Selling BIESTMILCH for over ten years now – building up a small but powerful brand with loyal advocates like IRONMAN World Champion Chris McCormack – we´ve experienced the positive effect of BIESTMILCH especially in endurance Sports so many times. In 2012 We´ve asked people all over the world in the BIEST BOOSTER Experiment BBEX about their personal experiences testing the BIEST BOOSTER – the Feedback we got was overwhelming.
Still there are some questions left, which we try to clear before doing the next step to Triathlon Race Nutrition. One was – is there a need for the BIEST BOOSTER being part of the race nutrition. Therefore we asked triathletes via the Internet a simple question “Are you happy with your race nutrition?” And here is what about 565 people answered.
565 athletes* participated in the survey. Thanks to all of you who took the time to fill out our questionnaire. The results are casting an interesting light upon what’s happening to an individual on these long hours until crossing the finish line.
The results are surprisingly drastic. Just imagine, 75% of the athletes that took part in the survey experience gut issues during a race. 70% stated that they suffer from cramps. Half of them even complain of cramps and gut issues.
59% are unhappy and 41% seem happy with their race nutrition. The paramount question that arises from these results is why then did more than two-thirds say that they suffer from gut issues and cramps. Does race nutrition play a central role here? We think yes, beside the heavy workload, the high body temperature and the fatigue, food incompatibilities due to stabilizers, preservatives, artificial flavors, food allergies or simply too many carbohydrates compared to the performance intensity, the relation of the time needed, the power put in and the speed one is doing a race can cause these problems. And one should not to forget that the general condition of the gastro-intestinal system in everyday life and shortly before the race influence its condition during the race.
The answers to the question that was related to the carbohydrate intake during the race varied a lot. 22% of you ingest 35 grams per hour, 23% take 70 grams, 6% take less, and 8% ingest more than 70 grams an hour, while 41% eat carbs when needed. The next step would be now to find out whether there is a correlation between the amount of carbohydrates taken, the time racing and the problems occurring. This would need a controlled set-up and a meticulous documentation of the race nutrition (at what time, how much). This survey cannot give an answer to this question.
Another interesting question was asking our participants whether they lose focus or concentration respectively once during the race. The majority of 70% (391 people) are drifting away foremost after the first half of the bike course and several times on the run. The reasons given are fear of having eaten too little food, simple distraction due to fatigue, stomach and/or gut issues, boredom, no motivating competitors around, heat, or feeling the first signs of exhaustion.
All the mentioned problems cannot really be cured by taking more gels or electrolytes. We are convinced that Biestmilch can be a serious option able to ameliorate the problems that may occure during a race, and therefore worthwhile to be considered as part of the race nutrition.
*the questionnaire was first of all addressed to triathletes of all age groups.
Biestmilch_Race-Nutrition Result for download
Biestmilch Umfrage zur Wettkampfernährung – Ergebnisse als PDF zum Herunterladen
I think an important factor in the carbs:gut issues equation is hydration. Are people who get gut problems drinking sufficient water to help the digestion/absorption of the nutrition?