Rinse And Spit

Here's an interesting bit of information that may surprise you if you taking part in the OSIM triathlon this weekend. Sure did surprise me. 2 different studies support this.

In the first study, runners were asked to run as hard as they can on a treadmill. Before one run, they rinsed their mouth with a sports drink of 6 % glucose but didn't swallow. Before their second run, they rinsed their mouth with an identical placebo drink with no calories and also didn't swallow the drink. Results? The runners ran faster and felt better when the rinsed their mouths with the sports drink.

In the second study, cyclists made made to do an all out 60mins time trial while a) consuming a placebo drink with no sugars or electrolytes, b) a common sports drink, c) rinsing their mouth with the sports drink but not swallowing any. Here's the funny result. The cyclists performed best while rinsing their mouths with the sports drink but not swallowing. Go figure.

So if you are feeling bloated on the bike or during the run and can't get any fluids down, just rinse and spit out your sports drink. You can still do well.

All the best to our patients taking part this weekend.

References

Rollo I, Williams C et al (2008). The Influence Of Carbohydrate Mouth Rinse On Self-selected Speeds During A 30-minute Treadmill Run. Int J Sp Nutr Ex Metab. 18(6): 585-600.

Potter A, Bouckert J et al (2008) Mouth Rinse of a Carbohydrate Solution Improves 1hour Cycle Time Trial Performance. Scandinavian J of Med and Science in Sports. Nov 3 Epub.

*Picture from Flickr.com