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80. How to Optimize Your Gut Health as an Athlete · Eat More Carbs | A Period Recovery Podcast

0:00
There's definitely one of the number one complaints that I
0:02
hear from clients is, you know, it's such a big barrier for them
0:05
to get out the door in the morning to go for their run or
0:08
in their sport, or that they just have to be super careful
0:11
with their diet or they're eating a certain way because
0:14
digestive issues are usually a complaint that you hear from so
0:18
many athletes. Hello and welcome to the Eat
0:25
More Carbs podcast. My name is Jenna Fischer and I'm
0:27
here with my Co host Riley Beatty.
0:28
If you are loving the E More Carbs Podcast, make sure to give
0:32
us a five star rating and review so other athletes can find us
0:35
and follow along to get easy and simple sports nutrition tips.
0:38
Today we are sharing our episode with Erin Kenny.
0:41
She's a dietitian, former athlete, and she specializes in
0:44
gut health. Before we get into the podcast
0:45
though, Riley, what's your high and low?
0:46
My low. This week is kind of a silly
0:49
one, but this is something that you and I have talked about
0:51
offline numerous times and I you're gonna resonate with it.
0:55
I was at Costco. I do a lot of my shopping at
0:57
Costco. There's just so many great
0:59
things that you can buy in bulk. And I was really excited because
1:02
I usually eat Greek yogurt. That's like one of the foods I
1:05
eat like on a consistent basis. And I usually eat that every
1:07
single morning. I was so excited because they
1:10
finally had like a Kirkland or a store brand Greek yogurt that's
1:13
available. I usually eat 2% Greek yogurt,
1:16
full fat Greek yogurt because when I was struggling with my
1:21
nutrition, one of the things that I always ate was non fat
1:24
Greek yogurt. I was so excited.
1:26
Saw a Greek yogurt at Costco and I was like, yeah, like now I can
1:29
buy it in bulk because we go through so much of it between
1:31
like Charlie and myself. And I did not read the label.
1:34
I did not pay any attention, even though I'm a dietitian and
1:37
I should. And I got this ginormous
1:39
container of yogurt. I was pouring it out one
1:41
morning. I was making my little yogurt
1:42
bowl and I literally spit it like all over the counter
1:45
because it was 0% fat. And I was so upset.
1:50
And I know that you and I have talked about this and I know
1:52
that you can resonate because for some reason that 0% yogurt,
1:56
it just, it hits me in my soul a little bit and I just am so
1:59
upset. Basically sour cream.
2:00
Yes. Also, I just have to pause.
2:02
I was a little bit rushed this morning.
2:04
I just realized my shirt is on backwards.
2:09
And that might be my. High.
2:13
I didn't notice that is officially my high now.
2:16
It is my high that your shirt is on backwards during this
2:19
recording. Oh my goodness.
2:21
OK, well, I'm just going to manoeuvre this around.
2:24
If that's your high, that can totally be your high.
2:26
I had another high but that is definitely my high.
2:29
That is so funny. All right.
2:32
Well, she's right side now, so we're good.
2:35
That is great. OK, we're that's my high.
2:38
OK, I was like trying to like, not laugh while you were talking
2:41
about your Greek yogurt because I just like looked at my picture
2:44
and I was like, my shirt is off. Hurts, I didn't even notice.
2:47
It's a Friday morning, so things are just off to a wild start.
2:50
What's your high and what's your love?
2:51
Mine is kind of the same story yet again.
2:53
I went and I got my hair cut the other day and the gal that cuts
2:56
my hair here is phenomenal. She does such a good job.
2:59
She's so meticulous. She's so gentle like when she
3:01
like brushes my hair and everything like she is so good.
3:04
If you're in the Scottsdale area DM me because I will send you
3:06
her contact information. She is the best hands down.
3:09
But anyway, she's quite a bit younger than me.
3:11
I know that that's OK, but she's really chatty.
3:14
You know, we're chit chatting now.
3:15
She's cutting my hair. And the salon that I go to likes
3:18
to play a lot of like, R&B, kind of some throwbacks.
3:20
I think the salon owner might be closer in age to me just based
3:24
on the type of music that's being played.
3:26
And all of a sudden, this like, older Drake song comes on and
3:29
the gal doing my hair is just like, Oh my gosh, I love older
3:32
Drake. Did you see?
3:33
He just put out this new thing on YouTube?
3:35
And I was like, no, but my husband likes Drake a lot and he
3:38
loves YouTube, so I should probably tell him about it.
3:40
And she's like, yeah, it's so cool because there are old
3:42
videos of, like, Drake and Rihanna.
3:44
And I was like, oh, yeah. And she was just like, yeah, I
3:46
really wish we had lived to enjoy that era.
