When developing your fueling and hydration plan for an ultramarathon, you also need to take into account how much caffeine you’re ingesting — and in what stages of the race. Many energy gels, chews, and bars come with added caffeine, which makes it easy to over consume caffeine unless you’re strategically using those sports nutrition products with an eye on your individual … [Read more...] about How Much Caffeine is Safe to Ingest During an Ultramarathon?
Nutrition Tips
How Much Should I Be Eating and Drinking During an Ultramarathon?
Ultramarathons have sometimes been called an eating contest while running, given the need for consistent fueling throughout the events. Ultrarunners competing in a 24-hour trail ultramarathon (covering from 75-130 miles) have been documented to expend up to 18,000 calories over those 24 hours (Costa et al. 2014). Avoiding a caloric deficit is impractical, but avoiding an … [Read more...] about How Much Should I Be Eating and Drinking During an Ultramarathon?
Do Ultrarunners Benefit from Fasted or Glycogen-Depletion Runs?
Ultrarunners sometimes use a training strategy that involves running in a fasted or glycogen-depleted state. The premise behind this strategy is that withholding carbohydrates before and/or during prolonged training sessions will result in beneficial metabolic adaptations that help the body better metabolize fat and spare glycogen (stored carbohydrate) during aerobic exercise, … [Read more...] about Do Ultrarunners Benefit from Fasted or Glycogen-Depletion Runs?
Beyond Nutrients toward a Healthy Approach to Eating
It is impossible to deny that something is askew with the typical American diet. After all, coupled with a sedentary lifestyle, the modern American diet has led to a situation where 1 in 3 adults and 1 in 6 kids are obese and the leading health problems in US society are dietary related diseases such as high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (which … [Read more...] about Beyond Nutrients toward a Healthy Approach to Eating
Are You Overconsuming Added Sugar?
According to Dr. Robert Lustig, a professor at the University of California San Francisco, Americans consume 450 calories of added sugar every day. In a commentary in the journal Nature, Lustig argues that such overconsumption is just as bad as excess alcohol consumption in its health effects. Prof. Daniel Lieberman, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard University, makes a … [Read more...] about Are You Overconsuming Added Sugar?
