Trail Food

[Ellen]

Howdy All

Sorry about the detailed post. Let me say that Alan (a physicist) loses me whenever he gets technical about how many foot pounds it takes to climb Skyline

Howdy Fight On

I was a regular morning coffee drinker well before any of research came out indicating that caffeine can improve endurance. It was nice to find out in the late 1970's that something I was already doing may have helped me during long (>50 to 200 mile) bike rides.

As Alan pointed out, caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant. I have one strong cup of home-brewed coffee every morning. When I hike, I don't get much sleep. I found that the 50 mg of caffeine from a gel gave me a little pick up. I compared hikes with and without caffeinated gels (of course, I knew when I was taking caffeine, which could have affected the results).

Bottom line, drinking coffee before hiking or using caffeinated gels is purely a matter of personal choice. As Alan pointed out, the most important dietary factors when hiking are carbohydrate, water, and sodium.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[Kevin]

Re: electrolytes and caffeine -

Morton sells a "Lite Salt" which is marketed at people on restricted low-sodium diets. The benefit to hikers (and others engaged in high-activity level endeavors) is that it also contains potassium. I carry a small container of it, and when I feel thirsty but am otherwise hydrated I know I'm in need of sodium and potassium (electrolytes) and so take a teaspoon of it. I live in the upper Mojave so this can happen during the summer with just regular outdoor activities. I used to drink Gatorade when hiking in summer but stopped about 10 years ago and favor just water (hot spiced tea in cold weather) with the Lite Salt as needed.

Another source of caffeine is chocolate-covered coffee beans. For me, 3 or 4 of them are the equivalent of a cup of coffee. The down side is the chocolate melts easily, so you have to keep them a bit insulated from the heat or you end up with a big lump of chocolate coffee beans. I mostly use the coffee beans when regular coffee isn't available.

[FIGHT ON]

Hi Ellen. Does caffeine have any nutritional value? P.S. Remember that guy taking pictures of you on the top of San Jacinto last year when your legs were bleeding?
I still have them but don't know how to put them on here.

[AlanK]

Does caffeine have any nutritional value?

None whatsoever. There are a great many informative Web site like this one that say things like: "Caffeine is often referred to as a nutritional ergogenic aid, but it has no nutritional value."

[FIGHT ON]

Cool article Allan. After reading that there is no way I would touch caffeine let alone put it in my body. It's a stimulant. 3-9 mg. of caffeine is equal to 2 to 6 cups of coffee? wow. Can't imagine experiencing my heart rate rise from taking concentrated amounts of caffeine without doing anything. Personal preference? Everything you choose to put in your body is a personal preference. And all those side effects. wowy wow. osteoporosis? bone fractures, (Ellen, you had to have known about that.) gastrointestinal unrest. I don't know about you but I really REALLY X10 feel great when I make it to the top of a mountain. Definitely one of the best feelings for me. And it gets even better if I improve my time or just make it to the top in the same time and not be as tired. I can't see myself taking stimulants to perform better and feeling good about myself. If I can't make it on my own w/o that stuff and I am not satisfied then I must be doing something wrong or I just have to accept that I can't do it. I ain't takin drugs or stimulants to achieve a goal. "Proper training and nutritional habits are more sensible and productive approaches. And these have clear benefits without the side effects." That makes so much sense to me. I guess I fall into that ethical category it talks about. Man that increased heart rate thing FREAKS ME OUT DUDE!!!

[AlanK]

3-9 mg. of caffeine is equal to 2 to 6 cups of coffee?

For the record, that was 3-9 mg per kg of body weight. An average man weighs around 70 kg (actually, the real figure these days may be higher, as we constantly hear). So, we're talking about 210 - 630 mg of caffeine. The caffeine content of coffee varies widely, as does the size of "a cup", but this does correspond to something like 2 - 6 cups. Of course, this assumes average body weight.

In fact, drinking a cup of coffee -- or not -- before a hike is not going to make much difference. As for the effects of caffeine, there are studies indicating good and bad effects, long term and short term. Of course a lot depends on how much caffeine you're talking about. Moderate coffee or tea drinking is just no big deal. In any case, it is not worth obsessing about here because it is so far from what really matters for hiking.

[asabat]

I use electrolyte drinks for more than just replacing electrolytes. First, they make the water taste better, so I drink more water. Second, I often lose my appetite as the day wears on, so they provide calories. I use both Gatorade and Gookinaid, usually alternating them. The Gatorade I usually dilute with about 50% more water than directed.

[HikeUp]

Does anyone use Accelerade? Seems to be very similar to Gatorade (in carbs, sodium, and potassium) but with a few grams of protein added (and thus a few more calories). Having the added protein may eliminate the need to eat as much solid forms of food to get the protein.

[Ellen]

Howdy all

The Australian Institute of Sport has excellent information on sports nutrition.
http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/
They've also conducted many of the research studies on caffeine and performance. Their article on caffeine is at:
http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition ... s/caffeine

I've conducted in depth reviews of many sports supplements because I'm constantly asked questions about them. Like most sports dietitians, I am a "food first" person. No supplement can take the place of proper training and a healthy diet.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[lipbiter]

I am a "food first" person.

Me, too. But sometimes when I'm loading my food bag and I check the calorie content of diff foods, like tuna, beef jerky, some energy bars, I find the calorie count disappointingly low. I want max calories in as light a weight as possible (my pack is heavy enough as it is -- u know, carrying my cell phone and all... ). Ironic because usually people are counting calories the other way.

That's why I'm hoping the gel thing works out. Also, supplementing my fluids with calories, carbs, and sodium makes sense since I'm already carrying that weight.

Again, many thanks, Ellen, for your advice; even if it is confounding except to physicists and to everyone who has added their 2 cents.