# Long-term health consequences of high-carb sports drinks/gels/bars? **URL:** \ **Category:** Nutrition\ **Created:** [January 6, 2020, 5:31am UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218 "2020-01-06T05:31:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Captain\_Doughnutman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/captain_doughnutman/32/7694_2.png) [@Captain\_Doughnutman](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/Captain_Doughnutman)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 7:20am UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218/64 "2020-01-11T07:20:43Z")
Like Chris McHorner back in the day. šŸ˜† ---
**Author:** ![Un-QuittingBikes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bb73d2/32.png) [@Un-QuittingBikes](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/Un-QuittingBikes)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 7:21am UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218/65 "2020-01-11T07:21:55Z")
> [@siegmeth](#): > > Also the amount of carbs that they eat would be a concern to me. Heā€™s on a High Volume plan burning just under 900 calories per hour. ---
**Author:** ![Nate\_Pearson](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/nate_pearson/32/117463_2.png) [@Nate\_Pearson](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/Nate_Pearson)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 9:19pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218/66 "2020-01-11T21:19:54Z")
Correct me if Iā€™m wrong, but the research says thereā€™s a connection between drinking sugary drinks and greater risk of type II diabetes. Itā€™s not type II diabetes and general carbs connection in research. In fact, some of the healthier diets on earth have a high carb intake through whole foods. The research is also pretty clear that carbs donā€™t make you fat when calorie matched and compared to a high fat and low carb diet. ---
**Author:** ![rocourteau](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/rocourteau/32/7746_2.png) [@rocourteau](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/rocourteau)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 9:23pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218/67 "2020-01-11T21:23:21Z")
Exactly. Refined sugars and whole grains donā€™t quite have the same effect on our body. ---
**Author:** ![TheBandit](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/thebandit/32/46399_2.png) [@TheBandit](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/TheBandit)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 10:23pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218/68 "2020-01-11T22:23:28Z")
Iā€™m still waiting on you guys to focus on metabolic efficiency. Increasing ones ability to burn a significant percentage of fat at higher wattage is very useful for long events. Itā€™s also useful for efficiently adjusting body composition. I imagine it would be of importance for your planned Ironman and Cape Epic events. Most importantly, itā€™s a different opinion, one that your podcast could greatly benefit from. Have a look at the latest research, itā€™s quite compelling. ---
**Author:** ![Nate\_Pearson](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/nate_pearson/32/117463_2.png) [@Nate\_Pearson](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/Nate_Pearson)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 10:28pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218/70 "2020-01-11T22:28:12Z")
Weā€™ve covered this before. Itā€™s in a few threads in here too. Basically if you have room to raise your FTP in either consistency, volume or intensity do that. If youā€™re pretty tapped out on any of those work on being able to preform at a higher level of fat burning at your aerobic wattages. You could try that earlier but donā€™t do that at the expense of consistency, volume or intensity. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Doughnutman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/captain_doughnutman/32/7694_2.png) [@Captain\_Doughnutman](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/Captain_Doughnutman)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 10:32pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218/71 "2020-01-11T22:32:27Z")
The guys at Empirical Cycling did a science-y breakdown, with touches on long distance efforts: > **[Watts Doc #10: Can Fat-Adaptive Diets Lead To Better Performance Through...](https://www.empiricalcycling.com/podcast-episodes/watts-doc-10-can-fat-adaptive-diets-lead-to-better-performance-through-glycogen-sparing)** > > Copyright Ā© 2019 And as Nate stated, thereā€™s already a ton of info posted on the TR forum. ---
**Author:** ![Alen](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/alen/32/4820_2.png) [@Alen](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/Alen)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 11:03pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218/73 "2020-01-11T23:03:57Z")
Not exactly sure what science are you looking for? There will never be a randomized study of such a long term to show a group with or without low carb has a higher morbidity or mortality. Canā€™t be done. But no need to look further than whatā€™s in front of you. Here is the top 10 causes of death and I will write down what leads to them in parentheses. - Heart disease (obesity, diabetes, smoking, stress, and crap food like McDonaldā€™s) - Cancer (bad luck, genetics, environmental chemicals) - Accidents (bad luck, bad decisions) - Chronic lower respiratory diseases (definitely not sugar) - Stroke (Hypertension, smoking, diabetes, stress) - Alzheimerā€™s disease (unknown, genetics) - Diabetes: (bad luck, obesity) - Influenza and pneumonia: (bad luck) - Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: (bad luck, genetics, diabetes, obesity) - Intentional self-harm (suicide): (environment, genetics) As you can see, a lot of other stuff to worry about than sugars. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Doughnutman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/captain_doughnutman/32/7694_2.png) [@Captain\_Doughnutman](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/Captain_Doughnutman)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 11:15pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218/74 "2020-01-11T23:15:34Z")