3:49
And as I sat there, I realized that one, she mistakenly thinks
3:55
that I am closer in age to her than I actually am.
3:57
So that's my high. My low is that I realized that
4:00
in 2009, when Drake and Rihanna were together, I was in high
4:03
school and this girl was a toddler, so.
4:05
And I did not have the heart to tell her to be like, Oh, yeah, I
4:08
was listening to this when I was like, learning to drive.
4:10
So that's my low. I have a client right now, I'm
4:14
working with her and her mom and she was born in 2014 when I
4:18
graduated. And on that note, we hope you
4:22
enjoy this episode with Erin Kenny.
4:23
As always, if you have questions for Riley and I, please find us
4:26
on Instagram. Erin, welcome to the podcast.
4:28
Thanks for having me, Jenna and Riley.
4:30
It's so great to be. Here, we're so excited to talk
4:33
with you today. Thank you again for being here.
4:35
Before we jump into some of the questions about gut health, can
4:38
you share a little bit about your background and your journey
4:39
to becoming a dietitian? Yeah, so a lot of my journey to
4:43
becoming a dietitian was very selfish.
4:45
And I think I hear this from a lot of other dietitians is
4:47
oftentimes they'll go through their own health journeys and
4:51
kind of gain some inspiration to maybe better their own health or
4:55
help other people through that journey.
4:56
And mine is very similar. So I had horrible digestive
4:59
issues from day one, kind of skipping all the details in
5:03
between that for the sake of time.
5:05
I was also an athlete growing up, really enjoyed sports,
5:08
struggled with my relationship with food at one point,
5:12
struggled with mental health, all of the things and really was
5:16
kind of thrown into the conventional medicine route of,
5:19
OK, you're missing your period, here's some birth control, you
5:22
have acid reflux, here's acid reducing medication.
5:25
And I eventually got to a point where it was just, it was just
5:28
not getting better. Things were not getting better
5:30
for me. And I was taking all these
5:32
medications and I felt like I was not getting the true help
5:35
that I needed to uncover the root cause of the different
5:39
symptoms that I was having. And so I got to college and I
5:42
thought, you know, I don't really know what I want to do.
5:44
I really like sports. And so I just picked nutrition
5:48
as the route to go and selfishly wanted to learn how to take care
5:51
of my own body, how to take care of my mental health, my gut
5:54
health. And for the first time in my
5:55
life, I learned that a holistic approach was really the best way
6:00
for my personal self to get better.
6:02
And after experiencing that journey, I was just kind of like
6:06
lit up of wow, like other people are struggling with these same
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things. You know, I didn't get the help
6:12
that I needed and people need to know this information.
6:15
And the power of nutrition was so powerful in my own journey.
6:19
It played such an integral role into my healing, not only
6:22
mentally but physically. And that's kind of what brought
6:25
me here today. I think we hear so often
6:28
athletes talk about gut health being a concern for them.
6:31
Is that something that you see a lot of?
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Is both that sports side of things being that is part of
6:36
your background and also work very closely with like gut
6:38
health? Yeah, absolutely.
6:39
The majority of the athletes that I work with, mostly
6:43
endurance athletes here in the Boston area, there's definitely
6:46
one of the number one complaints that I hear from clients is, you
6:49
know, it's such a big barrier for them to get out the door in
6:52
the morning to go for their run or in their sport, or that they
6:55
just have to be super careful with their diet or they're
6:58
eating a certain way. Because digestive issues are
7:01
usually a complaint that you hear from so many athletes.
7:05
It makes me so sad because you know, as you both know, fueling
7:09
is so important and when you have digestive issues can be
7:12
such a struggle to know how to properly fuel, know when to
7:15
properly fuel, or even understand that some of the
7:18
symptoms that you're experiencing, there's root
7:20
causes that are underlying that can be addressed nutritionally
7:24
to make you feel better and then therefore perform better in
7:26
sport because the gut is connected to everything, right?
7:29
It's going to impact your mood, your motivation to perform in
7:32
that sport. It's going to impact your immune
7:34
function, your ability to recover faster.
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So we all should care about it and prioritize it.
7:39
But I think so many people with gut health, they're just like,
7:41
oh, I've been living this way for so many years.
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This is just how I am. It's something that we should
7:45
not just sit back and up to accept.
7:47
Before I ask you a million questions about gut health for
7:49
athletes, I feel like gut health is kind of like a catch all term
7:52
right now. I feel like there's a lot of
7:54
people saying that on the Internet.
7:56
So do you mind like maybe defining that for us?
7:58
Yeah, absolutely. I think it's really helpful to
8:01
understand what we mean by gut health because I will say that I
8:05
feel like the Wellness industry and that could be an air
8:07
quotations Wellness industry, right?
