We’re often asked about Nutella?  Is it good for Daily Nutrition, and for Training Nutrition.  Does it have a place?

Here’s what our expert sports nutritionist, Kelli has to say:

For TRAINING NUTRITION, it can have a place. As a high-carb food with mainly natural ingredients, you can use it with pre-training nutrition, during-training nutrition (during long training sessions), or within a post-training recovery snack. For example, a recovery snack of 8 oz. plain yogurt + 1 Tbsp Nutella + 1 Tbsp organic coconut oil (300 calories, 10 grams protein, 23 grams of carbs, and Medium Chain Triglycerides from coconut oil) isn’t a bad way to go, as long as you can control your portion of Nutella. For recovery, one goal in eating carbs is to replenish glycogen stores, and another is to give your energy-burning body a fuel source that’s not muscle. Recovery can be a good opportunity to eat a small portion of high-sugar foods that you don’t normally eat, but love.

For DAILY NUTRITION, not so much.  And, I really hate to do it as it happens to be something that tastes really good. Anyone who’s ever tried Nutella can tell-ya that it’s super yummy.

The problem?

Really, it’s not so much a hazelnut spread as a sugar spread. In fact, sugar is it’s #1 ingredient. Followed by palm oil. Then hazelnuts, cocoa, and skim milk (of course, it’s these ingredients that are advertised most on the packaging).

Protein? Just 3 grams (compared to 6-8 grams in peanut butter). Sugars? A whopping 21 grams (equivalent of more than 4 tsp per serving). What really gets me, is the recommedation on the label to eat it with a glass of skim milk, a glass of orange juice, and a slice of whole wheat bread for a balanced breakfast – since when is 80+ grams of carbs (mostly sugar) with 14 grams of protein balanced?

I will point out that it is free of hydrogenated oil and high fructose corn syrup – so, it could be worse. But instead, choose a natural nut butter, or even Peanut Butter & Company’s Dark Chocolate Dreams (12 grams carbs and 6 grams protein) for daily nutrition.

Please send us your questions for our Expert Sports Nutritionist, Kelli Jennings to “Ask the Sports Nutritionist“. Kelli Jennings is a Registered Dietitian with a passion for healthy eating, wellness, & sports nutrition. For more information go to www.apexnutritionllc.com.

I was recently asked to give my thoughts on Dr. Lim’s Rice Cakes.  Have you heard of them?  Dr. Allen Lim is the world-class physiologist who’s worked with many professional cycling teams, the US Cycling Team, and who has recently co-written a cookbook entitled The Feed Zone Cookbook.  During his career, he has created many whole-food, homemade “savory” fuel options for his athletes to balance some of the sweet-carbohydrate, processed fuels often used.  I’ll admit, I haven’t tried this recipe yet myself, but I didn’t want to hold out on this post going into the cycling season.  Until I do, I’ll let you be the judge and taste-testers.

Recipe of the Week: Dr. Allen Lim’s Rice Cakes

(from http://lavamagazine.com/training/recipe-allen-lims-rice-cakes/)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked calrose or other medium-grain “sticky” rice
• 1½ cups water
• 8 ounces bacon
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons liquid amino acids or low-sodium soy sauce
• brown sugar
• salt and grated parmesan (optional)

Instructions:

1. Combine rice and water in a rice cooker.
2. While rice is cooking, chop up bacon before frying, then fry in a medium sauté pan. When crispy, drain off fat and soak up excess fat with paper towels.
3. Beat the eggs in a small bowl and then scramble on high heat in the sauté pan. Don’t worry about overcooking the eggs as they’ll break up easily when mixed with the rice.
4. In a large bowl or in the rice cooker bowl, combine the cooked rice, bacon, and scrambled eggs. Add liquid amino acids or soy sauce and sugar to taste. After mixing, press into an 8- or 9-inch square baking pan to about 1½-inch thickness. Top with more brown sugar, salt to taste, and grated parmesan, if desired.Cut and wrap individual cakes.

Makes about 10 rice cakes.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1 cake): 225 cal, 8g fat, 321 mg sodium, 30g carbs, 1g fiber, 9 g protein

Comments:

Most Loving the Bike readers know I’m all for whole foods.  Especially in Daily Nutrition.  When it can be used effectively in Training Nutrition and promote optimal results, I’m all for it there, too.   This certainly may be a good, whole-food, homemade option for many cyclists on long rides.  To maintain the most nutritious and highest quality ingredients, I would simply remind users to choose cage-free organic eggs, organic bacon without nitrites , and consider organic honey in place of brown sugar since it’s a whole-food that promotes health, contains antioxidants, and has been shown in studies to provide a good source of training energy.  As far as nutrient breakdown, the rice cakes look great for on-the-bike fueling.

I also see the high value in a savory food source, as opposed to a sweet one, on long rides.  You just get sick of all the sweet-tasting carbs.  But, since carbs are a very important source of fuel, you need them and I recommend them.   Rice mixed with salty ingredients may be a good answer for the carbohydrate needs of many athletes.  And, from what I’ve read, the cyclists he’s worked with love them.

