Issue 101
May 2013
Jason Cholewa Ph.D., CSCS earned his doctorate in exercise physiology in 2012. He’ll tell you how best to eat your way to that fight physique. This month, he explains why carbs might be killing your fight camp.
While an MMA fight may only last 15 or 25 minutes, or even less, the training and conditioning required to compete requires a
commitment of at least 15 to 20 hours per week. It involves high-intensity exercise and high lactic acid production. Thus, MMA heavily relies upon the metabolism of carbohydrates to provide energy for high-intensity anaerobic work.
For example, a 200lb fighter training three hours per day and five days a week would need to consume at least 5,000kcal consisting of 500–700g of carbs per day to maintain performance.
Most nutritionists would say the best carb sources are starches from whole grains such as wheat, but over the past four decades wheat has been genetically modified. While these variants have improved production, they
also altered wheat protein such that gluten and gliadin (a major wheat allergen) have increased dramatically.
WHEAT SECRETS
The debilitating effects of consuming wheat in individuals with celiac disease (a digestive condition triggered by gluten) include malabsorption, inflammation, intestinal damage, anemia, nervous system damage, infertility and fatigue.
But gluten may also affect non-celiac individuals. A recent study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology had subjects consume gluten free (GF) diets for six weeks and then spiked one of the group’s food with gluten. Compared to those that remained GF, the gluten-spiked group experienced increases in pain, bloating, digestive disturbances and, most noticeably, fatigue.
In gluten-sensitive non-celiac patients, the consumption of wheat causes the release of antigliadin antibodies. Because gluten increases intestinal barrier permeability, large pro-inflammatory proteins leak from the intestines, activate immune cells and cause inflammation within the gut region.
INFLAMMATION ELEMENTS
This low-grade chronic inflammation interacts with the vagal nerve (a major physiological depressor), disrupts the body’s ability to auto regulate and ultimately results in the symptoms of chronic fatigue. And, gluten may also influence a fighter’s ability to get lean.
A study published in The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry investigated the effects of a high-calorie diet with or without gluten consumption in mice.
Gluten increased fat mass and fat distribution, and was accompanied by alterations in hormone concentrations and enzymatic functions. In particular, gluten elevated adipose tissue inflammation leading to increased resistin and reduced adiponectin concentrations.
Given that these two hormones play a major role in the ability to take up glucose and metabolize fat, excluding gluten from a high-carbohydrate diet may improve glucose uptake and energy production.
Gluten also decreased the expression of the PPAR gene, which increases fat uptake and metabolism, especially in skeletal muscle, cardiac, and liver tissue. Perhaps most relevant to body composition were reductions in lipolytic (fat metabolism) and increases in lipogenic (fat-storing) enzyme activity with gluten consumption.
Taken collectively, these results suggest that gluten exclusion may have a positive effect on nutrient partitioning by increasing the ability to utilize fats and carbs for fuel and reducing their storage in fat cells, thus improving body shape.
GLUTEN SENSITIVE?
What is the most practical way to determine gluten sensitivity? Cease the consumption of gluten for six weeks.
Note your symptoms of fatigue, bloating, gastrointestinal distress, and pain, then add gluten back into the diet for a few weeks and observe how you react. If symptoms of fatigue, bloating, and GI distress increase, then exclude gluten.
Given that gluten consumption may increase inflammation in otherwise-healthy individuals, and that its exclusion appears to have a pro-nutrient partitioning effect, I tend to suggest avoiding excessive gluten consumption.
While an excellent source of GF carbohydrate, potatoes are not always an option. With that in mind, Infinite Labs designed Infinite Mass, an easy-to-consume GF product that provides the same high-quality protein and carbohydrates as a large serving of chicken breast and two medium potatoes.
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