Runners are using new types of food and supplements to prepare for marathons, according to the latest data. New data from Ocado found that, whilst carb-loading is still deemed an essential, alternative supplements and functional foods are gaining huge popularity.
Shoppers stocking up ahead of marathons now buy Vitamin C supplements, protein powders, high protein foods like cottage cheese and Vitamin D. Search data from Ocado also shows that functional mushroom products like Lion’s Mane tea grow in popularity ahead of the London Marathon.
In the three weeks before last year’s race, searches for Lion’s Mane on Ocado jumped by 400%, while interest in mushroom powder and mushroom tea rose by 83% and 27% respectively.
Beetroot juice is another trending product believed to have performance enhancing benefits, and has been a firm favourite of footballers ever since Leicester City attributed their Premier League win to the juice back in 2016. Searches for the drink increased by 56% on Ocado.com ahead of the marathon in April 2023.
Supplements like creatine and protein powder are also on the rise, with over one in five choosing to incorporate creatine into their regimes.
The most popular recovery methods include ice baths, compression garments and cryotherapy, whilst heat therapy, percussion massagers, electric muscle stimulation and hydrotherapy are increasingly being used.
Blanca Spencer Moreno, Healthy Lifestyles Buyer at Ocado Retail said: “It’s clear that, for many, peak exercise performance is no longer just about carb-loading and simple rest and we’re seeing Ocado shoppers increasingly look to specific supplements and functional foods to aid their training programmes.”
Most popular supplements/functional foods used:
- Vitamin C - 49%
- Protein Powder - 46%
- High Protein Foods (lean meats, cottage cheese, tofu) - 45%
- Vitamin D - 43%
- Foods High In Vitamin D (salmon, tuna, egg yolks) - 39%
- Foods High In Iron (dark green vegetables, nuts, seeds, red meat) - 37%
- Foods High In Vitamin C (citrus, peppers, kale) - 37%
- Probiotic Yoghurt and Drinks - 35%
- Foods High In Omega 3 (salmon, chia seeds, walnuts) - 35%
- Omega 3 Supplements - 34%
