Addicted to sweets

It seems the whole country is addicted to sweet. Anything and everything contains sugar or an equivalent amount of sweetener. From toothpaste to bread, mouthwash to electrolyte tablets, health drinks, chewing gum, and even supplements and vitamins, sweet is a ubiquitous presence. Many drinks that would be better plain such as ice-tea or ready-made coffee are nowhere to be found without the presence of plenty of sweetening.

America's addiction to sweets is as bad as its addiction to oil. Both are far more costly in terms of health and lives lost than the addictions the DEA is so obsessed with. Both are real addictions in need of serious attention.

Sugars (or carbohydrates) are an important energy source for athlete. That is because many activities demand high and immediate energy delivery. Virtually any athletic endeavor, except perhaps true endurance racing, requires a fair amount of anaerobic power. Anaerobic power is within the purview of sugar. Only sugars can provide a quick burst of energy.

Even though sugar storage is quite limited, uptake is very fast. Sugars are easy to digest and any sugar intake results in a quick change in blood sugar levels. Sugar intake is also virtually unlimited and sugars do not provoke a feeling of satiety. Furthermore, because digestion is so easy, stomach emptying is fast, thereby removing another natural halting mechanism.

Pure sugars are not that easy to find in nature and the energy required for foraging plus the other materials one needs to ingest to get to natural sugar may limit consumption in "the wild." However, humans have long since found a way to circumvent these obstacles. Human societies spend a lot of time producing or refining pure sugars. Nearly all human civilizations have stores of pure sugar available. These are often used as rewards or "candy," indicating a special role for such precious cargo.

Most societies have instituted rules to limit utilization. Kids are taught that eating too much candy will make them sick. It is doubtful that they would get sick (other than very obese) so the rule is meant to prevent over-consumption. Adults have similar rules and there is little doubt that the sugar-high and the sugar-jitters find their origins here. There are many tales cautioning people against eating too much sugar. 

Unfortunately, in our consumer society marketing groups quickly discovered that making things sweet sells more stuff more quickly and easily. These marketing groups wage a constant battle against common sense and societal prescriptions. They tout overindulgence and gorging. They make it look glamorous and hail it as a sign of success. No wonder then that more than half the country is overweight or obese.

Endurance athletes should be very careful with sugar intake. A diet high in carbohydrates is often recommended by coaches, consultants, magazines, and books. Although these experts will often propose complex carbohydrates and caution against simple sugars, there is little evidence that complex carbs are any better (or worse) than those "simple" sugars. All carbohydrate processing is very fast and any "long term" sustenance due to uptake or processing is probably a figment of people's imagination.

One should be especially weary of so-called carbo-loading meals. Almost all events have added carbo-loading meals the night before the race. Participants have come to expect such dinners and are often shocked when none is planned. Unfortunately, these carbo-loading dinners are anything but. First off, it is not possible to carbo-load in this manner, and carbo-loading the night before a race is out of the question. Second, the meals offered are rarely any different in composition from normal meals one can find in restaurants. They are not suitable for carbo-loading.

As Olympian Jeff Galloway pointed out, so-called carbo-loading dinners are often an excuse to eat too much. Eating too much has a negative effect on performance, and more so if it is done the night before. Many people no doubt feel they can afford to eat a bit extra, but it is the wrong thing to do. If anything, one should eat less before a race. Endurance events rely on stored fats and all of us (including those very skinny individuals) have enough fats to complete several races many times over. There is little need to add extra fat the night before.

Athletes should also be careful with carbs after training or racing. We are often told to replenish our glycogen stores quickly. We are told there is a time after exercise when muscle is especially likely to take up carbs. While that is true, there is little need to rush or to eat extra carbs right after the race. Even though muscle is more sensitive to glucose in the first 40 minutes after exercise, replenishment will still be adequate if no sugar is consumed within that time-frame. Within a day or two, there will be no difference between a person who ate carbs right away and someone who didn't.

There is a real danger however, of eating too much. Especially when the athlete reloads with carbohydrates only. One can consume a 1,000 calories of sugar faster than one realizes. And still feel hungry afterwards too.

The take-home is simple: be careful with carbs. Watch what you eat.

Diet gobbledygook

Nutrition is an area where misconceptions and prejudices reign. Despite an appalling lack of evidence, "experts" won't think twice about calling certain foods healthy or unhealthy, prescribing diets to lose weight, or telling athletes what they can and cannot eat. Unfortunately, the problem is not just limited to the popular press. It pervades training and coaching manuals, is endorsed by professional societies, and can be found in medical and scientific journals.

