Labor Day here in the States means two things for most mountain bikers – riding and a barbecue! However, these two things also tie into two things that have been coming up lately in my readings of nutritional advice from some pretty smart guys.
Let’s look at a common thing found in a ride staple for many – high fructose corn syrup in hydration drinks. I read this great article on www.t-nation.com that everyone should check out regarding this prevalent carb source:
http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_nutrition/thank_you_for_guzzling_corn_syrup
In a nutshell, just like trans fatty acids when man tries to introduce an unnatural food source into the food supply, hormonal havoc usually ensues. This stuff is very prevalent in our food supply and despite the large amount of money spent by the food lobby trying to convince us that it is alright for us to ingest, it seems to do some bad things to our metabolism. It is very readily stored as fat compared to other carb sources, it actually can damage DNA and collagen and it is especially problematic for the 10-30% of the population that is already insulin resistant. All in all, I’ve made it a point to avoid the stuff. Sorry Gatorade but that is seriously not very G.
The second thing I want to bring up is beef. Now, I love beef and I think that it is pretty obvious that we were meant to eat meat (we have canine teeth for a reason). The problem is, though, that the beef we eat to day is not the beef your grandparents ate. Few people realize it but grass fed vs. grain fed beef makes a HUGE impact on the nutritional profile of the end product.
Grass fed beef actually has the same fatty acid profile as salmon. That’s right, eating a burger made from grass fed beef is a lot like eating a piece of one the most healthy fish in the world. Grain fed beef, on the other hand, has a very messed up fatty acid profile. In fact, most of the health risks associated with red meat are not from red meat, per say, but from the screwed up fatty acid profiles brought on by mass produced grain fed beef.
Here is a great blog post from Mike Boyle on this for those of you that want to read some more on it:
http://mboyle1959.wordpress.com/2009/08/18/grass-fed-beef-it-really-matters-what-you-ate-eats/
It is also pretty ironic that high fructose corn syrup and grain fed beef became so prevalent around the same time that the obesity rate and chronic disease rate began to skyrocket. Big food is a lot like big tobacco was – lots of money being thrown out there to combat the mounting evidence that their products are actually killing people.
Anyways, hope this gives some of you some food for thought, so to speak. What you eat really does matter on more than one level. Spend a bit more on the food you eat and you’ll be much healthier for it in the long run.
-James Wilson-
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Mountain Bike Nutrition & Supplements
Avocados – Avos taste great and provide a lot of good fats for us. For those of us who have trouble maintaining weight when we ride a lot avocados provide a calorie and nutrient dense food that can help us keep our calorie levels high. For those looking to shed a few pounds you don’t want to eat a ton of avocados but eating some will provide you with the good fats your body needs to keep its metabolism high.
