Athlete Halloween candy safety tips
This article was originally written before...you guessed it...Halloween. But it can be applied any time of year!
So your partner or roommate just came home from the Running Works with a big sack full of athlete Halloween candy: Drink powders, electrolyte tabs, gels, chews, bars…A solid haul for sure. But before your little champion heads out for his or her next long run, be sure to review these tips for safe and effective sports nutrition consumption:
Check the packaging
Make sure to read the label and the serving size. The last thing you want is for your athlete to head out with the wrong amount of carbs or electrolytes. A couple examples of confusing nutritional information labels:
eLoad Endurance drink powder indicates 27 grams of carbs in “one level scoop”. Powerbar Perform shows 34 grams of carbs in “two scoops”. In reality both powders contain roughly the same amount of carbs.
Another odd one is the electrolyte tablet “Nuun”. Its nutrition information is displayed per “half a tab”, so be sure to multiply by 2, unless your tab was already broken in half when you got it. But if that was the case, it has probably been tampered with and should immediately be thrown out.
The label can also tell you what type of carbs your athlete is getting. If he or she read my carb intake blog and wants to increase carb intake, it’s best to target products with multiple types of carbohydrate. According to recent research, combinations of maltodextrin and fructose, or glucose and fructose, are best. Most labels will tell you what’s inside.
Identify choking hazards
During higher intensity training and racing, have your athlete stick to sports drinks and gels, rather than chews or bars, which can be hard to chew while also trying to get as much air in as possible. Powerbar gels (but not chocolate flavour) are a bit thinner than normal gels so they’re easier to swallow when intensity is very high. The best high-intensity chew option is Honey Stinger: they’re a bit smaller and easier to chew than others.
One additional note: Two recent studies found that once you’ve gotten it into your stomach, the form of the carbohydrate doesn’t matter as much: A drink, a gel, and a bar all get absorbed at the same rate!
Avoid tummy aches
If your athlete tends to have stomach issues when trying to fuel during exercise, make sure he or she avoids products with high amounts of protein, fat or fibre. These can cause unwanted distress, and are not necessary during exercise. Some athletes like to take in a little bit of protein so they feel more satisfied, and that’s fine if stomach issues aren’t a concern. Otherwise, products like Honey Stinger Protein bars, Stinger waffles, Powerbar recovery bars, Powerbar energy bites, and eMend Chocolate flavour (which are all magically delicious) are best suited for after exercise. They make a great reward for a job well done, and can help aid recovery (more on that later). Or they can serve as a satisfying snack while blog-writing.
Flavour is king
I think I’m stealing this slogan from a fast food chain. Oh wait, nope, it’s from Johnnie Walker whiskey. Anyway, the same idea applies when you’re selecting a sports nutrition product for your athlete. I recently watched a presentation by a world-renowned carbohydrate metabolism researcher who has spent decades studying carbohydrates and exercise. The first line on a slide titled “What makes a good sports drink?” was “It should taste good”!
There is no definitive “best” product out there, and the one that’s best for your athlete is likely the one that tastes best! There are plenty of options and flavours to choose from, so don’t be afraid to let your athlete experiment and try different products. People seem to be pretty crazy about the Gu “Espresso Love” flavour, and the new “Peanut Butter” flavour is delicious (If your athlete isn’t allergic!). If your athlete doesn’t really have a sweet tooth, Gu has a “Just Plain” gel that tastes pretty much as the name suggests. And eLoad has a drink powder called “Fly” that is completely tasteless. It can be used on its own or mixed half and half with your athlete’s current sports drink powder to cut down on sweetness.
Happy fueling and Happy Halloween!
So your partner or roommate just came home from the Running Works with a big sack full of athlete Halloween candy: Drink powders, electrolyte tabs, gels, chews, bars…A solid haul for sure. But before your little champion heads out for his or her next long run, be sure to review these tips for safe and effective sports nutrition consumption:
Check the packaging
Make sure to read the label and the serving size. The last thing you want is for your athlete to head out with the wrong amount of carbs or electrolytes. A couple examples of confusing nutritional information labels:
eLoad Endurance drink powder indicates 27 grams of carbs in “one level scoop”. Powerbar Perform shows 34 grams of carbs in “two scoops”. In reality both powders contain roughly the same amount of carbs.
Another odd one is the electrolyte tablet “Nuun”. Its nutrition information is displayed per “half a tab”, so be sure to multiply by 2, unless your tab was already broken in half when you got it. But if that was the case, it has probably been tampered with and should immediately be thrown out.
The label can also tell you what type of carbs your athlete is getting. If he or she read my carb intake blog and wants to increase carb intake, it’s best to target products with multiple types of carbohydrate. According to recent research, combinations of maltodextrin and fructose, or glucose and fructose, are best. Most labels will tell you what’s inside.
Identify choking hazards
During higher intensity training and racing, have your athlete stick to sports drinks and gels, rather than chews or bars, which can be hard to chew while also trying to get as much air in as possible. Powerbar gels (but not chocolate flavour) are a bit thinner than normal gels so they’re easier to swallow when intensity is very high. The best high-intensity chew option is Honey Stinger: they’re a bit smaller and easier to chew than others.
One additional note: Two recent studies found that once you’ve gotten it into your stomach, the form of the carbohydrate doesn’t matter as much: A drink, a gel, and a bar all get absorbed at the same rate!
Avoid tummy aches
If your athlete tends to have stomach issues when trying to fuel during exercise, make sure he or she avoids products with high amounts of protein, fat or fibre. These can cause unwanted distress, and are not necessary during exercise. Some athletes like to take in a little bit of protein so they feel more satisfied, and that’s fine if stomach issues aren’t a concern. Otherwise, products like Honey Stinger Protein bars, Stinger waffles, Powerbar recovery bars, Powerbar energy bites, and eMend Chocolate flavour (which are all magically delicious) are best suited for after exercise. They make a great reward for a job well done, and can help aid recovery (more on that later). Or they can serve as a satisfying snack while blog-writing.
Flavour is king
I think I’m stealing this slogan from a fast food chain. Oh wait, nope, it’s from Johnnie Walker whiskey. Anyway, the same idea applies when you’re selecting a sports nutrition product for your athlete. I recently watched a presentation by a world-renowned carbohydrate metabolism researcher who has spent decades studying carbohydrates and exercise. The first line on a slide titled “What makes a good sports drink?” was “It should taste good”!
There is no definitive “best” product out there, and the one that’s best for your athlete is likely the one that tastes best! There are plenty of options and flavours to choose from, so don’t be afraid to let your athlete experiment and try different products. People seem to be pretty crazy about the Gu “Espresso Love” flavour, and the new “Peanut Butter” flavour is delicious (If your athlete isn’t allergic!). If your athlete doesn’t really have a sweet tooth, Gu has a “Just Plain” gel that tastes pretty much as the name suggests. And eLoad has a drink powder called “Fly” that is completely tasteless. It can be used on its own or mixed half and half with your athlete’s current sports drink powder to cut down on sweetness.
Happy fueling and Happy Halloween!
