What is it?
- Sports or energy bars provide a compact and portable source of carbohydrate that can be easily consumed before or during exercise to contribute to carbohydrate intake targets.
- Carbohydrates consumed during exercise can support or enhance performance via two different mechanisms: provision of fuel to the muscle and a mouth sensing benefit to the brain and central nervous system. Guidelines for carbohydrate intake during different sporting activities vary according to the importance of these effects.
- There may be other roles for carbohydrate intake during prolonged strenuous exercise that are of benefit to athlete health, particularly for high performance athletes. These roles are based on studies that investigate the acute response to exercise; further work is needed to determine if these actions translate into a reduced risk of illness and injury.
- Consuming carbohydrate before, during and/or after prolonged intensive exercise may help to protect immune function by being associated with a reduction in the detrimental changes in cytokines and immune system cells normally induced by exercise stress1.
- Such intake may also be beneficial to bone health by reducing the effect of exercise with low carbohydrate availability on markers of bone resorption2.
- Although many athletes focus on liquid forms of carbohydrate during exercise (e.g. sports drinks or more concentrated gels) to address fluid replacement as well as fuel needs, studies show that solid forms of carbohydrate can also be well tolerated and are able to supply a rapid fuel source to the muscle3. Sports/energy bars offer the advantage of being a more compact and convenient fuel source for scenarios in which the athlete needs to transport their own nutritional support.