> [@Alen](#): > > Here is the top 10 causes of death #3 is actually ā€˜Accidental Hospital Deathsā€™. Always unreported and estimated to be as high as 440,000 deaths/yr. May have slight sugary overtones. I would also add ā€˜geneticsā€™ to the influences of the #1 killer. ---
**Author:** ![Alen](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/alen/32/4820_2.png) [@Alen](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/Alen)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 11:39pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218/75 "2020-01-11T23:39:08Z")
I took it as trauma but my point stands. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Doughnutman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/captain_doughnutman/32/7694_2.png) [@Captain\_Doughnutman](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/Captain_Doughnutman)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 11:46pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218/76 "2020-01-11T23:46:40Z")
Except that itā€™s most assuredly _not_ trauma. Imagine you go into a hospital to get your crit-induced broken collarbone fixed up and the anesthesiologist accidentally ODs you to death. Etc. But yes, many more things kill us\* than ā€˜high-carb sports drinks/gels/barsā€™. Probably even high intensity exercise kills us more than fast carbs. \*(Mosquitos should definitely be on the list!) ---
**Author:** ![dby2222](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/dby2222/32/12908_2.png) [@dby2222](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/dby2222)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 11:50pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218/77 "2020-01-11T23:50:19Z")
If you listen to the earlier podcasts, they cover it quite a bit. I think Chad even goes full keto for a little bit. ---
**Author:** ![ibaldwin](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/ibaldwin/32/44413_2.png) [@ibaldwin](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/ibaldwin)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 11:52pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218/78 "2020-01-11T23:52:05Z")
Iā€™ve got a pretty bad sweet tooth, Iā€™m sure itā€™s the 9pm brownie, not the 6am gel thatā€™s a concern ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Doughnutman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/captain_doughnutman/32/7694_2.png) [@Captain\_Doughnutman](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/Captain_Doughnutman)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 12:07am UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218/79 "2020-01-12T00:07:04Z")
The 9pm brownie isnā€™t the real concern, itā€™s that youā€™re not doing anything with it thatā€™s concerning. Not brownie shaming you or anything, but if you eat it, ya gotta use it! ---
**Author:** ![TheBandit](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/thebandit/32/46399_2.png) [@TheBandit](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/TheBandit)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 1:38am UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218/80 "2020-01-12T01:38:11Z")
I doubt thereā€™s anyone who can be certain to the exact long term health ramifications of massive sugar intake and endurance sport. There doesnā€™t appear to be a lot of solid science on the subject. Iā€™m interested in improving my performance without eating a ton of sugar and training a majority of high intensity. Iā€™m leaning towards diet periodization. So high carb when applicable, low carb or fasted for Z2 work etc. Basically, diet periodized to season of training, then drilled down to daily goals of session. I get that everybody wants to be faster. However, at what cost? Thereā€™s some interesting info in the linked podcast. Itā€™s been linked in other threads. Maybe, the indoor and time crunched aspect of modern training is causing many athletes to replace Z2 endurance with sweet spot. Meaning, we may be missing out on some long term health benefits. Iā€™m also personally convinced that time restricted feeding and extended fasting have numerous health benefits for many people. Iā€™ve also managed to incorporate both into my life, while training and steadily improving as a cyclist. Hearing that high carb, high intensity is the only option seems dated to me. Maybe, itā€™s the fastest way of getting fit. However, what if you could get just as fit taking five percent longer to do it, while doing less long term harm? Just some thoughts, I certainly donā€™t claim to know the answers. > **[ā€ŽThe Peter Attia Drive: IƱigo San MillĆ”n, Ph.D.: Mitochondria, exercise, and...](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/85-i%C3%B1igo-san-mill%C3%A1n-ph-d-mitochondria-exercise-metabolic/id1400828889?i=1000460538358)** > > ā€ŽShow The Peter Attia Drive, Ep IƱigo San MillĆ”n, Ph.D.: Mitochondria, exercise, and metabolic health - Dec 23, 2019 ---
