Carbs

  • Carbs, Energy, Performance

    How many is too many carbs to consume during endurance events?

    Carbs are one of the main sources of energy that the body pulls from during physical activity. As the intensity of the activity increases, so too does the usage of carbs for energy. High intensities (ie. sprints, jump) means high carb usage. Within our body we have a natural storage of carbs already in place called glycogen. As that fuel tank of energy decreases, feelings of fatigue can begin to settle. Maximizing the body’s glycogen stores and conserving the usage of glycogen is a main focus for training harder and longer. Consuming carbs during exercise is a main strategy to provide outside energy in hopes of conserving glycogen. Great strategy, but it’s tough to know the magic number of how many carbs to consume to optimize that effect.

    Plenty of options for carbs to consume

    Sports nutrition products have made some companies billions (with a ‘B’) selling different sources of carbs. Gatorade is easily the giant dominating the category. By themselves, Gatorade has countless products of drinks, chews, bars, powders and gels to help provide carbs in convenient ways. All targeted at increasing energy availability and conserving glycogen stores. Helping athletes perform their best is the number one goal with this strategy leading the way.

    Many options of carbs to consume.

    Multiple types of carbs

    Not all carb options are equal though. By consuming different types of carbs, different benefits can be achieved. Glucose and fructose are the two main types of carbs as they are the two the body is most capable to use. They use two different pathways, or ‘roads’, in the body to get broken down and converted into energy. Consuming too many of one type can overload the system and cause some unwanted stomach problems. Balancing your intake between the two though will allow you to maximize the body’s usage of both of them. Splitting between them also helps ease the workload on the stomach to help avoid cramps, discomfort or in some cases an emergency trip to the bathroom!

    How much of what types of carbs to consume

    Fructose is typically the type of carb to be more careful with as it tends to not be absorbed as easily. Tougher absorption means it increases the risk of stomach discomfort and poor physical performances. On the other hand glucose tends to be a bit easier and better tolerated meaning can be consumed in larger amounts. Several studies have been done in the past and the optimal intake for maximum intake tends to be 90g/hr of carbs at a 2:1 ratio of glucose to fructose. Every hour that means an endurance athlete is consuming 30g of fructose and 60g of glucose. As mentioned previously, the vast majority of sports foods have this type of ratio so a target of 90g with those products should steer most people in a good direction. But what if the body could actually handle more?

    That is what several researchers have dug into to try and figure out. In a recent study they pushed it as high as 120g/hr of carbs consumed at a ratio though of 1:0.8 of glucose to fructose. So not only is this increasing total carb intake, but it’s also pushing the fructose intake in particular. Pushing the absorption limits in this study was done hoping to see if that extra intake would preserve the glycogen to enhance overall performance. The same goal as mentioned earlier that everyone is targeting. Consuming extra carbs at 120g/hr though did not actually preserve glycogen any more than the 90g/hr strategy. More carbs in total were used for energy as it pulled from more of the carbs being consumed but it didn’t stop the glycogen from still being used.

    Summing things up

    Without the preservation of glycogen, 120g of carbs may not be needed. Along with that the higher carb group also noted experiencing a bit more nausea and feelings of fullness. Most athletes prefer feeling ‘light’ during activity so that could cause some negative psychological effects too. Part of this though needs to involve making sure this type of consumption is done in practice first. Just jumping into that high of a carb intake can be a recipe for disaster for many. It goes back to the golden rule of no new foods/strategies on game day!

    You can train the body to handle greater carb intakes but if it doesn’t enhance the preservation of glycogen there may be other options. Carb periodization for example, to help train the body to tap into those fat stores a bit more. If glycogen preservation is maxed, using those fat stores would be a good consideration. But in regards to how many carbs to consume, 90g/hr seems to be a great starting point. Just make sure to have a mix of both glucose and fructose with it. Sports foods as mentioned tend to already have that mixture in it. Food wise though try balancing fruit/candy higher fructose items with bread/granola bars higher glucose items.

    Study referenced: click here

    CONTINUE READING

  • Carbs, Energy, Ketone, Performance, Supplements

    Ketone supplements look to help high intensity activities

    This is a big blast to the past for me as my master’s thesis was on ketone supplements and it’s impact on performance. Overall ketone supplements are still a fairly new thing. We continue to learn more and more about them and have a long ways to go. Early on though, lactate levels seem to be one of the things ketones can target the most.

    What are ketones?

    Ketones are what your body produces when it is breaking down fat. It’s a form of energy that your body can use, like glucose, with other potential benefits as well. Ketone production is one of the main goals of those following a low carb diet. A lot of research on this has been done looking at medical uses such as for diabetes and seizures but it’s beginning to get a lot more attention in the sports/performance world. The dietary and lifestyle production of ketones is different from simply drinking them so get a short-term ketone boost.

