This podcast clip dives into the challenges of gastrointestinal (GI) distress commonly faced by endurance athletes following a high carbohydrate/calorie fueling strategy. The conversation revolves around fueling in ultra endurance, the crucial importance of Stomach & Gut Health and the mechanisms of how conventional fueling strategies erode Stomach & Gut Health whereas OFM focuses on building and maintaining it.
Key Points:
Common GI Issues:
GI issues are so common in endurance sports they are often seen as inevitable and as a ‘rite of passage’ in these sports, especially at the extreme end in ultra-endurance (ultrarunning, IronMan triathlon, Randonne & RAAM cycling). Jenny mentions her conversations with other elite ultrarunners, like Jon Olsen, Roxanne Woodhouse and Nikki Kimball, who had also developed these challenges of vomiting and nausea over several years of high carbohydrate fueling.
The Impact of Carbohydrates and Calories during Exercise:
This prompts Peter to explain the mechanisms on how high-carb/calorie fueling during training and competition eventually leads to GI problems. It’s not a matter of if issues will arise, but when, particularly when conditions are hot or hot & humid. This degradation of the GI Tract and the Biome doesn’t happen overnight but happens over the course of years.
The Rainforest Analogy:
Peter’s analogy of comparing the epithelium of the GI tract to a tropical rainforest, explains how high-intensity exercise reduces blood flow to the gut, not only impacting the body’s ability to digest and absorb nutrients effectively but creates a metaphorical firestorm of damage to the epithelium. This allows the viewer/listener to visualize the damage being caused and the long term impacts that high carb fueling has on the environments of the GI tract and entire body.
Oxidative Stress and the Gut Biome:
The rainforest analogy then leads to the relationship between high sugar/carb intake, oxidative stress, and its long-term effects on gut health. The oxidative stress, lactate load and glycation are creating localized and systemic inflammation, disruption of the gut biome toward sugar loving entities like Candida (as in the case of Jeff Browning prior to OFM), a compromised immune system (because a robust and diverse biome is your first-line defense for your immune system) which can evolve into food allergies, susceptibility to commonly circulating viruses and auto-immune reactions. These develop well before you start to have challenges highlighting the need to be proactive.
Cold Weather & Nutrition:
Fueling is dynamic. Early in the clip Jenny brings up a memorable moment with Peter while running the 2012 Western States 100 when conditions turned from sunny and warm to cold, wet and rainy on race day.. At the Duncan Canyon Aid Station, just 23 miles into the race where Peter was crewing, Jenny mentioned she was needing a lot more calories than she was used to and Peter’s response was that was okay and normal because the conditions were cold and wet dictating increased caloric intake to maintain core body temperature. In cool temperatures the epithelium receives more blood flow so can properly handle the increase in calories demanded by the conditions whereas in the heat this completely flips.
Personal Reflections:
Peter shares his epiphany on Stomach and Gut health while helping elite ultrarunners like Jenny Capel, Jon Olsen, Roxanne Woodhouse, Nikki Kimball, Amanda Stevens and Jeff Browning resolve their GI distress issues for good…… that epiphany; how endurance athletes were literally destroying their health and performance from the inside out by following a conventional high carb/calorie fueling strategy led to making Stomach and Gut Health one of the foundational Tiers of the OFM Pyramid because it is so central to long term health and performance as well as longevity in all aspects of Life.
By getting your body back to its native physiology, the one that burns fat as its primary aerobic energy source, you can enjoy robust health and performance for the ‘long run of Life’ just like Jenny. Here is the link to watch/listen to the entire podcast of Jenny Capel’s OFM Journey.
If you are developing the GI distress challenges so common in endurance sports OFM can guide you to reversing and resolving them. Start your journey here to learn more.
However, if you need to resolve your challenges immediately VESPA can get you on your way now!
Here is how:
Cut your calorie intake in half (as a starting point)
Hydrate appropriately for the conditions
Experience tapping into your limitless onboard energy potential is all about
If you are relatively new to endurance sports and are following the conventional high carb/calorie fueling strategy don’t wait until you have a problem because, as this podcast clip clearly explains, the damage is already occurring!