8:09
You know, a lot of people talk about gut health in the sense of
8:12
maybe like bloating or aesthetics in terms of how their
8:15
belly looks or even it somehow turns into weight loss and diet
8:19
culture. But when we talk about the gut
8:21
microbiome or the gut microbiota here in this setting, we're
8:24
really talking about the gut microbiota, which is the
8:27
collection of microorganisms, which includes bacteria,
8:30
Archaea, fungi, viruses that are in the gut.
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And when we talk about gut, we're not talking about the
8:36
stomach. We can include the stomach when
8:38
we're talking about gut health, but when we're talking about the
8:40
gut, we're really referring to the lower part of the intestine,
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so the small and the large intestine, which is really where
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the majority of bacteria, Archaea, fungi reside in our
8:50
digestive tract. And then the gut microbiome,
8:53
different from the gut microbiota, is the collection of
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genetic information within the microbiota that provides
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information about which microorganisms are present as
9:03
well as the functional capacity of this ecosystem, which I like
9:06
to describe similar to like a forest.
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When we think of the gut, it's, you know, we've got different
9:11
species in there that are maybe positive and maybe that are not
9:13
so positive, but they kind of exist in this realm similar to a
9:17
forest that people can think of, which might be helpful in the
9:20
context as we continue to talk about it.
9:22
You mentioned already that a lot of athletes will say to you,
9:25
this is just how I am. For someone listening to the
9:28
podcast that might be experiencing some type of gut
9:31
dysfunction, what would be some things that fall into that
9:34
category is like maybe what we would think of as like not
9:36
normal gut function? Yeah.
9:38
So definitely starting with the frequency at which they're going
9:42
to the bathroom, which could be most people should be at least
9:46
eliminating once a day. So if individuals are going
9:49
multiple days without having a bowel movement, if they're
9:52
actually going quite frequently, so multiple times a day and the
9:56
consistency is maybe looser. We want a nice firm stool.
10:00
We want a firm stool, we want it to be painless.
10:02
We don't want it to be accompanied by lots of gas or
10:05
discomfort. So those are some things to keep
10:07
in mind. It bloating, excessive bloating,
10:10
you know, when we talk about gas and as you're already probably
10:14
realizing, there's no such thing as TMI with gut health and we
10:16
have to talk about these things with the aspect of gas.
10:20
You know, I talked to clients and if they're saying, you know,
10:22
having gas is normal, it's part of healthy digestion.
10:25
But if you're having gas that's clearing a room regularly,
10:28
that's a sign that something's probably off.
10:30
And then outside of those, you know, aspects of just the
10:33
frequency, the consistency, the symptoms that accompany it,
10:37
There are also signs of gut dysfunction, which might be, you
10:40
know, food sensitivities that you're finding that, oh, all of
10:43
a sudden I can't eat oatmeal or I can't eat broccoli.
10:46
These newfound food aversions that might come up could be a
10:50
sign that something has gone wrong in the gut.
10:52
And then it also shows up as skin issues, you know, brain
10:56
fog, which that can mean many different things.
10:58
So it's kind of a little bit more nuanced, but there are
11:02
other symptoms that can indicate gut imbalances other than just
11:05
your your kind of day-to-day bloating, Constipation, diarrhea
11:08
type stuff. What role does nutrition play in
11:11
helping manage that? A large, a very large, I love
11:15
the name of your podcast, by the way.
11:17
I think it's, it's very fitting, especially for this kind of
11:20
opening of the answer to this question.
11:22
And the number one thing that that nutrition will play a role
11:26
in and the number one thing that comes up in my practice is just
11:31
getting enough energy in order to support fueling.
11:34
As you both know you talk about this in the context all the time
11:37
of fueling for optimal energy and hormone balance really often
11:41
forget that our gut is one of those organs that needs energy
11:45
and it needs energy for repair just like your biceps, just like
11:49
your calf muscles need. And if you are not eating enough
11:53
calories, if you're under fueling, whether it's
11:55
carbohydrates, proteins, fats, then your gut is going to take a
12:00
hit. It's not going to function
12:02
optimally. It's not going to receive oxygen
12:05
and blood flow and repair that it needs our gut turnovers every
12:09
like three to five days. So if you're not eating enough
12:12
as an you're shortchanging your gut health just simply that way.
12:16
So that's kind of high level. When we get into more of the
12:19
nuances of nutrition, you know, we can talk about zinc.
12:21
Zinc is an essential nutrient that's important for the gut
12:24
lining. Protein is essential for the gut
12:27
lining as well. Maintaining that nice healthy
12:30
integrity to keep things in the gut that should stay in the gut
12:33
to prevent what we call leaky gut.
