How to eat before competition and exercise

Research has documented that low glycemic index carbohydrates ingested before endurance running or biking improves performance when compared to high glycemic index carbohydrates (Wu CL, Williams C. 2006, Moore LJ, et al. 2010).

The research conducted by Wu C.L. and Williams C. compared a low glycemic index meal GI value 37 with a high glycemic index meal GI value 77 on two different occasions. The study was randomized and used the same participants at both occasions. Both meals were ingested 3 hours prior to the trials and contained 2 grams of carbohydrates per kg body mass.

The results showed that the low glycemic index meal resulted in a greater endurance capacity compared to the high glycemic index meal.

The studies reviewed here showed that a low glycemic index meal prior to endurance activities results in increased carbohydrate and energy availability at the end of the exercise leading to improved performance.

Low glycemic index meals are absorbed slowly and should be eaten at least 2 hours before the exercise. Maybe you would still get the benefits from a low glycemic index meal even if it is eaten 1 ½ hour before exercising, but I would not recommend eating any closer to the exercise than that.

A bean burrito would be a good choice since the beans are an excellent source of low glycemic index carbohydrates. You could also mix a little bit of pasta with beans if you don’t want a burrito. Even if the tortilla and the pasta are higher glycemic index, when combined with the beans, the meal is still low glycemic index and high in carbohydrates. You could also take some essential amino acids at the same time.

A couple of days before an endurance competition consume an extra 200 to 300 grams per day of carbohydrates, pasta is a good choice, and eat a pasta meal as the last meal the evening before the competition. Doing this will ensure saturation of glycogen storage in both muscles and the liver.

The books “Effective Nutrition for Effective Healing” and “The Food Connection” have a lot of examples of easy to make low glycemic index, high nutrients recipes. This would be the way to eat on a regular basis to ensure you stay as insulin sensitive as possible, allowing maximum glucose to be transferred into the cells.

Just remember the meal especially before endurance type exercises needs to be high in carbohydrates, not only low glycemic index.

To read the original abstracts, click on the references below.



References:

Moore LJ, Midgley AW, Thurlow S, Thomas G, Mc Naughton LR. Effect of the glycaemic index of a pre-exercise meal on metabolism and cycling time trial performance. J Sci Med Sport. 2010 Jan;13(1):182-8. Epub 2009 Feb 20.

Thomas DE, Brotherhood JR, Miller JB. Plasma glucose levels after prolonged strenuous exercise correlate inversely with glycemic response to food consumed before exercise. Int J Sport Nutr. 1994 Dec;4(4):361-73.

Wu CL, Williams C. A low glycemic index meal before exercise improves endurance running capacity in men. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2006 Oct;16(5):510-27.

Optimal nutrition during prolonged exercise

Prolonged exercise is considered more than 60 minutes of activity. If you exercise for more than 60 minutes or participate in an endurance race lasting more than 60 minutes, you will benefit from drinking a carbohydrate/electrolyte solution during the exercise.

It is generally accepted that 600 to 1200 ml per hour of fluid should be consumed, containing between 30 and 60 grams of carbohydrates and 0.5 to 0.7 grams of sodium (Na) per liter of fluid (Von Duvillard SP, et al. 2004). One liter is 1000 ml.

The carbohydrates help to prevent glycogen depletion and will help to improve performance. Carbohydrates are stored in the form of glycogen in the muscles and the liver and used as needed for energy. When glycogen stores are completely used up and energy has to be supplied mainly by fat, performance will be substantially reduced. The body will also start to break down its own protein at that point to help supply energy.

Sodium is important to help maintain fluid balance and prevent muscle cramping.

What is the best form of carbohydrates to use for this purpose and how much can we utilize?

The carbohydrates without doubt are important because they help improve performance, but it’s a limit to what we can absorb because the rate of gastric emptying. What has been commonly used is a solution of 4% to 8% carbohydrates per 100 ml of fluid.

Comparatively new research shows that a combination of glucose and fructose allows for more carbohydrates to be absorbed than if only a single source like glucose is used by itself.


It has been documented that during 120 minutes of cycling exercise when glucose of 1.2 grams per minute and 0.6 grams per minute of fructose was combined, it improved performance by 8%, compared to when glucose only was used (Currell K, Jeukendrup AE. 2008). This amount of carbohydrate would be 108 grams per hour, which is considerably more than the 60 grams commonly used.

Glucose is a high glycemic index carbohydrate and another source of high glycemic carbohydrate which has been used in many studies is maltodextrin.

Summary: When competing in an endurance race or exercise for more than 60 minutes, drink a carbohydrate solution consisting of glucose or maltodextrin and fructose. The drink should also include 0.7 grams of sodium per liter of fluid. The ratio of glucose to fructose should be 2:1 and the amount of total carbohydrates should not be exceeding 108 grams per hour, not exceeding 1200 ml of fluid per hour.

Start to drink early, probably before the first 60 minutes of activity, and drink every 15 minutes.

Don’t drink this type of high glycemic index solution when you are not exercising because that would, with time, make you less insulin sensitive.

You want to be as insulin sensitive as possible to allow maximum amount of glucose to be transferred into the cells for energy.

