Digestion and performance

Generally, an important effort is incompatible with the period of digestion. The need of a big quantity of blood at the level of muscles opposes to the need at the level of the digestive system.

It is not recommended to make an effort during the digestion which means during the three hours following a meal.

The quality of the food, before the effort, is obviously fundamental. Some good food in normal time can become real poisons for the effort or for the performances.

This food can slow down or disturb digestion or even have side effects on the hormonal system (nervous excitements, vasodilatations, etc.).

Very often, digestive troubles appear only during the effort and are responsible for disappointing performances.

For long and intense efforts (more than 1 h 30), it is necessary to feed generously in glucids. Without, performances collapse after a variable time corresponding to the exhaustion of the muscular reserves of glycogen (the runner strikes the wall).

Finally, you have to keep in mind that the rice is the starchy food which provokes the least intestinal fermentations. It has also anti-diarrhoeic properties.

J.L