ridecamp@endurance.net: feeling ill after eating a sports bar

feeling ill after eating a sports bar

Beth Glace (lb@nismat.org)
Tue, 25 Mar 1997 08:35:11 +0000

Exercise redirects blood from the gut and to the exercising muscles,
so digestion slows. Typically, you're much more likely to notice
nausea, diarrhea, cramping during exercise if you've had something to
eat and then workout out. There is a large variation between
individuals, some people can eat bacon and eggs, pancakes and go
race, no problem. Others can barely tolerate water within an hour of
the race. In general, the more concentrated the food or beverage,
the slower it will digest. Furthermore, the more jostling the sport
and the higher the intensity, the worse the symptoms. So for
instance, road cyclists can often eat power bars, candy bars, goo,
whatever and during their nice smooth ride at about 50 - 60 % of
their aerobic max they notice no upset. A runner who has more up and
down motion, and who races at 80 - 90% of max will likely vomit if
anything solid is eaten. The commercial sport drinks are formulated
to provide an amount of carb that will actually extend performance
[at least 6% of the solution] but not so much as to slow digestion.
Most people can absorb a solution of up to 8% carbohydrate about as
quickly as water. This is why beverages formulated to be used during
exercise, i.e. Gatorade or Powerade, etc, contain 6 - 8%
carbohydrate. There clearly is a delicate balance between what you
can absorb DURING exercise without becoming ill, and the amount
needed to have any real effect on performance. What you've
experienced, Truman, is typical and each individual has to do some
experimentation prior the race to figure out what works best for
them.
OOps! It's getting late... Got to get some work done!
Beth Glace, M.S.
Sports Nutritionist
lb@nismat.org

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