The Shotz Sports Nutrition Guide
This guide has been compiled by reviewing a large range of research data and scientific investigation and relating this data with the real world experiences of many sports coaches and athletes. Sports nutrition for us at Shotz is focused on portable nutrition, palatable nutrition and delivery of fuel, electrolytes and water to maintain high performance for the longest possible duration.
Why portable? - the essence of sports nutrition is its delivery has to be possible while operating at speed, the formulation and packaging has to meet this demanding specification to be an effective sports nutrition.
Why palatable? - taste bud senses change while operating at high intensity or at low intensity for long periods of time, food stuffs that taste "nice and sweet" with your feet up watching TV, don't taste so good and even chock in the throat when your peddling or running up that long hill halfway round your Sunday morning session or 4 miles to go on the Saturday afternoon half marathon race. Palatability is essential element of great sports nutrition, without it you will never get sufficient fuel into the body's metabolic system.
Delivery of fuel, electrolytes and water - is the whole purpose of sports nutrition, reducing the risks of becoming de-hydrated and running out of muscle fuel. The formulation of the product is therefore key to what is delivered into the system and how it bio-chemically behaves once introduced into the metabolic system.
Simon Blackburn (GB Kona Ironman Athlete) wrote: "of all the nutrition products on the market, the only products and strategies that have any compelling evidence as to their effectiveness in enhancing sports performance, are those that help optimize the body's carbohydrate stores in the form of muscle and liver glycogen."
The key aspect of this guide is to explore the optimal nutritional strategy athletes may use during training and racing to achieve peak performance and maximum training benefit. Secondly we shall examine the nature of the metabolic pathways and the science behind why long chain glucose polymer carbohydrate is the most effective energy source. Maltodextrin is a proven high carbohydrate source demonstrated now for over 17 years of scientific research, despite many false dawns, the closing fuel we have to the holy grail perpetual human activity requiring a continuous energy supply is the long chain complex carbohydrate.
A Note on Protein: Shotz nutrition is about fuelling with carbohydrates the energy requirements for human powered speed endurance, and the maintenance of good hydration including electrolyte replacement as this aids the efficient use of energy. Protein is a vital part of a balanced nutritional diet, and is best delivered within an athletes normal meal plan. Shotz sports nutirition usd in conjunction with a balanced sports diet can help every athlete reach their maximum performance capability.
The main reasons for using Shotz sports nutrition ENERGY Gels and Bars are:
What is Carbohydrate?
Carbohydrates from an organic compound perspective are composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. There are two main types of carbohydrates: simple sugars kown as either Monosacchrarides or Disaccharide or complex carbohydrates known as Polysacchardies.
Monosaccharides - are the basic units of carbohydrates. Glucose, Fructose (Fruit Sugar) and Galactose are common monosaccharides.
Disaccharides - are formed when two monsaccharides are joined together. The most common is table sugar which is one molecule of glucose joined with one molecule of fructose.
Polysaccharides are formed when glucose molecules form together in long "complex" chains. The long chain polymers allow large quantities of carbohydrate to be stored in animals as glycogen. Maltodextrins (Glucose Polymers) were developed in the early 1990's and have since changed the nature of sports nutrition. They are a unique form of starch derived from the partial digestion of corn. Maltodextrins contain 5 or more monosaccharides linked together in a chain. Super glucose polymers have an average chain length of 20 glucose units.
Digestion and Metabolic Pathways
The body does not absorb polysaccharides directly, they must first be broken down into their basic monosaccharide components. The long polysaccharide chains are broken down by the process of digestion before being absorbed through the small intestine into the blood. As the glucose is absorbed into the bloodstream, blood sugar levels rise stimulating the body to release insulin. Insulin helps transport glucose into the muscles and liver. It is important for sports nutrition to note the speed of digestion and absorption of simple sugars, glucose polymers and starches varies greatly.
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