Core training is more than planks and crunches. What, when and how much you eat can affect how you feel before, during and after exercise. It’s been estimated that 30 to 50 percent of athletes suffer from some type of digestive issues during training or competition. This can affect performance, diminish the quality of training and even make it harder to finish events during competition.
That’s why it’s important to not only train your core with exercises, but also to address gastrointestinal problems. Here are some of the most common GI issues active people face — and what can be done to remedy them:
1. Acid reflux, or heartburn. This may be caused by physical issues such as delayed gastric emptying — food takes longer to leave the stomach — and changes in the rate of movement and clearance of food through the esophagus. Other contributing factors include dehydration; the stress of competition; excessive use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDS — such as Motrin or Aleve; caffeine and alcohol abuse; and taking certain supplements, including creatine and amino acids.
Solutions: Make sure you are optimally hydrated. Incorporate stress reduction techniques into your daily routine. Watch caffeine and alcohol use. You may also need to discontinue the use of supplements, reduce the amount consumed or change the time you take them to see if the heartburn issues resolve.
2. Nausea and vomiting. This can happen because of increased bile acid levels, decreased blood flow to the digestive tract and dehydration or overhydration.
Solutions: Don’t eat any new foods around the time of competition. Consume the foods and drinks during training that you plan to have during competitions. Avoid high-calorie, fatty meals within three hours of starting exercise. Make sure your hydration strategies are effective. Practice with fluid volume and drinking techniques during training to achieve a level of gut comfort.
3. Delayed gastric emptying. This can be due to dehydration, the position of the body during exercise — such as in cycling or rowing — excessive fiber intake, high fat intake and high sugar intake during exercise.
Solutions: Make sure your fluid intake is adequate. Eat enough fiber to meet your needs, but consider changing the type of fiber and time you consume it. Eat foods that are lower in fat before exercising. Watch the quantity of gels, chews and sports drinks used during longer-duration exercise, and try them out first in training, before using in competition.
4. Gas. This can be produced by gut bacteria or ingestion of air while swallowing, or result from consuming gas-producing foods.
Solutions: Decrease consumption of carbonated beverages — which contain carbon dioxide, a gas — and chewing gum, since it causes you to take in more air. Limit intake of beans and foods in the cabbage family in pre-exercise meals. Watch sugar alcohols, which are found in some lower-sugar bars, low-carb foods and beverages and sugarless gums and mints.
5. Diarrhea. Intense exercise, pre- race anxiety and possibly NSAIDS can cause this issue. In addition, if you have your pre-exercise meal too close to the time of activity, you may find yourself running to the bathroom. And caffeine can act as a diarrhetic, resulting in your need to find the Porta-Potty.
Solutions: Minimize foods that can increase how frequently you have to go, such as fruit, sugar alcohols, bran, caffeine and high-sugar fare. Consider soluble fiber-containing foods before exercise. These take longer to leave the stomach and include oatmeal, potatoes, barley and supplements such as Citrucel, Metamucil or pectin (Sure-Jell or Certo), which absorb water in the GI tract and thicken the stool.
Just as you train for your sport, you must also “train your gut.” I recommend that you keep a good gut travel kit, a collection of easily transportable, nonperishable, readily available food items that can help to alleviate common digestive symptoms. These are items I recommend to my athletes and executives who travel, and it’s also something that can be kept in a car, desk drawer or school locker. The kit may contain the following:
— Sports drink powder and Gatorade Gatorlytes to provide electrolytes in the case of nausea/vomiting, and candied ginger root or minced ginger root for nausea
— Chamomile tea bags for abdominal spasms
— Fig bars and dried plums to help with constipation
— Raspberry leaf or blackberry root bark tea for diarrhea
— Sure-Jell/Certo pectin, which — when mixed in water before a meal –can help with diarrhea.
Keep a food, supplement and symptom log so that you can get a better idea of what you tolerate and what’s bothersome. If you are frequently bothered by digestive distress, consider meeting with a sports dietitian who can help you develop an eating plan that fuels your active lifestyle without upsetting your gut. Identifying food and eating habits that trigger digestive issues as well as solutions can go a long way to protect your core and keep you in the game!
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Are Digestive Issues Cramping Your Active Lifestyle? originally appeared on usnews.com