The Food Medic - Ask Dr. Hazel E5: MARATHON NUTRITION AND IBS

Episode Date: February 4, 2022

This week's listener question covers how to fuel for a marathon and how to avoid triggering IBS or gut symptoms. Please note that the information provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice or replace that of your usual healthcare provider. If you loved this episode make sure to give it a review, rating (hopefully 5 stars) and share it with your friends and family. @thefoodmedic/www.thefoodmedic.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's better than a well-marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue? A well-marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue that was carefully selected by an Instacart shopper and delivered to your door. A well-marbled ribeye you ordered without even leaving the kiddie pool. Whatever groceries your summer calls for, Instacart has you covered. Download the Instacart app and enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart. Grocer $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions and terms apply. Instacart, groceries that over-deliver. Hey everyone and welcome back to another mini episode of Ask Dr. Hazel. I'm your host and I'll be answering all your burning questions. Okay, let's hear from this week's listener hi hazel i'm running my first marathon this year

london 2022 and i've never really done any runs for longer than an hour and i also suffer from ibs so i was just wondering if you had any tips for what to eat pre-run what to have during a run to fuel because that's not something i've ever really done before. Thank you. First of all, big congrats on signing up to the marathon, and I'm sure you'll do amazing. So I guess there's two questions in this, what to eat for marathon and how to avoid triggering IBS symptoms or causing gut issues during the race. So let's tackle the common gut issues that runners often experience first and why this happens. So symptoms like feeling nauseous, bloated, diarrhea and cramping are some of the common symptoms that people report during exercise particularly during

endurance sports such as running, cycling, triathlons that kind of thing. Now we don't know for certain why this happens but there'sathlons, that kind of thing. Now we don't know for certain why this happens but there's a couple of factors that come into play. So during a high intensity exercise blood flow is redirected away from the gut to the working muscles, the heart and the lungs and this can cause your gut to be slightly low in oxygen which impairs absorption of nutrients and fluid from the gut as well and mechanically speaking the repetitive movement so the up and down movement of running can also trigger symptoms nutrition also plays a role so what you eat and how much you eat also contribute fiber fat protein

and fructose have all been associated with a greater risk of developing gut issues and pre-workout supplements are another thing to consider because they often contain caffeine and other stimulants which can trigger nausea and irritate the gut so don't try anything new on race day. Also it's a pretty stressful experience so your hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol are also high and they can contribute and unfortunately those with a history of gut issues such as IBS are also more likely to suffer from GI symptoms during exercise. So that's the why but what can you do about it? Well my top tips would be reduce your intake of high fibre and gas producing foods on the day of as

well as the day before your race. So things like brand cereals, vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli, beans and lentils, those foods tend to be quite gas producing. For some people energy gels and bars can also cause problems as they're high in fructose and other high fructose food and drink so fructose is absorbed relatively slowly from the gut and in high concentrations especially in the form of a drink can cause issues but you could also try diluting these drinks down a little bit also jelly sweets are another option for fueling with carbohydrates these can sometimes be better tolerated as they tend to be made of glucose or sucrose. Now make sure you're well hydrated starting your run as dehydration can also trigger gut symptoms. Try what works for you and give your gut time to adjust so in your training up to the

race start adding in small amounts of carbohydrate foods or drinks during your training and your gut will learn to tolerate them better and again never try a new nutrition regime or supplement on race day on the day of the race try going to the toilet and emptying your bowels prior to the race so make sure you get up early enough to do this know what works for you it often requires a little bit of trial and error so practice what you're going to do on race day and in the days leading up to the race, avoid straying too far from your usual diet or being too experimental. Now, when it comes to fueling your runs, runs under 60 minutes. So when you're training for your marathon, you're just doing shorter runs. Water is generally all you need. so just drink as and when you're thirsty then for runs longer than 60 minutes so you know 60 to 90 minutes and beyond that start fueling even if you're not hungry from 45 to 60 minutes into your

run with about 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour so this can be in the form of sports drinks, gels, fruit, nut bars, jelly babies, dried fruit, bananas or malt loaf. Again this will require a little bit of trial and error, figure out what works for you, what you can tolerate and also what's practical because some of the fruit and nut bars just aren't practical to take with you. For longer runs, for example, over two to three hours, you can actually increase the carbohydrate load to 90 grams per hour in the form of mixed carbohydrates. So that will be glucose and fructose. But not everyone can tolerate this.

So again, trial and error. Okay, and then moving on to race day or coming up to the marathon. The day before make sure to have a big lunch and perhaps a smaller dinner. Carbs are your friend here so meals with pasta, rice and potatoes are all good options. On race day make sure to get up early at least three hours before the race to have a carb rich breakfast such as porridge or overnight oats bananas granola fruit toast jam whatever you feel works for you and you've tried before make sure you rehydrate after sleeping as well and then closer to the race if you feel hungry you can also have a snack so a banana gel energy bar 30 to 60 minutes before. Then during the race, all your practice in your long runs comes into place here. Start fueling early, 45 to 60 minutes into the race

with 30 grams of carbs every 30 minutes to an hour. Again, energy gels, jelly babies, soaring, malt loaf, whatever works for you. That would be my top advice. Again, start early, practice early, don't get too experimental on race day and good luck.