Let's get a few facts straight about food. Facts that are supported by real hard data, not someone's idea of how things should be done.

First, food quality in the Western World is exceptional. Food poisonings are extremely rare and very few illnesses are caused by tainted foods or water. Availability of good food and clean water have been major contributors to better average longevity. These contributions far exceed the contributions made by the medical profession, except for vaccines. It is probably fair to say that we live long lives primarily because of clean water, good quality food, and proper sewage systems.

Second, diets in the West are another matter altogether. Most Western diets are not healthy as evidenced by the obesity epidemic. The diets are too high in calories, too salty, and too high in carbohydrates. Food consumption in the West is no longer driven by hunger or need, but by desire. Too much food is available and too much time is spent eating and drinking, leading to excess intake. Most food items have also been manipulated to an artificial but highly desirable sweetness, saltiness, and spice level that is meant to promote overeating and is making food an addictive substance. Seasonal intake patterns have been removed leading to further excesses.

Thirdly, people are largely independent of their diet. Adults can survive and thrive on anything from an almost purely carnivorous to an almost purely vegan diet. And if properly conditioned, they can do effective work on pretty much any diet too. The contributions of diet to performance are minimal within a large parameter range. As long as there are no significant chronic deficits (and these are extremely hard to come by in the West), performance will not be impaired. Children are more sensitive, but even children rarely develop deficits in the US or Western Europe.

Fourth, there is no need for supplements, minerals, or vitamins apart from those present in natural foods. There is no evidence that such concoctions have any benefit whatsoever, and in many cases, serious adverse effects have been demonstrated. There are more problems with vitamin overdose than with lack of vitamins in the West. No supplement has ever been shown to be beneficial in a prospective study and many have been shown to promote the very illnesses they were supposed to cure. Despite being a multi-billion dollar industry that grows at double digit rates, the supplement industry serves no purpose other than consumerism. There is no scientific evidence that a "multi-vitamin" is good for you, but there is some evidence that it can harm you.

Despite all the hoopla and recommendations, performance in endurance events is not affected by diet and endurance events do not require a "special diet."  There are two important exceptions to this rule.

The first relates to having an upset stomach. Ignoring infectious causes, the most common culprit is slow digestion and uptake. That can happen when the workload is too high for too long or when the person is not well adjusted to the diet or both. You will not do well eating French fries while cycling unless you are used to doing so and unless you can reserve some of your cardiac output to digestion (i.e. you are not at your maximal heart rate for an extended period of time). In general, since fats take longer to digest, eating a lot of fat while exercising is not recommended but some people can do well eating fats and competitors have done well in RAAM eating cheeseburgers, pizza, and fries.

There are no performance or health advantages to a liquid diet. If the liquid diet is well balanced, there are no disadvantages either. It is a matter of personal preference.

Heavy workloads call for no food or easily digested items. Carbohydrates are the easiest to digest and result in the fastest energy delivery. Only anaerobic episodes or prolonged exercise require additional intake. You can easily run a marathon without eating or drinking and do very well too.

The type of activity also matters. Running is easily the most sensitive to eating and to eat while running requires training. Apart from high workloads and sweating that can lead to electrolyte imbalances (the gut is sensitive to electrolyte levels), running also causes bouncing and seems to promote diarrhea in sensitive individuals. Many elite distance runners experience an occasional embarrassing event. 

Running is almost entirely done on fatty acids derived from stored fats. There is no need to eat while running unless you run for more than a day on end.

The second problem is weight. Weight is the number one enemy of the endurance athlete. It matters less in some sports, such as swimming or track riding, but it is totally detrimental to other sports such as running.

There is overwhelming evidence to support the notion that carbohydrate-rich diets promote weight gain. Diets rich in fats (the French diet is very fat-laden) often lead to the lowest steady weight and are best to induce weight loss. This is contrary to the prevailing view of the medical establishment and nearly every nutrition science publication. Yet it has been repeatedly demonstrated in large studies.

The prevailing "medical" view however, is not based on science, but appears rooted in prejudice, as many investigational journalists have clearly illustrated.

Diets high in fats, even saturated fats, do not cause weight gain. They also do not cause or contribute to heart disease, diabetes, or metabolic syndrome. If anything, carbohydrate rich diets are the more likely culprit. However, before pointing the finger at any diet, it is good to remember that genetics plays a much bigger role than diet does. And the worst part of a diet is the quantity of calories consumed, not the composition of the diet per se.

Bon Appetit to all.