Carbohydrates, protein, and fat for athletes - A basic course

Umaras' goal is to help as many as possible succeed in optimizing their performance. But to understand why sports drinks, gels, etc., can significantly help performance, it may be good to read a bit about what our bodies need to perform at their best. By increasing our knowledge of how the body works, we also enhance our ability to fine-tune and optimize our energy plans. A basic course on sports fuel can be smart then. 

 

Introduction  
The body is made up of nutrients: water, fats, proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins. All these are primarily composed of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen. Training affects all of these substances, and they all play a role in driving us forward in various ways while allowing us to sustain that effort repeatedly, without becoming ill or injured. There are countless interesting aspects to this biological process for us athletes. However, as this should not become a 345-page book, we choose to focus here on the body's macronutrients: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.      

Carbohydrates

Let’s start with the body’s rocket fuel and the athlete’s best friend: carbohydrates! Carbohydrates act as an energy source for the body's muscles and the central nervous system at a cellular level. Carbohydrates consist of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen and are a group of nutrients and a collective name for sugars (saccharides) and chains (polymers) of such, including starch and sometimes dietary fiber.

The majority of absorption occurs in the small intestine, where the absorption of glycemic carbohydrates mostly takes place; these are the ones used for energy processes and therefore are the most important for us athletes. Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose in the mouth and stomach. Glucose travels down to the small intestine where it passes through the intestinal membrane via receptors and enters the bloodstream for further transport to the cells. When the blood glucose level, i.e., the blood sugar level, rises, the pancreas releases insulin, which allows our cells to take in more glucose. Glucose can be used as energy by all the body’s cells. Muscle cells and liver cells can particularly store glucose in the form of glycogen, but only a limited amount (about 400-500g). If the glucose level becomes too high, the body converts the glucose into fat for storage.

As mentioned above, carbohydrates are the body's rocket fuel, and the higher the intensity at which the body works, the higher the proportion of energy will come from carbohydrates instead of fat. When the glycogen stores in the muscles decrease or run out, we meet the dreaded wall, hit the wall, or bonk. It's not a pleasant feeling; the body has switched to using more fat and has pulled the handbrake on performance. This is the situation we try to counteract by providing sports drinks and energy in other forms.      

Fat 

Since the body's glycogen stores last only 60-120 minutes during high-intensity activity, it’s fortunate that the body has an energy source that cannot practically run out. At rest, the body is powered by about 55-60% fat, and as activity levels increase in intensity, that number decreases.

Fat or lipids are the body’s energy reserves and consist mostly of triglycerides stored in adipose tissue. In addition to energy, fat also helps with insulation for both warmth and protection for our internal organs. The proportion of body fat in normal people is between 10-25% for men and 15-35% for women. Among elite athletes at a high level, however, it is not uncommon for body fat levels to drop to 4-10% for both men and women.

Protein

We have all heard that protein is the building blocks of the body, and that is true in a simplified way. Protein is made up of amino acids, both essential (necessary for life that the body cannot create itself) and non-essential (those the body can manufacture itself). But proteins are much more than that; currently, researchers believe there are several hundred thousand different proteins in the body. A significant number function as enzymes or hormones, e.g., insulin.

Most interesting for athletes is the anabolic (building) effect of protein that occurs during training and when in good energy balance, whereby muscles grow and become stronger. Because of this, it is beneficial to provide protein quickly after training for muscle recovery. For elite athletes, the protein requirement is estimated to be 1.2-1.7g per kilogram of body weight per day. This is about twice as much as for a normally active adult person.       

We hope that through this text you have understood the basics of what the body needs to perform. If you want to learn even more or gain knowledge on how to do a carbohydrate-loading, we suggest you visit Prestera Mera where there are more in-depth texts.