    Ketone supplements vs. naturally produced

    Most of the research up to this point on ketones has been studying those that are naturally produced. This comes from low carb diet implementation and thus has other variables to consider. Prior to supplements being made the ketones couldn’t be isolated and looked at. But never count out science! Now there are all sorts of different ketones supplements out there. Ketone supplements now allow for a unique situation where ketone levels can be high in addition to having carbs with them. There are different forms of ketone supplements as well to consider. The two most common of which are ketone salts and ketone esters. Neither are the exact same as ketones produced by the body though there are still a lot of similarities for comparable effects. A lot of questions and details obviously still need to be learned but we’re getting closer one study at a time.

    Ketones used for energy

    One of the biggest functions of ketones is their use for energy. Similar to glucose, ketones can be used by muscles and the rest of the body to keep things running. When consumed as a supplement ketones actually jump to the front of the line for energy usage. This is where some of the interest from a performance perspective comes into play. While it is a go-to source of energy it also is able to do that without producing lactate as a result. Even at higher intensities ketones appear to pull this off effectively.

    The impact of lactate

    Lactate is produced when performing at a high intensity. As the intensity increases, the usage of glucose increases with it. Partially contributing to this is that the body isn’t getting enough oxygen to run as well on fat which needs more oxygen than glucose. That oxygen need is why you start breathing harder at higher intensities. Glucose though can actually still produce energy even without oxygen. But, this comes at a bit of a cost in the form of lactate being produced. As lactate increases you may start to feel that burning sensation in your muscles. This eventually will force you to have to slowdown or stop.

    Less lactate with ketone supplements

    What this study shows is the potential for the body to use ketones more and preserve glucose/glycogen. As a result, the decreased glucose usage also decreases the lactate being produced. More energy being available with slower production of lactate sounds like a great combo most certainly worth keeping an eye on. While this study looked at rugby players, the overall concept could be applied to much more. Lower lactate levels will certainly catch the attention of a lot of performance experts and athletes, myself included. While too early to say it should absolutely be a part of an athlete’s supplement plan, it’s worth keeping an eye on.

    Study referenced: click here

    CONTINUE READING

  • Carbs, Macronutrients, Metabolism, Performance

    Carb loading first with extra fat afterwards

    One of the main energy stores in the body in glycogen. Glycogen is essentially reserved carbohydrates to be used throughout the day and exercise as needed. Higher intensity activities (ie. sprinting, jumping) use more glycogen than fat for energy. This is what carb loading is trying to target. By eating extra carbs leading up to an intense activity (carb loading) it can increase the amount of glycogen in the body. More glycogen in theory should then allow for more energy and increased performance. But what happens if after carb loading, a high fat meal was the last meal before the event?

    Carb loading has a long history

    Carb loading has been a strategy used for decades. It has stood the test of time for quite awhile because it’s worked and the concept makes sense as we discussed. But especially here of late new theories are starting to emerge to question this. One of the biggest is the strategic usage of periods of lower carb with higher fat intake. The carb loading has proven to help significantly raise glycogen in the body and many people have used this to set personal bests in a wide variety of physical tests/activities. With timed higher fat intake the theory is that it could help preserve that glycogen. Which again addresses the goal of more glycogen for longer to equal greater and more sustained performance.

    Fat rich meal as a chaser

    Generally a fat rich meal consumed purposefully is with the goal of making the body use fat for energy more. Consistent low carb diets really try to push this. In this study though the goal was to cause this effect just for the single exercise. The exercise specifically tested here was a 60 minute aerobic treadmill run. While the intensity wasn’t overly high it was still pushing the participants at 95% of their lactate threshold. After carb loading and then having a higher fat pre-race meal (meal was 42% fat), participants showed using less glycogen. Based off of what was being tested this was a success! But be mindful of a few things before grabbing an avocado and diving in headfirst.

    Be mindful with this carb loading strategy

    Fat takes longer for the body to breakdown and digest. As you get closer to exercise, typically you want to keep foods simple and easy for your stomach to digest. At that time blood is being focused to your muscles and not your stomach. With less focus on your stomach, digestion takes a back seat. This is why a high fat meal may not sit well for some people as fat takes longer to digest already then carbs do. That paired with exercise can really slow down digestion. With extra food sitting in your stomach that is when bloating and cramps tend to pop up more. So while in theory this could be a great strategy that was shown effective in the study, it should be tested during practice before an actual competition. As I always say, no new foods on game day! That applies to food strategies as well.

    Study referenced: click here

    CONTINUE READING