Episode 109 - What's lactate supplements and buffers got to do with endurance sports? | Dr Bryan Saunders

Water. Carbs. Salt. Flavour. Colour. Food Acid. That’s it. Glucose:fructose ratios, high or low molecular weight polymers, hypotonic or isotonic solutions, scientifically formulated electrolyte blends, hydrogels, pH neutral, the list goes on. But with only a few ingredients and some basic levers to pull, how different are drink mixes really? Is there really a “optimal” formulation? And could you just buy the raw ingredients and make it yourself for a fraction of the cost?

Starchy foods like pasta, rice and potatoes are an important part of the diet for most runners, cyclists, and triathletes. But in an era of pre-packaged meals and reheated leftovers, are we really getting in the carbs we think we are? Starch retrogradation is the process when cooked starchy foods cool down again. Does this reduce the availability of those carbs? And can it be reversed by reheating the food?

It's been one of the most popular supplements of the last few years. A lot of endurance athletes take collagen regularly, but what is it for, how should it be taken, and is there evidence it lives up to the claims? We’re joined by Assistant Prof. Jorn Trommelen, a protein researcher whose lab has done some of the most recent work in this area, to answer our questions. Timestamps: 04:00 - Intro and revisiting Jorn's previous episode (Ep. 73) 12:17 - What is collagen (in the body and as a supplement)? 16:53 - The different types of collagen - does it matter? 22:20 - How did collagen become so popular as a supplement? 30:10 - Why are the supplements always hydrolysed collagen or "collagen peptides"? 31:35 - Fueling Endurance Practitioner Membership, T-12 course for athletes, eBook 33:51 - What are the theoretical reasons for taking collagen supplements? 35:28 - Do you actually need collagen or would any source of these amino acids work? 40:56 - Do you need to take Vitamin C along with collagen? 44:53 - State of scientific evidence for collagen - muscle, tendon, bone tissue. 1:01:57 - Jorn's summary and practical recommendations 1:10:11 - Wrap up

If you’re planning an ultra-distance running or cycling event, there’s a good chance you’ll be relying on support crew to help get you through it. But what makes a great support crew when it comes to nutrition? How do you best prepare them to support you? And what does success look like? To find out, we're joined by ultrarunner, sport nutritionist, and experienced support crew member, Rachel White. Timestamps: 04:11 - Rachel's experience as an athlete, crew member, and dietitian 13:20 - The main roles of support crew 21:08 - Preparing support crew before an event 39:46 - Fueling Endurance Practitioner Membership, T-12 course for athletes, eBook 42:02 - Challenges support crew may face during the event (theoretical and practical) 54:48 - Communication between athlete and crew during an event 1:02:09 - What does the optimal crewing experience look like to the athlete? 1:03:52 - Collecting athlete data during an event for post-event analysis 1:10:58 - Final thoughts from Rachel 1:13:26 - Bonus Round 1:19:34 - Wrap up

Wearable sweat sensors have entered the market promising easy, accurate, repeatable, and in some cases, real-time feedback on sweat fluid and sodium losses. But do the claims live up to the hype? In this episode, we’ll unpack who these devices might be relevant to, the options currently available on the market, how they work, and most importantly, are they accurate? Timestamps: 01:01 - Fueling Endurance updates - eBook, Practitioner Membership, Podcast 05:31 - What are wearable sweat sensors? 12:08 - The first step - smart sweat patches 13:39 - Reusable, wearable sweat sensors 20:31 - Nix Biosensor device 22:38 - hDrop 23:09 - Flowbio - newly published validation study 28:47 - My own experiences and comparisons 35:06 - Where does this leave us now? 36:20 - Additional considerations 41:39 - The problem interpreting individual validation studies 43:29 - Wrap up