[melissa]

I found this article, and I thought it was very interesting. Before I ride I used to have more carbs, but found it didn't help with my stamina. I have started taking cherry tomatoes or strawberries with me and having it mid-way through. I find it helps me so much more.


Less kick in carbs for women

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The time-honoured strategy of loading on carbohydrates to increase athletic endurance may be a waste of time for female endurance athletes.

Carb-loading stores extra amounts of carbohydrate in muscle in the form of glycogen, which provides energy at a faster rate than fats, enabling the athelete to exercise longer at higher intensity.

Beginning 3 or 4 days before the event, an athlete will typically up carb intake to 70% - 75% of calories by cutting down on meats and dairy and upping the intake of pasta, fruits, vegetables, juices and simple sugars.

But Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, assistant professor of medicine and kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, says the carb-loading technique is ineffective in women.

In a randomized, doubled blind crossover study of 8 women and 7 men, the males increased their glycogen stores by 41%, as measured by muscle biopsy, on the high carb diet (75% of energy from carbohydrates over a 4-day period) and achieved a 45% increase in exercise time on a stationary bicycle.

The women, however, did not significantly increase their glycogen stores of exercise time through carbohydate loading. They also burned more fat but less carb and protein than men.

The mechanism behind the gender differences is not known. It may be hormone-related or it may be that women simply need to consume more calories as carbohydrates for the storage mechanism to kick in.

[RG3rGWcA]

Very interesting. Thanks for the article