**Author:** ![siegmeth](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/siegmeth/32/12890_2.png) [@siegmeth](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/siegmeth)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 7:06am UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218/81 "2020-01-12T07:06:40Z")
I agree. However eating plain rice will spike you blood sugar as much as a sugary drink. Also what is the definition of Whole Foods. This is a term thrown around all the time. Is it anything that is not processed? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Doughnutman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/captain_doughnutman/32/7694_2.png) [@Captain\_Doughnutman](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/Captain_Doughnutman)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 7:22am UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218/82 "2020-01-12T07:22:50Z")
> [@siegmeth](#): > > what is the definition of Whole Foods Wiki says: > Whole foods are plant foods that are unprocessed and unrefined, or processed and refined as little as possible, before being consumed. And Iā€™d love someone to link some science to how much white rice differs from sugary drinks. I just donā€™t have the patience right now. ---
**Author:** ![DaveWh](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/davewh/32/13120_2.png) [@DaveWh](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/DaveWh)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 3:11pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218/83 "2020-01-12T15:11:47Z")
From a health/longevity perspective, there are pluses and minuses to pretty much everything you can do in life. Looking at all-cause mortality in different groups is a good way to account for all these various factors. Hereā€™s a meta study on elite athletes: ā€œIt appears that elite endurance (aerobic) athletes and mixed-sports (aerobic and anaerobic) athletes survive longer than the general population, as indicated by lower mortality and higher longevity.ā€ > **[Mortality and longevity of elite athletes - PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19574095/)** > > The health benefits of leisure-time physical activity are well known, however the effects of engaging in competitive sports on health are uncertain. This literature review examines mortality and longevity of elite athletes and attempts to understand... ---
**Author:** ![ibaldwin](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/ibaldwin/32/44413_2.png) [@ibaldwin](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/ibaldwin)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 3:36pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218/84 "2020-01-12T15:36:49Z")
> [@TheBandit](#): > > Hearing that high carb, high intensity is the only option seems dated to me. Maybe, itā€™s the fastest way of getting fit. However, what if you could get just as fit taking five percent longer to do it, while doing less long term harm? I didnā€™t derive the same conclusion from listening to the podcast, (assuming youā€™re talking about the podcast). Also, the basis of this discussion is assuming that timing high carb, sugar before and during high intensity work actually is damaging - from what I can see we donā€™t know this. I think itā€™s good to be concerned about what you consume, and I would keep an open mind about these concerns if there was research that shows some clear health risks. Iā€™ve tried fasted riding for tough workouts, I feel like crap and sometimes bonk. Admittedly Iā€™ve never even approached fat adaption, and the only thing that Iā€™ve come close to this is intermittent fasting. For those AM z2 rides, no I donā€™t require fuel. And I often skip an early breakfast. Is this healthier? I have no idea. Generally I let my appetite or lack there of drive that decision. To step back a little the thing I can agree with is that as a very active person I too often give myself a pass to eat less than ideal fuel. I could stand to eat less processed food. Like my quick drive by brownie comment above, I think our focus should be how we eat while off the bike. I could eat less easy processed foods and reduce the late night cravings: hm, maybe skipping that early breakfast has its drawbacks? ---
**Author:** ![dakh](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/dakh/32/7746_2.png) [@dakh](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/dakh)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 1:16am UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218/85 "2020-01-13T01:16:36Z")
> [@Alen](#): > > Here is the top 10 causes of death and I will write down what leads to them in parentheses. Just a nit: most of that list are not of causes of what did people in, those are just the things that were the last, grossest failure in peopleā€™s system that they didnā€™t survive. Causes, we donā€™t know. Certain populations and/or some lifestyles in specific parts of the world experience extremely low levels of most of these health problems (blue zones). For sure none of them are consuming sports drinks or gels, or much of any simple carbs. But they donā€™t eat much meat, or use Roundup to grow their crops either. We might not have a deep enough understanding of these issues but that doesnā€™t mean simple carb connection doesnā€™t exist, so you canā€™t make an argument one way or another using this. [Previous page](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218.md?page=3) [Next page](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/long-term-health-consequences-of-high-carb-sports-drinks-gels-bars/27218.md?page=5)