A quickie on exercise and eating
What should I eat before exercise?
This is a good one, copied from a tweet from Dr. Ben Bikman.
https://x.com/benbikmanphd/status/1956159530523615423?s=46
Above is the link, but I copied his post below.
People with heart disease are rightly encouraged to exercise--it improves cardiovascular function, builds endurance, and can enhance quality of life.
But that advice often comes with another recommendation: eat a carbohydrate-rich snack before activity to “fuel” the workout.
A controlled clinical study (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9165167/) in patients with advanced coronary artery disease challenges that second piece of advice. When participants ate a carb-heavy meal before exercise, their time to chest pain occurred 30% faster and time to signs of ischemia was 25% sooner, with total exercise capacity reduced by 20% compared to when they exercised in a fasted state.
Importantly, none of this happened with the protein or fat meals.
Why the difference? The carbohydrate load triggered sharp rises in blood glucose and insulin, which in turn heightened sympathetic nervous system activity. This sympathetic surge narrowed diseased coronary arteries, reducing blood flow and oxygen delivery to the heart muscle during exertion, ultimately tipping the balance toward ischemia.
Exercise is indeed good for heart health. But for some people with heart disease, pairing it with a pre-workout dose of carbohydrates may do more harm than good.
Wow!
Did you get that?
Perhaps the mantra that you need to eat Carbs to better fuel your workout is not necessarily correct or healthy in all cases.
Hope this makes you think?
As always, comments and questions welcome.
Today is the 5th anniversary of my heart event and I believe my recovery was enhanced by not eating carbs (or minimizing them) at any time.
I always exercise in a fasted state because I work out early in the morning and generally don’t eat anything until after 10am or later. I’m just not hungry in the morning and have never been a breakfast champion. After my workout I sometimes have a protein shake and then food a few hours later. Has always worked for me.