On the flip side, anytime you mix intense cycling with foods, whether they are solid, gel, or liquid, there are always some concerns and issues of which to be aware.

From reading several interviews, I understand that Dr. Lim created this recipe in part to reduce the amount of “gut rot,” or gastrointestinal problems, of cyclists with whom he works.  It seems that he believes that one of the biggest contributors to gut rot is the practice of drinking your fuel (carb-containing drinks and gels).  This has simply not been my experience as an endurance athlete or as a professional with my own clients.  In fact, as long as the drink is being sipped throughout the ride and not chugged all at once, I often find the opposite to be true.  From my experience, most clients experience nausea, heartburn, flatulence, and generally GI upset from 1) becoming dehydrated, 2) eating a high fat or high fiber meal before riding, 3) eating too large a meal all at once on-the-bike instead of small amounts throughout the ride (waiting until the half-way point and then sucking down a big lunch), 4) riding at a much higher level than what they’ve trained (such as in an epic ride or race), and 5) individual digestion quirks.

For almost every cyclist out there, there is a different preference on fueling.  I have clients that swear by Hammer products, and others that can’t stand the texture or taste.  One that even vomits every time she drinks anything from them.  I’ve seen athletes eat “whole-foods” throughout long competitions with no problems, and ultra-endurance compete and win with nothing but liquid nutrition. Possibly the most important aspect of on-the-bike nutrition is individual preference and individual digestion.  If you don’t like the sound of it, the taste of it, or how it “settles” with you, you won’t do well with it.  This only leads to dehydration and bonking no matter how much your partner loves it.  Dr. Lim seems to also advise finding the foods and drinks that work well for you individually.

In terms of digestion, cyclists who have sensitive stomachs may experience some problems with solids foods while riding.  Solids simply take longer to leave the stomach than liquids and semi-liquids.  This can work for you in terms of long-lasting energy.  This can work against you in terms of having something churning in your stomach.  What’s more, solids require more gastric acid to break down.  For those who experience heartburn on the bike, this can be an issue.  On the flip side, a cyclist who’s been chugging down liquids (water or sports drink) dilutes the acid, and may further delay the breakdown of the food.  Along with the physical “settling” of the food is the cost of it in terms of energy expenditure and blood flow.  Digestive tract blood flow is significantly reduced when training at a high level.  If it has to be increased to breakdown a high-fat food, it’s usually inefficient and at a cost to another part of your body.  I for one have definitely experienced a noticeable decline in leg power after a solid whole-food meal.

Next, for all of those of us who don’t have support handing these out, there’s the issue of carrying them.  In your jersey?  In your pack?  Not sure.  The thought of cooked eggs in my sweaty pack on a hot day is not particularly refreshing to me.  Then again, the thought of a salty food almost always sounds good after 3 hours of riding.

Another issue is food safety…technically, cooked protein foods like eggs shouldn’t set out for more than a couple of hours to avoid high levels of bacteria that may not have been destroyed during cooking or that may have contaminated the eggs after cooking.  We all know people who eat raw eggs, kept at room temperature, without ever getting sick from them. And, I’ve certainly hiked for hours with hard-boiled eggs in a pack.  To minimize the risk, make sure to use high-quality eggs that are from cage-free hens.  Again, individual preferences, logistics, and risk-analysis…

Lastly, if you like the convenience of commercial sports foods, there are certainly good ones on the shelves.  Sure, there are those with junk ingredients including colorings, potentially harmful chemicals, and unnecessary additives, but there are plenty of companies trying to give us good foods that will work well on a bike.  Clif bar, Lara bar, and Ignite Naturals are just a few.

With my clients, I typically recommend a “treat” food every 3 hours or so when riding longer than 5 hours (this is in addition to my regular fluids, carbs, and lytes per hour recommendations).  I recommend a food that they’ll look forward to, such as a salty savory rice burrito or cheese crackers if individually they do well with a solid whole-food snack.  Dr. Lim’s Rice Cakes may be a perfect fit for this 3-hour “treat food.”  If you try it out, make sure to keep the portion small as suggested on the recipe and do not “double up”  in order to avoid stomach issues and blood flow diversion.  Remember…small amounts of drinks and foods throughout the ride.  This one may be a keeper for me, or may not, but I’m excited to try.  Loads of cyclists are reporting good rides using these on different forums.  What do you think?

We are very honored to have Kelli Jennings, registered dietitian (RD) guest posting today.  I wish I had even half the nutrition knowledge she has.  Kelli’s post contains valuable information that all cyclists and athletes should be aware of.

Like many athletes, you may have found yourself reading the ingredients of your favorite sports drink and wondering exactly how “healthy” this stuff is for you.  “Aren’t dextrose, sucrose, and fructose just sugar?  Shouldn’t I avoid sugar?  And, what the heck is theobromine?”

