Natalie speaks with Registered Dietitian and Diabetes expert Erin Palinski-Wade to get to the bottom of blood sugar for athletes. They discuss:

• Why athletes are wearing continuous glucose monitors and whether or not they are recommended for all athletes 
• Do spikes in blood glucose do any long-term damage to the body?
• Is your insulin sensitivity heightened during the anabolic window, and does this help with muscle building?  
• What is the glycemic index and why do people talk about it so much?
• If someone doesn’t have Diabetes, should they care about the glycemic index? 

Follow Erin @erinpalinskiwade

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IG: @greenletes

📕: Planted Performance

McKale Montgomery is an Assistant Professor at Oklahoma State University, as well as a nutritional science researcher. She specializes in iron, specifically how changes in cellular iron affect disease progression. She's also a competitive marathon runner. In this episode, we chat about: 

• How she started running and her journey to the Olympic Trials
• How she balances mom-ing (yes, it’s a verb), work, and competitive running
• Why iron is her favorite nutrient
• Do runners lose more iron than everyday people? How common is foot strike hemolysis? 
• What about plant-based athletes— is it inevitable that they will be iron deficient?
• Has research found a link between iron and cognitive decline? 
• The relevance of iron in cancer and chemotherapy 

Read the Runner's World article about McKale here! And follow her on Twitter

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IG: @greenletes

📕: Planted Performance

Dr. Kensa Gunter is a clinical and sport psychologist based in Atlanta, GA where she provides individual counseling, mental skills training, and consultation services to athletes and organizations. In this episode, we discuss:

• how psychological factors play into sport
• whether or not athletes are open to mental health discussions
• how to manage pre-competition anxiety
• How the idea of perfectionism play into an athlete’s mental health
• How athlete’s can balance the idea of wanting to win/be the best and also not beat themselves up if they don’t win.
• the definition of mental toughness and how can athlete’s harness it

Connect with Dr. Gunter or visit her website. 

Join the Greenletes Facebook Group
IG: @greenletes

📕: Planted Performance