Carbohydrates receive a lot of attention among the endurance athlete community. Recently, endurance athletes have reported consuming well above 90g carbohydrates per hour. As a result, athletes are demonstrating impressive performances during extreme endurance exercise. Because energy needs are high and carbohydrate stores are limited in the muscles and liver, high carb intakes have provided great value to athletes who are expended a great amount of energy during continuous efforts of long duration and/or intensity.
However, with "high carb" being all the rage these days, daily fiber intake has become an afterthought. This doesn't fair well when a significant portion of Americans consistently fall short in meeting dietary fiber goals due to diets high in processed, refined and fast food. Although we know fiber is an essential component of a healthy diet, consuming fiber around (and during) workouts is well, not so healthy.
As with most sport nutrition guidelines, "healthy" is relative. As athletes, the food choices that we make around and during training sessions are designed to help our body perform well under intentional training stress. By reducing fat and fiber around training sessions and prioritizing easy-to-digest carbohydrates, we optimize performance and reduce the risk for GI issues. Ultimately, this provides an environment for our body to stay healthy in the stressful environment that is periodized and structured training. However, outside of training, we have nutritional guidelines that can't be ignored just because you are an athlete.
Eating for health and for peak performances means recognizing there is a difference between how we eat around training sessions and outside of training sessions. One doesn't work without the other. You can have a very healthy diet outside of workouts but if you don't fuel your body properly before/during/after your training sessions, you put your body at risk for health issues. Additionally, you can do a great job nailing your sport nutrition but if you don't make time to cook and plan meals in order to obtain a balanced intake of carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats, fiber and adequate hydration, performance (and health) will suffer.
Fiber may not be the first thing on your mind when you think about your athletic performance but a healthy body starts with a healthy gut and a healthy gut microbiome is crucial for athletic performance.
