not benefit from it. That's why Daily Tonic only has the most bio-available ingredients in its formulation despite the increased cost to do so. (No point drinking it if your body doesn't get to keep it!)
The state of your gut is another factor as to how well you will digest and absorb the goodness from your food. If you gut is compromised in any way, then you may not breakdown some food, the chemicals in the food may pass through the gut wall instead of being eliminated by the body (Oxalates are an example of this, read more on them here.).
If you have a compromised gut then you should talk to an expert and go through a proper gut rebuild - yes frequently an elimination diet is the start of this. It is not enough to just throw pro-biotics at the problem. You will spend a lot of money but achieve little.
I found this quote from the article linked below and I think it is a very important note. I know I always thought if you had 'leaky gut' then you would know via obvious gut issues..
Leaky gut can manifest as skin problems like eczema or psoriasis, heart failure, autoimmune conditions affecting the thyroid (Hashimoto’s) or joints (rheumatoid arthritis), mental illness, autism spectrum disorder, depression and more.
If however, your gut is good, then make sure you keep it good. With the stresses of modern living - diet, stress and pollution it is unlikely that your gut health is actually optimal, even if you have no symptoms. So boosting it once and a while will be a good thing and you will feel benefits.
3 ways to keep your gut happy:
1. Probiotics - IMPORTANT TO NOTE - vary the brand you buy. You want your gut to have a wide variety of gut bacteria so by varying the brand you ensure you get all sorts of different bacteria strains. This can be an expensive habit, so if you have no other issues, then you could go week on week off or similar.
2. Fermented food - all the rage at the moment. Add sauerkraut or kim chi to your meals. Drink Kombucha (apparently easy to make....but also easy to find these days).
3. Avoid antibiotics and too much processed food.
For more detailed information on this issue check out this article: