Porta Potties Steal PRs: Tips to Avoid Exercise-Induced GI Distress
Do GI issues keep you from performing your best or from completing your race? Here are a few things to consider to minimize your GI symptoms during exercise:
Have you ever wondered why you stomach gets upset during a race? Do GI issues keep you from performing your best or from completing your race? 30-50% of endurance athletes have experienced GI distress at some point in their active lives. The question is why does it happen and what can we do to prevent these issues from happening?
GI symptoms during exercise vary among individuals but can range from heartburn, cramps, or side aches to vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, or intestinal bleeding to name a few. As you increase exercise intensity, there are four main reasons why you may experience these symptoms. First, when you exercise, your body restricts blood flow to the gut because your heart, brain, lungs, and muscles need more blood to perform intense activities. A second cause may simply be race day nerves or the body’s natural increase in adrenaline in response to exercise. Third, the movements during exercise, such as running, jostle the stomach and can themselves cause lower GI discomfort. And finally, eating the wrong types of foods before or during a race can create GI distress. Of these factors, this is the one you can control, so choosing the right foods and perfecting your nutritional habits around exercise is especially important!
Here are a few things to consider to minimize your GI symptoms during exercise:
Focus on eating simple, easily digestible carbohydrates on race day, and limit high-fiber, fat, and protein foods, as these foods slow digestion. Therefore, they may cause cramping, bloating or diarrhea, which can disrupt you in the middle of the competition.
Watch the concentration of your sports drink and avoid eating highly concentrated carb sources without fluid. Drinking a sport drink that has a concentration of carbohydrates greater than 6-7% or consuming a carbohydrate supplement (like gels, chews, or jellybeans) without water can have an osmotic effect, pulling water into the gut and leading to symptoms such as diarrhea or cramping.
Watch your sodium intake. When sodium intake gets too high, it can lead to nausea.
Be aware of the medications you’re using. Taking aspirin, NSAIDs (Ibuprofen), or other anti-inflammatory drugs can damage the lining of your stomach over time. This can lead to abdominal pain, heartburn, nausea, or even intestinal bleeding.
Drink enough water. Dehydration can cause cramping, pain, and can even lead to constipation.
Lastly, make sure you practice your pre-race nutrition routine. Your body likes consistency so find a few foods and sports nutrition products your body is comfortable with and stick to them to optimize performance, recovery, and MINIMIZE GI distress.
It’s important that you feel comfortable while you exercise and can excel during your training and races! Consult a Nutriworks, Inc. sports dietitian to further assist you if you’re still struggling with finding the cause of your GI distress!