Carbohydrates for Athletes

Carbohydrates are no doubt the most misunderstood, and thus unhealthy as commonly consumed aspects of the Western diet.

As this diet spreads through capitalism, eliminating or at least watering down traditional diets, it replaces natural foods with the unhealthy processed foods and simple carbs and sends obesity rates skyrocketing.

Thanks to the corn and other grain based junk food like high fructose corn syrup these most evil of corporations put in everything from soft drinks to health foods we are now seeing 7 year old kids with livers as sick as a 50 year old alcoholics! As athletes we are more at risk from these health effects than we might think. And yet most of the science behind what we use for fuels comes from the Pepsi Corporation and the Coca-Cola corporation through Power Bar and Gatorade!

This is why we keep pumping our bodies full of artifical toxic substances like high fructose corn syrup, fructose, glucose-fructose and malto-dextrin. Yet even the highly lauded 'rocket fuel' has questionable health impacts. As endurance athletes we may be able to escape the worst of the scourges of these substances such as obesity and diabetes, but it does concern me how much of this stuff I'm pumping into myself when it has numerous other side effects such as liver and kidney damage when I'm already placing myself under such great strain competing in events as long as the Plain 100 (which is somewhere in the range of 106-118 miles depending who you believe) last year. I'd estimate I consumed the equivalent of 55-60 gels during the course of that race, not to mention how many in training for it and other races.

Another source of health concern for runners is going to be controversial. Whole grains. If you are in a running club you probably have almost universal consensus that whole grains are good for runners. Then you'd break them down in to two groups. Those who consume whole grains as often as possible, and those who don't consume whole grains very often. Those that don't consume them very often often cite digestive issues with them, feeling excessively full and restless in the stomach, and other issues of that sort. If they mention them, even those that do consume a lot of whole grains will say they experience that somewhat but live with it for the health benefits.

Now I am not saying that whole grains are not healthy. But we are not using whole grains the way they were intended to be used; using techniques passed down from generation to generation. They were lost when the big money multinational food companies moved in during the 20th century, pushing the old traditions aside with white flour and yeast, baking powder and other products that accelerated the baking process. Enabling Wonder Bread to pump out loaves of nutritionally worthless bread by the thousands.

Now when we use whole grains we are using them like white flour. Buy them in flour form or even grind them fresh and then rise them quickly with yeast. Generally we are told to add white flour so that the bread will be palatable as whole grains are 'heavy'.

Hmmm.... wonder why people are experiencing that heaviness in the stomach when they eat them, and are still consuming large amounts of that white flour which even the companies who continue to push it on us have all but admitted is worthless nutritionally in their marketing for their whole grain products. You see the outer husk of the grains, part of what makes them whole grains, is not digestable in its present state, and it also contains miniscule carbohydrates that the body cannot recognise and does not know how to digest. This is where much of the digestive distress caused by whole grains comes from.

Perhaps even worse - from a performance issue - is the presence of phytic acid, which binds to minerals causing them to pass through the body unassimilated, and enzyme inhibitors which interfere with digestion and uptake of nutrients. These minerals, better know to athletes, as electrolytes are vital nutrients which regulate a variety of functions necessary for optimum performance, including functions of the nerves and muscles.

Am I saying that whole grains are bad? No, of course not. I am just saying that we need to look to the traditional ways people prepared whole grains, as advocated by the Weston A. Price Foundation (www.westonaprice.org). I would not suggest as an athlete following their recommendation for the amount of carbohydrates. I think the evidence suggesting that a high carbohydrate diet is best for optimum athletic performance is sound; I just don't think they are giving us the whole story on what is the best food to fill that need for carbohydrates. There is good reason for that; as long as that research is funded by Pepsi, Coca-Cola ect... it will never suggest that a better option comes out of a package with no major brand on it or not in a package at all. I think there is truth to what the Weston Price Foundation recommendation for carbohydrate need for an average person who rarely if ever sends their body into an aerobic state which burns carbohydrates rather than fat.

Dr. Price studied the diets of a variety of traditional groups throughout the world, and with regards to whole grains he found that they nearly uniformly prepared the grains by one of three methods prior to eating. One would be fermented batters such as sourdoughs and slow rise breads (Scottish people even ate fermented oatmeal, they would let a big vat sit at room temperature cooked for weeks and scoop it as needed - this is particularly important oats are one of the worst of the grains). The second is sprouting, where grains are soaked in water until they turn to sprouts. The third is soaking, where seeds are soaked in a healthy bacterial source such as yogurt or whey, or an acidic medium such as lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. It does not matter which method you use. I prefer to soak grains in water with a tablespoon or two of yogurt or whey added because it can be done overnight, although a full day is better. You can also soak unground grains for kashi or what not. Fermenting is also easy, sprouting requires a bit more work. Really all this requires is preplanning though. None are labour intensive.

I know, I know, not all of you cook let alone grind and soak your own grains or whole grain flours. There are many options available. However, grains go rancid quickly once ground so it is much better to use freshly ground grains. If you get a Vita Mix blender or equivalent with the appropriate container it is remarkably easy. A bread machine makes making breads easier than going to the store to get them, you can even soak your flower in there over night, throw the rest of the ingredients in the next day and turn the thing on and you'll have bread better than you could buy. These processes mean that you can make a far more palatable bread with one hundred percent whole grains. I like wheat, kamut and spelt the best personally it is quite light.

Luckily there are many convenience foods available today, such as commercially prepared sprouted grain loaves. Bulgur is a cracked wheat made from sprouted grain, which you can grind into a flour and use without preparing so it is always good to have around, or kasha if you can find it which is similar but made with a variety of other grains. Rice is also a good option. Brown and wild rice contain very little phytic acid and are suitable for consumption without preparation.

Aside from reducing phytic acid, the other important thing is to always eat your whole grains and vegetables with high quality grass fed butter or healthy oil like olive oil or coconut oil to best absorb the nutrients. Remember the warnings not to smear a big spread of delicious butter are just lies to sell you toxic and disgusting margarine and other toxic vegetable oil products. If you are a vegan have coconut oil instead.

Where is the proof? Well, I'll be the first to admit I'm not a scientist. But if you look at the countries producing the most elite runners these days it is not doubt Ethiopia and Kenya. And Ethiopia despite having relatively few runners. Teff has often been credited as a major factor in this success. So we are told to grind up some teff and add it like white flour. But Ethiopians eat nearly all their teff as injera, a pancake made with a mixture of teff and another flour such as barley, which has been fermented for several days. Nearly all their other carbs come from vegetables, and they eat a good amount of starchy vegetables like potatoes. Aside from that they eat healthy animal fats from meat, unpasteurised milk and other raw dairy products from ruminants, especially goats, who feed exclusively on pasture.

So if you find yourself in a porta potty before your next race, firing off what sounds like a pudding cannon, or your running mates reply "pardon me" thinking your stomach just asked them a question on a long run, maybe its time to reevaluate your carbohydrate sources despite what the vested corporate interests are telling you.