By Art Zemach, M.D.
Sugar & Exercise
“Is sugar good or bad for athletes?” For me, this is a “fire shark” question. When my kids were little, they would ask me “Dad, would you rather be burned by fire, or eaten by sharks?” The truth is I would like to live. A “fire shark” question is framed in such a way as to obscure the truth. The truth is: sugar is a powerful fuel during exercise, and terrible for you when you’re resting on the couch.
The Difference Between Exercise & Rest
All carbohydrates, from kale to candy, are converted into simple sugars before they’re used by your muscles. If that process happens quickly, they’re good exercise fuels. If it happens slowly, they’re healthy dinner foods. Carbohydrates can be one or the other, but it’s difficult for them to be both.
When you’re exercising, your muscles can take in energy easily, making simple sugars (dextrose & sucrose) the best fuel choice because they act quickly. They don’t ask your digestive system to do a lot of work when your body is under stress, and therefore they don’t bother your gut or make your stomach hurt.
When you’re not exercising, your muscles need insulin’s help to take in energy. During periods of inactivity, complex carbohydrates, like broccoli or kale, are the best fuel choice. Simple sugars at rest will take your hormones and blood sugar on a roller coaster ride that is hard on your body in a number of ways. When you’re sitting on the couch, candy and sugary drinks will increase your risk for obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
Get the Timing Right!
When you’re exercising or racing, it’s important to give your body time to make a definitive transition between rest physiology and exercise physiology.
Give your body 20-30 minutes for muscles to utilize glucose without the assistance of insulin and for exercise hormones to suppress insulin secretion before you begin drinking your sports drink. In other words, wait about 30 minutes before consuming Endurance Fuel during exercise.
Sip your drink slowly and spread your carbohydrate intake over each hour. Don’t down an hour’s worth of sport drink all at once.
What About Recovery?
The first 30-60 minutes after exercise is often called the “golden hour,” when your body is especially efficient at replenishing depleted energy stores.
In addition to during exercise, the golden hour is another time when simple sugars work well, and don’t cause blood sugar spikes and crashes. Replenishing your glycogen stores efficiently will help make you feel better quicker after your workout, and you’ll be ready for your next workout sooner.
Tailwind Rebuild is packed with the simple sugars your body needs to replenish glycogen stores during the 30-60 minute golden hour.
The Take-Home Message
Exercise and rest are different. Simple sugars are great exercise fuels, but they’re bad for you when you’re sitting on the couch. Broccoli is great for dinner, but it’s not a great racing fuel.
See you on the trails!
Great article! As a physician and ultrarunner I really appreciate this.
One question I have is that I noticed Tailwind recommends drinking some of their product 10-15 min before exercise, yet you state that waiting until 30 minutes into exercise is best. Can you comment on this ?
Thanks !
Hi Jeff – Great question! Endurance Fuel was designed to be used during exercise. We don’t recommend drinking it before exercise, however, you can certainly have a few sips prior to exercise to top off glycogen stores if desired. It is best to start drinking Endurance Fuel about 30 minutes into your endurance exercise (1+ hours). If your exercise is under an hour, you should be fine with just water!
Thanks so much !
Love your product it has really helped lessen nausea in my races.
Thanks, this is super helpful explanation!
I was not aware that Tailwind was based on sugar how do I return this product for credit?
Hi Mike – So sorry for any confusion. Please send us an email at supportcrew@tailwindnutrition.com and we can help you out. Thanks!
Leading up to my longer races, I’ll have a 24oz bottle of water with two scoops of tailwind, is this good for my body or should I be eating kale and broccoli leading up? I basically fuel with tailwind a day before the race cause I feel like it’s easier for my body to break down on race day than eating pasta or other carbohydrates the night before.
Hi Antonio – During periods of inactivity, like the time leading up to a race, complex carbohydrates, like broccoli or kale, are the best type of carbohydrate to consume. Endurance Fuel was designed to be used during exercise, as opposed to before. However, you can certainly have a few sips right before your race to top off glycogen stores if desired. Hope that helps!
This is great! Thanks for sharing this with the racing public!
How would you recommend apportioning Tailwind for a long hike I.e. 6-8 hours ? And what else to take with it. Also hike will be in heat.
Hi Mark! If you wanted to use just Tailwind for your hike, you could aim to drink 200 calories in 24 oz of water per hour. However, if you planned on stopping and eating, you could drink less Tailwind per hour, and then drink plain water whenever you ate. Tailwind is great for the heat, because it has all the electrolytes you need to stay hydrated!
I’ve read that your body can absorb up to 90 grams of carbohydrates per hour, if they’re a mix of sucrose + glucose. What’s the maximum Tailwind intake you would recommend per hour on a five hour ride, and does it vary by rider weight?
Hi Geoff,
We recommend that our athletes use 2-3 scoops in 24 oz (720 ml) of water per hour. One scoop has 25 grams of carbohydrate, with what we believe is just the right glucose/sucrose mix. So over an hour, that’s 50 – 75 grams of carbohydrate. It varies by rider weight, as well as exercise intensity, hence the 2-3 scoop range. I am 5’11” and 160 lbs (180 cm, 72.5 kg), and I find that for workouts lasting longer than 2 hours that 2 scoops is a little light, and I begin to get hungry. I don’t need as much as 3 scoops. My go-to mix for longer workouts is 2.5 scoops in 24 oz over an hour, which is 62.5 grams of carbohydrate. I hope that helps!
Regards,
Art Zemach, MD, Director of R&D
I am an elementary teacher and an amateur cycling athlete. This article makes great sense to me with all that I have read for keeping fit for cycling. At school we are asked to teach that sugar is bad – and the kids believe it. I try to teach what you said in your first paragraph, that whether it’s ok to have something sugary depends on what you are doing. I like the way you described it. Thanks for simplifying it. Personally, one bit that was new to me was the idea of waiting until you have been exercising for 20-30 minutes before taking sugar on board. Also, new was the idea to reduce the simple sugars and make the carbs needed come from complex carbs after the “golden hour”. I’ll have to work on that second one. I love Tailwind for cycling – it just works for me. Thanks for the article.
Hi Russ!
Thank you for leaving this feedback. It’s definitely a message that is sometimes hard to get across, especially when everyone grows up hearing “sugar is bad” – in reality, it is not that black & white. Thank you for educating kids about fueling! We’re glad this article was helpful!
I love that you share this as if the body is in fuel stress,the body needs energy,quickly as in “sugar fuel”. The body does not want to burn the muscles for fuel. We got to love our hearts and learn how to utilize the right fuel for the right movement,exercise or resting. Thank you for getting this sweet information expressed so well!