Fine Oats are a low Glycaemic Index (GI) carbohydrate that are considered ideal for providing a slow sustained release of energy for an athletes. Widely praised for being so versatile, they can be used to supplement any training routine whether strength based or endurance based.
Fine Oats For Endurance Athletes
Carbohydrates are of course the primary form of energy for any athlete but are particularly important for endurance athletes such as long distance runners, swimmers and cyclists because they must ‘carb load’ days before a big race to help their performance. ‘Carb loading’ is basically where athletes will consume a higher amount of carbohydrates 2-4 days before an event to ensure their muscle glycogen levels are completely full and therefore they have the maximum amount of ‘fuel’ to complete the race. Obviously athletes can meet this elevated need for carbohydrates through whole foods like pasta and rice, however many use fine oats to ensure they get the quality carbohydrates they need. To give you an idea of the amount of carbohydrates you need during a ‘carb load’, generally speaking, you need around 5-7g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight or 60 per cent of your daily calorie intake from carbohydrates. This usually works out at around 1,500kcal from carbohydrate per day for most women and 1,800kcal for men. But as stated in ‘The Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition;’ during the carb-loading period, aim to up your carbohydrate intake to 8-10g per kilogram of body weight (A. Bean et al, 2003.) For a 75kg runner, that works out at between 600g and 750g per day.
Fine Oats For Strength Athletes
Strength athletes and bodybuilders are required to eat a lot of carbohydrates to fuel their gruelling training regimes and equally consume a lot post workout to replenish the muscle glycogen stores that are depleted during a workout. Now whilst it is possible to consume the necessary carbohydrates you need from food sources alone, fine oats are easily added to protein shakes or consumed on their own, plus they are relatively cheap, which is why they are the preferred fuel source for many strength athletes. Also because of how fine and versatile they are many sports nutritionists use them in various recipes such as nutritious homemade bars or cakes.
Fine Oats For Fat Loss
Lastly because fine oats have such a low glycaemic index they have very little effect on blood sugar levels and therefore insulin levels. This means they are an ideal source of carbohydrates for those looking to lower their body fat because whilst they keep you slowly energized throughout the day, they don’t release a lot of the hormone insulin which studies have shown having too much in the body can cause you to store fat and prevent the burning of fat.
References:
- John P. Kirwan, Donal O’Gorman, and William J. Evans ‘A moderate glycemic meal before endurance exercise can enhance performance’ Journal of Applied Physiology January 1, 1998 vol. 84 no. 1 53-59
- Jessica L. Andrews, Darlene A. Sedlock, Michael G. Flynn, James W. Navalta, and Hongguang Ji (2003)‘Carbohydrate loading and supplementation in endurance-trained women runners’ Journal of Applied Physiology August 1, 2003 vol. 95 no. 2 584-590
- Chao Xu, Junli Lv, Y. Martin Lo, Steve W. Cui, Mingtao Fan, Xinzhong Hu (2012) ‘Effects of oat v-glucan on endurance exercise and its anti-fatigue properties in trained rats’ Carbohydrate Polymers, Available online 16 October 2012
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