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How and when do I use it?

  • Use pre-exercise: sports gels provide a low fibre and compact carbohydrate source for pre-event fuelling for athletes who are unable to tolerate regular foods and fluids.
  • Use during exercise: to supply carbohydrate to the muscle and CNS.
  • Use post-exercise: can contribute to refuelling goals but other foods/sports products should be considered to allow a more nutrient-dense approach to total recovery needs.
    • Fuelling: supplies easily consumed carbohydrates to provide an additional fuel source for the muscle according to the requirements of each sporting activity. Performance benefits have been clearly demonstrated in a range of sporting events as a result of this strategy.5,6 See Table 1 for guidelines.
    • Mouth sensing: the exposure of receptors in the mouth/oral cavity to carbohydrate creates a favourable response in the brain and CNS, decreasing the perception of effort.7

Table 1: Guidelines for carbohydrate intake during sporting activities 8

Type of sport/ Exercise

Duration

Carbohydrate Target

Comments

Brief exercise

<45 min

Not needed

Sustained high intensity exercise

45-75 min

Small amounts including mouth rinse (swilling in mouth)

  • A range of drinks, gels and sports products can provide easily consumed carbohydrate.
  • The main benefit from carbohydrate use in these events comes from interaction with the brain and CNS. To achieve optimal benefit, the athlete may need to organise their event nutrition strategy to allow frequent (e.g. every 10-20 mi) “mouth sensing” with a significant duration of mouth contact (e.g. 10 s).

Endurance exercise including “stop and start” sports

1-2.5 h

30 – 60 g/h

  • Opportunities to consume foods and drinks vary according to the rules and nature of each sport.
  • A range of everyday dietary choices and specialised sports products ranging from liquid to solid may be useful.
  • The athlete should practice finding a fuelling plan that suits individual goals including hydration needs and gut comfort.
  • The benefits of carbohydrate intake strategies in these events are likely to be achieved both in the muscle (fuel) and CNS (perception of effort).

Ultra-endurance events

>2.5-3 h

Up to 90 g/h

  • As above.
  • Higher intakes of carbohydrate are associated with better performance.
  • Products providing multiple transportable carbohydrates (glucose: fructose mixtures) will achieve high rates of carbohydrate absorption and oxidation  during exercise.
  • The benefits of carbohydrate intake in these events are likely to be achieved both in the muscle (fuel) and CNS (perception of effort).
  • Delivery of carbohydrate consumed during exercise to the muscle is largely influenced by the rate at which it can be absorbed in the small intestine. Typically, ingesting glucose based carbohydrates (e.g. sucrose, glucose polymers, maltodextrin) at rates in excess of ~ 60 g/h during exercise does not lead to additional performance benefits. In fact, because intestinal glucose transporters (called SGLT1) are saturated at this level, excessive carbohydrate intake can cause gut discomfort/problems that impair performance.
    • The gut can be ‘trained’ by consuming carbohydrates during exercise to maximise the number and activity of the SCGT1 transporters, thus enhancing glucose uptake and reducing gut symptoms.9,10
    • In addition, some newer sports foods contain ‘multiple transportable carbohydrates’ - a blend of carbohydrates such as glucose and fructose which are absorbed via different transporter molecules in the intestine to overcome the usual bottleneck on a single transport system.
    • Studies have shown that when carbohydrates are consumed at high rates (> 60 g/h) during exercise to meet new guidelines for prolonged strenuous events, drinks containing multiple transportable carbohydrates are more effective than glucose-based products in maintaining gut comfort, promoting muscle carbohydrate oxidation and enhancing performance.11

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