Consuming potato can be beneficial for athletics

Washington: Consuming potato puree instead of commercial carbohydrate gel gives the same result to athletes for sustaining blood glucose levels during long workout sessions, claims a study.

"Research has shown that ingesting concentrated carbohydrate gels during prolonged exercise promotes carbohydrate availability during exercise and improves exercise performance," said University of Illinois kinesiology and community health professor Nicholas Burd, who led the research.

"Our study's aim was to expand and diversify race-fuelling options for athletes and offset flavour fatigue. Potatoes are a promising alternative for athletes because they represent a cost-effective, nutrient-dense and whole-food source of carbohydrates," continued Burd.

"Furthermore, they serve as a savoury race fuel option when compared (with) the high sweetness of (carbohydrate) gels," added Burd in the study published in the journal of Applied Physiology.

The scientists recruited 12 participants who were healthy and devoted to their sport, averaging 165 miles (267 kilometres) per week on their bicycles. All had been training for years. To qualify for the trials, the cyclists had to reach a specific threshold for aerobic fitness and complete a 120-minute cycling challenge followed by a time trial.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions during the experiments: They would consume either water alone, a commercially available carbohydrate gel or an equivalent amount of carbohydrates obtained from potatoes.

The researchers standardised what the 12 cyclists ate for 24 hours before repeating the 120-minute cycling challenge and time trial, which was designed to mirror typical race conditions. Throughout the exercise, the team measured participants' blood glucose, core body temperature, exercise intensity, gastric emptying, and gastrointestinal symptoms.

The researchers also measured concentrations of lactate, a metabolic marker of intense exercise, in participants' blood.

"We found no differences between the performance of cyclists who got their carbohydrates by ingesting potatoes or gels at recommended amounts of about 60 grams per hour during the experiments," Burd said. "Both groups saw a significant boost in performance that those consuming only water did not achieve," added Burd.

Plasma glucose concentrations went up by a similar amount in those consuming potatoes and gels. Their heart rates increased by a similar amount over the water-only cyclists and they were speedier on the time trial.

Those consuming potatoes experienced significantly more gastrointestinal bloating, pain and flatulence than the other groups, however. This may be a result of the larger volume of potatoes needed to match the glucose provided by the gels, Burd said.