As I have changed the way I eat the past few years, so has my fueling plan for endurance events (marathons, 50k trail run and Ironman races). As I have become more sensitive to sugar products, supplements and drinks, I am now a big fan of Generation UCAN and now switching to their UCAN Superstarch for my long training workouts and races. After years of eating a “healthy diet” of high carbs , limited protein and no fats, I have learned from my own experience and research how become metabolically efficient fat burning machine through a higher fat eating plan and proper training. Stay tuned for more details on my “metabolically efficient” journey and interview with UCAN Generation founders on my new “FIT FAT FAST!” podcast on http://www.fitfatfast.com/ or download on ITunes.
Learn more about UCAN Superstarch and find the link for the discount below!
SuperStarch: A Technological Breakthrough in Sports Nutrition Innovation
By Jeff S. Volek, PhD, RD
Sports Nutrition Evolution
The importance of carbohydrate for athletes was recognized as far back as the 1924 Boston marathon where it was discovered that blood glucose levels decreased in the top runners during the 1924 Boston marathon. The following year carbohydrate feeding was shown to prevent the decline in blood glucose and improve performance. However the notion that carbohydrate feeding was important for athletes was not fully appreciated until the late 1960s shortly after the advent of the biopsy needle which allowed histological and biochemical studies of human muscle before, during and after exercise. This early research led to the understanding of the importance of muscle glycogen, the storage form of carbohydrate in muscles, as a fuel for active muscle during prolonged exercise and made the connection between glycogen depletion and fatigue(1, 2). Researchers discovered that manipulating an athlete’s training combined with a high carbohydrate diet several days prior to exercise (carbohydrate loading) significantly increased muscle glycogen levels and delayed fatigue(3). Subsequent work throughout the 1970s and 80s continued to investigate the impact of carbohydrate feeding and fluid intake on exercise performance. During this time the carbohydrate and electrolyte beverage Gatorade, originally created by medical researchers at the University of Florida for players during hot summer football practices, was being formulated and commercialized on a massive scale. The momentum created by the early science and consumer marketing of carbohydrate based beverages to athletes continues strong today.
The Need for Innovation
Despite decades of research and creation of a billion dollar sports drink industry; there has been little innovation with respect to formulation. First generation sports drinks, including many formulas that are still current, consisted of sugars (e.g., glucose, dextrose, sucrose) with an emphasis on providing quick energy. To be effective, the rapid but short-lived energy provided by these products requires repeated use during prolonged exercise. Moreover, because simple sugar-based formulas consist of many individual sugar molecules in solution they exert a high osmolality in the gastrointestinal tract. The osmotic force in the stomach negatively impacts gastric emptying and increases gastric distress. Maltodextrin, a complex carbohydrate or “glucose polymer” consisting of anywhere from about 3 to 20 glucose units loosely bound together to form one molecule, was introduced into many formulations. Maltodextrin allowed for provision of more carbohydrate with less osmolality (osmolality is the number of particles in solution, regardless of size). Although theoretically drinking maltodextrin should allow for increased delivery of carbohydrate and water because of better gastric emptying, experimental results have proved disappointing. Because maltodextrin is rapidly assimilated like sugars in existing formulas, this was not a paradigm shifting innovation in the sports drink industry and it shares many of the same concerns as sugar-based products.
Read more on http://generationucan.com/pdf/technical-breakthrough-sports-innovation.pdf
Order here store.generationucan.com/fitforward for 10% discount using FITFORWARD discount code.
For more informational videos check out these below…
• Jonah’s UCAN Story – Authentic Origins of SuperStarch – http://youtu.be/PJKrinV_fcU
• Bob Seebohar on Metabolic Efficiency and UCAN for Triathletes – http://youtu.be/SRYOiXNfynI
• Runners and Dietitians/Nutritionists Discuss the Benefits of UCAN – http://youtu.be/QTib7GoZhTM
Here’s a link to some of our press coverage if you feel that any of this would be appropriate to link to: http://generationucan.com/media.html
Looking for a coach? Contact Debbie Potts for METABOLIC EFFICIENCY COACHING at fitnessforward@comcast.net