To maintain insulin sensitivity the main meals you eat during the day should be low glycemic index, but high in carbohydrates and nutrients. Read one of the books “Effective Nutrition for Effective Healing” or “The Food Connection” for explanations and recipes.

To read the original abstracts, click on the references below.



References:

Currell K, Jeukendrup AE. Superior endurance performance with ingestion of multiple transportable carbohydrates. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008 Feb;40(2):275-81.

Von Duvillard SP, Braun WA, Markofski M, Beneke R, Leithäuser R. Fluids and hydration in prolonged endurance performance. Nutrition. 2004 Jul-Aug;20(7-8):651-6.

How to improve recovery from exercise.

One of the most important aspects of training is the recovery. Incomplete recovery will result in tissue breakdown and optimal benefits from the exercise are not realized.

A lot of research has been published on this topic. What you will find here is a synthesis of the most relevant information.

It is important to ingest carbohydrates, proteins and amino acids after both aerobic endurance exercise and anaerobic resistance exercise to get maximum benefits from training.

As a general rule, 1g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight and 0.5g of protein per kg of body weight should be ingested within 30 minutes after exercise as well as a high carbohydrate meal within 2 hours following exercise (Kreider RB, et al. 2010).

The exercise recovery process can possibly be improved even further by using supplements.

Exercise results in depletion of muscle glycogen. When protein is added to the carbohydrates in the recovery period the insulin response is significantly greater than when carbohydrates are used by itself (Zawadski KM, et al. 1992). This is the case even if a high glycemic index carbohydrate source like glucose or maltodextrine is used.

Insulin acts as an anabolic hormone and stimulates the uptake of both carbohydrates and amino acids into the tissue.

Ingestion of hydrolyzed whey protein and maltodextrine after exercise, have shown to increase the synthesis and repair of muscle protein not only after resistance exercise, but also after endurance exercise (Howarth KR, et al. 2009).

If you want to improve recovery even further, add amino acids to the carbohydrates.


Carbohydrates and essential amino acids have been documented to maximize the anabolic response to resistance exercise and suppress the exercise induced cortisol (a stress hormone) response (Bird SP, et al. 2006).

Responsible for that is most likely leucine, which is one of the branched chained amino acids.

When a drink consisting of carbohydrates in the form of 50% glucose, 50% maltodextrine and whey protein was compared with the same drink, except with the addition of leucine, it was documented that the drink with added leucine stimulated muscle protein synthesis more than the carbohydrate, protein drink when consumed 45 minutes of resistance exercise (Koopman R, et al. 2005).

This is the amount of the different ingredients used in this study per hour per kg body weight: 0.3g of carbohydrates, 0.2g of hydrolyzed whey protein and 0.1g of leucine. For a 60 kg (72 pounds) individual that would amount to 18g of carbohydrates, 12g of protein and 6g of leucine per hour which what approximately can be emptied from the stomach per hour.

As a summary: For the fastest recovery including increased protein synthesis after both endurance and resistance exercise, use higher glycemic index carbohydrates with either essential amino acids or branched chain amino acids.

Just remember you don’t want to eat or drink high glycemic index foods or beverages when you don’t exercise, that will make you more insulin resistant.
To stay as insulin sensitive as possible allowing maximum glucose to be transferred into the cells for energy, you need to eat low glycemic index meals.

To learn about the benefits of low glycemic, high nutrient food read one of the books, “Effective Nutrition for Effective Healing” or “The Food Connection.”

To read the original abstract, click on the references below.




References:

Bird SP, Tarpenning KM, Marino FE. Independent and combined effects of liquid carbohydrate/essential amino acid ingestion on hormonal and muscular adaptations following resistance training in untrained men. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2006 May;97(2):225-38. Epub 2006 Mar 24.

Howarth KR, Moreau NA, Phillips SM, Gibala MJ. Coingestion of protein with carbohydrate during recovery from endurance exercise stimulates skeletal muscle protein synthesis in humans. J Appl Physiol. 2009 Apr;106(4):1394-402. Epub 2008 Nov 26.

Koopman R, Wagenmakers AJ, Manders RJ, Zorenc AH, Senden JM, Gorselink M, Keizer HA, van Loon LJ. Combined ingestion of protein and free leucine with carbohydrate increases postexercise muscle protein synthesis in vivo in male subjects. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Apr;288(4):E645-53. Epub 2004 Nov 23.

Kreider RB, Wilborn CD, Taylor L, Campbell B, Almada AL, Collins R, Cooke M, Earnest CP, Greenwood M, Kalman DS, Kerksick CM, Kleiner SM, Leutholtz B, Lopez H, Lowery LM, Mendel R, Smith A, Spano M, Wildman R, Willoughby DS, Ziegenfuss TN, Antonio J. ISSN exercise & sport nutrition review: research & recommendations. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2010 Feb 2;7:7.

Zawadzki KM, Yaspelkis BB 3rd, Ivy JL. Carbohydrate-protein complex increases the rate of muscle glycogen storage after exercise. J Appl Physiol. 1992 May;72(5):1854-9.