Carbs are Critical on Race Day!

Elite racers always advice inexperienced competitors to have a well practiced race day routine.  Lay out clothes and equipment the night before, eat foods that are familiar, and know the course.  Race day nervousness can lead to disastrous consequences like lost car keys, or simply forgetting equipment.  Why? Because mental stress creates an energy pull on the most important muscle of your body: the brain.

The brain relies on a steady supply of glucose, derived from carbohydrates for fuel.  Research has shown that during acute mental stress the demand for energy by the brain increases by 12%. When male subjects in a laboratory setting were exposed to just a 10-minute-mental stress period, they required an additional 34 grams of carbohydrate to correct a glucose deficit in the brain.  Failure to take in additional carbohydrate resulted in prolonged symptoms related to low brain energy supply, such as mental confusion, depressed mood, and feeling tense and strained.

The brain’s priority on energy from glucose (carbohydrates) makes it essential for athletes to eat enough carbohydrate before and during a competitive event in order to have a focused, successful effort.

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