What To Eat Before A Run?
Trending News: New Research Says You Should Eat This Before Your Run
Why Is This Important?
Because if you're downing a cheeseburger before your 10K you're doing it wrong.
Long Story Short
Sometimes, resisting the urge to jump on the latest diet trend can do your body good. The newest research on carbs suggests it's not the villain it's been portrayed as.
Contrary to past research, a new study has found that stocking up on pasta before exercise will actually improve your performance.
This is because muscles actually rely on carbs for longer periods of exercise, scientists have found.
Researchers at Australian Catholic University's Mary Mackillop Institute for Health Research tested the importance of different fuel sources by blocking the body’s use of fat. They asked a sample of male competitive runners to eat a calorie-free or carb-free meal before and during a run, and they took nicotinic acid to prevent the use of fat stores.
They found that blocking the body’s use of fat didn’t affect how soon the runners became tired. It also didn’t affect the body’s use of carbs — which were its main source of energy.
Past research has suggested that we should burn fat during exercise because we have more of it in reserve than carbohydrates. But for high-intensity, longer runs, carbs are the body’s preferred fuel source, according to lead author Jill Leckey.
Competitive runners should focus on dietary strategies that will increase carbohydrate availability before and during competition to optimize race performance in events lasting up to 90 minutes in duration," she said.
In other words, don’t forgo that baguette in favor of a pre-run chocolate bar.
But this advice also applies to those of us who prefer more of a light jog in the park to a marathon.
"It's the relative exercise intensity, for instance the percentage of an individual's maximal oxygen uptake or maximum heart rate, that determines the proportion of carbohydrate and fat fuels used by the exercising muscles, not simply the pace they are running,” Leckey said.