subject: Vital Information For Triathlon Carbohydrate Intake [print this page] When discussing triathlon carbohydrate intake and how carbs should be worked into your day-to-day nutrition routine, the following is the one single important aspect of human body science that you need to understand if they want your bodies to feel better, perform better and look better. At the Rock Star Triathlete Academy at, we teach this as one of the most crucial nutrition concepts to know.
What you need to know:
Insulin is a hormone that is secreted by the pancreas. Insulins role is to take blood sugar to the muscles for energy. If insulin levels are consistently high then the insulin receptors in the body become unresponsive. This is know as "insulin insensitivity". This can lead to weight gain, fatigue, appetite cravings, and even heart disease and diabetes.
If you want to control your insulin levels and triathlon carbohydrate intake, there are two very important things you can instantly do.
1) Never go hungry. When going more than 4 hours between meals, it's probable your blood sugar levels will drop low. As a result the next time you decide to eat you are more likely to eat more carbohydrates. This will also cause blood sugar levels to rise more rapidly than usual, causing a big spike in insulin levels. To avoid this, eat small amounts 3 hours apart during the day. This will be easier if you pre plan a host of healthy snacks small snack to have on hand through out the day.
2) Choosing the Right Carbs. The faster sugar is released into the bloodstream, the faster insulin levels will rise. Examples of "quick release carbs" are sports drinks, candy, bread and cookies. "Slow release carbs" include carrots, squash, seeds and berries. For optimal triathlon carbohydrate intake, choose quick release carbs right before, during and after exercise and take in slow carbs the rest of the time.
These 2 rules will allow to take control of your insulin levels, health, triathlon performance and body. All though the human body is very complex in regards to carbohydrate intake these 2 rules offer a solid base of where to start.
