Food guidelines for endurance athletes?
#92385 - 07/22/04 03:37 PM
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eaglej
Reged: 07/22/04
Posts: 2
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Hi-
I have been living with IBS for a few years now, and tested positive on a lactulose breath test in a study about three years ago. I was unable to eradicate my small intestinal bacterial overgrowth with antibiotics, and a two week course of liquid diet (Vivonex) also failed me. Since then I have been using Zelnorm, which certainly helps reduce my symptoms. I am trying to become more and more careful about my diet and came across this fantastic resource recently.
I am a serious athlete (was an all-american water polo player in college), and the worst of my problems with IBS have come in affecting my training and racing. Exercise (especially higher impact sports like running) has always seemed to trigger diarrhea, cramping, and gassiness. I recently entered my first Ironman triathlon (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run), and this event will pose some unique challenges for me and my stomach.
General diets recommended for competitive athletes are quite compatible with the guidelines I've found here - lots of rice, pasta, low fat, etc. However, the race itself could be a challenge. Endurance athletes need to take in a lot of calories and have their stomachs cooperate in absorbing them throughout a competition. This is typically done in the form of bars (powerbars and the like), drinks (gatorade, cytomax, etc), and the newer gels (gu, powergel, etc). These are mostly simple carbs with electrolytes and some vitamins. Caffeine also is often used toward the end of an event to get yourself across the finish line.
So I'm looking to the community for any help or advice. Is anybody here experienced in endurance sports? I'll probably want to avoid the caffeine, but what seems like the best way to take in easy to digest calories and getting quick energy while avoiding agitation of my IBS? Are these simple sugars going to irritate my stomach? What about pre-race meals that won't cramp me up or give me the runs? Any other medications (over the counter or prescription?) I recently found myself throwing up after a three hour ride, completely drained of energy, despite having been drinking cytomax for the previous hour and eating a decent breakfast over an hour before the ride... I had the feeling that my gut had shut down entirely; I'd like to avoid that experience again!
Thanks for the great site, and thanks in advance for any help!
Eagle
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Hi Eagle,
Welcome to the boards! Unfortunately, I am not the sporty-type person at all, so I may not be able to give you all the help you need.
Have you ever tried Luna Bars? Not sure if they give you extra energy, but most of them are well tolerated by IBS people. There are also a couple recipes on the Recipe Board of bars you can make at home.
Hope this helps a little bit and perhaps someone else can provide you with more information.
- Jennifer
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- Jennifer
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I was going to suggest Luna bars too. Unfortunately, I have the same problem you do. I used to train for swimming 6 hours a day, everyday, for years. It's the worst when your stomach starts hurting. Running is the worst for me. I just ran a few miles actually and I felt nauseous when I stopped! 
If I am going to swim for a few hours - I usually eat egg whites and toast about 2-3 hours before I go, and a Luna bar about an hour before.
I wish I could help more. I'm not sure if there's any extreme athletes on this board, so we'll see!
Good luck!
~Cara
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~Cara~
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Probiotic supplements might help with the bacteria overgrowths. I work with a girl who finished her first ironman two years ago. She doesn't have IBS but she was telling us how much trouble she had with the simple sugar gels and drinks and she switched to protein products. Maybe soybars or other items like that would give you a better base in your stomach and not give you the runs when you run  Then the simple sugars could be added later. I'm not an endurance athlete by no means but I wanted to share what I had heard.
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Peace,
Tammy
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Thanks for the suggestions! I'll give the Luna bars a shot.
I really want to say thanks to Heather (if she happens to read this) and the whole community here. This site has really inspired me to have some hope that I can stop just putting up with this thing and finally get it under control. Hopefully this diet can control my symptoms, plus make me a better athlete, and help me be healthier and happier all around. I'm excited!
-Eagle
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Before a running event- I stick to liquids (Cytomax) and gels (Cliff Gel is my favorite- and keep away from all caffeinee flavors). On the Bike I like Luna bars, graham crackers with PB and J and Cytomax, as well...Before runnin (6-8 miles), I'll have a banana and that's usually sufficient.
Hope this helps.
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When I train for the marathon I find that the gels are much easier for me to digest than solid food (like the Luna bars or the crumb versions of power bars). You can find ones that are all fruit based and those were easier for me. I've seen people use honey instead and that might be an option too. Frankly, I never completely found a way around those symptoms (making "endurance" sports all that much more apt). Another suggestion... instead of Gatorade and Poweraid I found an all natural energy drink at my Health Food Store that avoided the High Fructose Corn Syrup. It comes in glass jars but I just diluted it with water and transferred it to my water bottle.
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I quit running marathons a long time ago due to other issues, but still do major endurance exercise stuff- I walk instead of run and will go 10-15 miles at a time, haven't tried longer yet... and bike mega rides.. I use luna bars and fruit leathers and fruit stuff and haven't had major problems.. even fruit juices seem to work for the liquids, but mostly i do some solid and stick to water, I never did like gatorade... I overload on carbs in the days before the event, and eat some bananas and or a luna bar before I start.. good luck! thats quite the event... I'd play with each thing you want to take with you in advance to make sure of its effect on your system in a race situation (shorter obviously) and come up with your personal solution from there.. to me exercise is stress relief, I never did look to win even when I did, so it actually helped my tummy issues... I will keep good thoughts headed your way!
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Dietetics Student (anticipating RD exam in Aug 2010)
IBS - A
Dairy Allergic
Fructose and MSG intollerant
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