SC - Nutritional needs of fighters (long)

[James F. Johnson]

Has anyone counted how many divergent threads there are now, all under
the subject line of Re: SC - TI Article - Support Kitchen (and
variants)?

[taking out another #10 can of worms and a can opener]

So, let me start another:

Putting things like historic accuracy, availability and ease of
preparation, personal preference of the fighters, and availability of
food service per kingdom custom, I went and researched the nutritional
needs of the athlete _during_ physical activity. These are the morsels I
gleaned, with some conclusions at the bottom:

The first and primary nutritional need is carbohydrates, whether in
simple sugar form or complex starch form. Obviously, the simple sugars
break down into glucose quicker. Fructose has a slow absorption rate.
Sucrose and lactose fall inbetween. Recommended level is 60-65% of
calories should be carbohydrates for the active athlete.

Glucose is the primary fuel and the only one the brain can use. Excess
glucose is stored in muscle tissue as glycogen. Excess glycogen is
converted into fat. Fat is a poor storage, as only about 50% of it's
energy is converted back into use, and it's the last fuel the body looks
to (as in you don't start using the fat until you've consumed your blood
glucose and glycogen). Likewise, protein can be converted to glucose,
but not efficiently. 

When your glycogen is depleted, you feel dizzy, light-headed, drowsy,
and fatigued. Not a condition we're unfamiliar with, especially
fighters.

High carb foods recommended for eating while active: dried fruit,
bagels, bananas.
(this was from a bicycling source). Fruit juice is also recommended.
Dried fruit and fruit juice are pretty much 100% carbohydrates. Dry
pretzels and bagels are about 77% carbs. Other recommend carb sources
were sports drinks, fig newtons, fruit bars and granola bars.

There was a specific warning away of cakes, cookies, and candy for a
sugar source, with the suggestion that source of sugar would spike, kick
in insulin production, which would then continue to lower blood sugar
levels after the initial spike or 'kick' had faded quickly. Sounds like
a quick sugar rush followed by a chemically reinforced crash to me.

Fats should be about 30% of caloric intake. Protein was not considered
to be increased, as the average American already takes in nearly twice
(100mg) the needed amount per day (56mg for a 150lb male). 

BENE NOTE: The recommendation for the best performance was to decrease
activity and increase carbohydrate intake _three days before the
performance, up to the night before_. By doing this, less glycogen is
taken from the muscles through activity, and more is stored. Basically,
one is packing their muscle tissue with glycogen. The amount of
carbohydrates eaten hours before the performance is considered far less
important than the amount eaten during the days before. If the activity
is going to be longer than 2-3 hours (in this case, continuous cycling),
then taking carbohydrates during activity is needed, as the body
depletes it's glucose and glycogen.

Instant soup is a good source of extra sodium (natural food already
contain enough for normal activity), which may explain why it's popular
with some fighters. V-8 and other tomato-vegetable juices also are a
good source for additional sodium, as well as other nutrients.

For extra iron for women, red meat and legumes are recommended, as is
cast iron cookery. Foods rich in vitamin C help in absorbing iron from
plants.

Concerning sports drinks. The recommendation is 6-8% carbs. Allsport and
Powerade have more calories/carbs (8.8% and 8.3%) and less sodium (138mg
and 60mg) than Gatorade (5.9% and 275mg). Remember that fructose is
absorbed more slowly than other carbs? Allsport uses high-fructose corn
syrup, Powerade uses high-fructose corn syrup and maladextrose, and
Gatorade uses sucrose and glucose-fructose. Gatorade uses sucrose to
make theirs more palatable. 

Based on this, I conclude the best thing to have on a fighter's dayboard
is fruit juice, vinegar based drinks, and/or sports drinks, fresh fruit,
dried fruit, and some dense bread, like bagels. Salty and/or pickled
foods for those needing more sodium. Seems like some form of a dense
whole grain, nut, and fruit bread would fit right in. Cheese and meat in
moderation. I suspect these latter are eaten more out of habit and for
any salt content, rather than the need for protein. There are quicker
methods of raising blood sugar levels. 

Notice that most of this is not majorly out of place historically. Find
a historic recipe for something resembling fruit/grain bars, and they
will serve nicely. And the above recommendation is not to be taken as
discouraging pasties/pies, hearty soups and more substantial foods. 

Regarding pickle juice as the new sports drink: folklore in (at least)
eastern Russia has pickle juice consumed in the morning as a hangover
cure. And most shots of vodka are chased by pickled food (cucumbers,
mushrooms, caviar, etc)

Ironically, the best thing for fighters has already passed by the time
they show up on site. A Friday night carbofest would do far more for
their overall performance than catching up on lost blood sugar during
the fighting. And I'll mention that in an idea later.

Seumas
- -- 
Roi ne suis prince, ni duc, ni comte aussi; je suis sire de
Bruyerecourt.