When making food and drink choices, it is very important for the athlete to distinguish training nutrition from daily nutrition.  In fact, these 2 aspects of nutrition require opposite strategies.  Many times, athletes get caught up in healthy eating practices (which are great for daily eating!) and snub their bodies’ demands for refined, quick fuel immediately before, during, and after training or competing.  While eating healthy foods throughout the day is imperative for a healthy body, you will do yourself a disservice by not consuming quick-acting fuel when you require it.  So, what do you need when?

First, let’s start with daily nutrition. We’ll keep it simple.…you need:

1)     A healthy pattern of consistent meals and snacks – ie. breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, and dinner as opposed to eating nothing until 2pm, then overeating all afternoon and evening (believe it or not, I see this all the time!)

2)    Adequate daily fluid.  64 oz. per day fluid is a great starting point for the metabolism of a 2000-calorie per day diet.  However, many athletes need upwards of 3000-4000 calories per day, which requires more fluid.  Remember, dehydration is cumulative and get worse day after day if it is not remedied.  And, it has a DIRECT detrimental effect on performance.

3)    Appropriate and adequate daily calories based on your weight goals (maintenance, loss, etc).  This is best calculated by a professional and should take into account your weight, age, sex, height, body fat percentage, daily activities, weight history, dieting history, training schedule, and clinical judgment.

4)    Whole food and whole grain carbohydrates at every meal and snack.  Carbohydrates should be the foundation of the athlete’s diet, and, fiber is the foundation of preventative nutrition.  Truly, it is one key to wellness and healthy weight maintenance at any calorie level.  Of course, you do not want a belly full of fiber while you’re training, so keep reading…

5)    Protein at every meal.  You have higher protein needs than a sedentary person as you are constantly building and rebuilding cells.

6)    Essential fats, especially omega-3 and monounsaturated fats with minimal saturated and trans-fats. From an athletic and overall healthy standpoint, omega-3s help reduce the inflammatory response in our bodies which may help your body react with less inflammation anytime cells need to heal and recover.

7)    Adequate vitamins and minerals – again, you have higher needs than a sedentary person (which is who the RDAs are based upon).  Without individual blood testing, it suffices to say that you should include all the food groups (grains/starchy vegetables, fruits, vegetables, milk/yogurt, protein, and healthy fats) in your daily diet.  If you exclude a group as a non-meat eating vegetarian, for example, make sure you are getting adequate protein, calcium, iron, zinc, etc from other sources as opposed to just avoiding meat.  Then, for all athletes, I believe it is prudent to take a high-quality multivitamin that includes iron, an adequate B-complex, and extra anti-oxidants on a daily basis.

Next, you need specific fuel immediately before, during, and after training/competing.  This is a great time to determine your goals as an athlete, as your goals should set the course for your training and training nutrition.

If you are training in order to lose weight or just improve cardiovascular fitness, you don’t necessarily need extra calories and carbs during your workout and may do fine just using water.  If, however, you are training to improve as an athlete, with the goal of pushing yourself to new levels during training in order to get better and better, you should pay close attention to “Training Nutrition.”  For you, this is where it can get confusing because the fuel you need for training requires fast digestion and is on the opposite end of the nutrition spectrum from the recommended daily nutrition food choices.

For training, you need:

1)     Pre-training fuel (time a meal 1-3 hours out or a snack 30-90 minutes out to accomplish the following) – Before any training session, it is a good idea to make sure you are hydrated so that you’re not starting in a deficit.  I recommend drinking to fullness 1-2 hours out, and then sipping fluids the last hour before training.  Also, aim to eat/drink 1-4 grams of carbs per kilogram body weight before training.  Your carb choices should be low in fiber (<4 gm fiber total) and high glycemic index .  You can include protein before training, but don’t overdo it and stick with lean sources.  Lastly avoid fatty or fried food and anything you know causes stomach upset.

2)    During-training fuel – During any session lasting more than 60 minutes, you will benefit from replenishing fluid, carbohydrates and electrolytes during the session.  You should aim for 20-32 oz. fluid per hour, 40-60 gm carbohydrates per hour and electrolytes in a balanced solution.  If you want to get more precise with your personal rehydrating plan, weigh yourself before and after a training session, any weight lost is water loss and should be replenished.  If you want to include protein in your during-training eating plan (for example, you may include solids during long training sessions – 3+ hours), keep it to a 4:1 carbohydrate:protein ratio so that the protein does not impede the emptying of your stomach too much.

3)    After-training recovery – After all training sessions, I recommend eating/drinking a recovery snack or meal within 30 minutes of finishing the session.  Include fluid, carbohydrates and protein.  Aim to replenish the fluid lost, 1+ gm of carbs per kg weight, and 10-20 gm protein.

Each day, work to keep your body healthy with consistent meals and snacks made up of healthy food choices.  Then, when training or competing, give your body the fuel it needs to run its best!

Kelli

Kelli Jennings, RD, runs a company called Apex Nutrition, LLC (www.apexnutritionllc.com/sportsnutrition.html).  Kelli is a Registered Dietitian with a passion for healthy eating, wellness, & sports nutrition. She is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado and did her residency at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC.

You can contact Kelli at kelli@apexnutritionllc.com for more information or to have her work with your nutrition needs.