12:35
Fiber rich foods, So things like fruits and vegetables and whole
12:39
grains, those all help to fuel the back bacteria that live in
12:44
the gut. Those are typically what we call
12:46
prebiotics. So prebiotics are the fiber rich
12:49
foods found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains that
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help to keep those bacteria alive.
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And those bacteria are what are controlling our immune system,
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supporting our mood, reducing inflammation.
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Fiber, polyphenol rich foods, So lots of color, things like
13:02
fruits, especially berries, those helped us to reduce
13:05
inflammation in the gut. Things like magnesium,
13:08
electrolytes, they all impact the motility.
13:12
Motility is just, we're talking about the movement of the
13:15
intestines. So whether things are moving too
13:17
slow or too fast, you know, if you're not getting enough
13:19
potassium or sodium, which is particularly important as
13:23
athletes, right, we have higher needs for those types of things,
13:26
then that can impact the motility.
13:28
It can impact the way that our stomach acid is functioning.
13:32
So those are just a few, I mean, I could go, I could go on and on
13:35
and on. Fermented foods, right?
13:37
So those are going to be the probiotics.
13:39
So we talked about the prebiotics with the fiber rich
13:41
foods, the probiotics, rich foods.
13:43
So things like fermented foods, we're talking kimchi,
13:46
sauerkraut, yogurt contains probiotics.
13:49
These foods help to kind of replenish those beneficial
13:52
bacteria, which plays a large role in optimizing our digestive
13:56
health. When it comes to some of those
13:58
foods that you just mentioned, as far as like your fermented
14:00
foods, your pre and your probiotics, we see a lot of like
14:03
marketed things that are pill or capsule form of pre and
14:06
probiotics. So how do you help athletes
14:08
integrate some of those foods from a whole food source into
14:11
like their complicated schedules already as athletes?
14:15
Yep, I think the easiest ones that tend to be well tolerated
14:19
by clients are the dairy product, fermented foods.
14:22
So things like the yogurt kefir, you know, simply having yogurt
14:26
with granola for a snack or making a smoothie with kefir.
14:29
In terms of the ferments, such as things like, you know, if you
14:33
did fermented beets or carrots, even the Pickles, they have
14:37
fermented Pickles. Sometimes I just tell clients,
14:39
you know, take a spoonful of it at the end of the day, you know,
14:41
right before dinner, treat it like a supplement, but it's a
14:44
whole food cheaper alternative. Just take a spoonful of it.
14:47
That's what my husband and I do. Or you could put it on a Taco or
14:50
you could put it on a burger. Those are just a few options.
14:53
Some of the probiotic rich foods that are fermented, they're
14:57
often heated in traditional cooking.
14:59
So that's something to keep an eye on if you're looking to
15:01
incorporate fermented foods. When you heat those foods, you
15:04
do kill off a lot of those beneficial bacteria.
15:07
So those would be things like miso that are typically added to
15:10
a soup or tempeh that we typically would cook those
15:13
you're not going to get the same benefits as something like a
15:16
kefir that's hopefully not heated in that smoothie.
15:19
And so the the dairy products tend to be the easiest ones or I
15:23
would say a lot of people will kind of take my recommendation
15:25
on the, you know, taking a spoonful of the, you know,
15:28
sauerkraut or kimchi or fermented vegetable types.
15:32
There's so much that gut health kind of impacts, but one of the
15:35
things that we're talking a lot with athletes about is
15:37
hydration, and hydration can potentially impact the gut
15:40
movement and things like that. Can you talk about that really
15:42
ship, especially from an athletic standpoint where
15:44
hydration needs might be higher than the general population?
15:47
Absolutely. Yeah, hydration is absolutely
15:49
vital for maintaining gut health.
15:51
I tell clients this all the time because even non athletes,
15:54
right, I feel like everyone struggles with hydration or at
15:58
least has a hard time with consistency.
16:00
And hydration is so important for ensuring that our digestive
16:04
system functions properly. It helps to absorb nutrients in
16:07
the gut. So if you're dehydrated, right,
16:09
you're not going to absorb the nutrients from the foods that
16:11
you're eating as well. It basically is going to
16:14
lubricate the tissue in the digestive tract, which is very
16:18
important for supporting inflammation, keeping those
16:20
beneficial bacteria alive, right?
16:22
Because that's their environment and they need it to be one that
16:24
is hydrated environment. It can cause Constipation,
16:27
right? If you struggle with
16:28
Constipation, you know it's uncomfortable, it can lead to
16:31
worse bloating. And then, you know, as an
16:32
athlete, if you're trying to perform in sport and you're
16:35
constipated, it's not a good feeling, right?
16:37
You're going to feel more sluggish and tired.
16:40
It's also going to impact your electrolyte.
16:42
So I mentioned how electrolytes play a vital role in motility,
16:47
also in nutrient absorption and stomach acid.
16:50
And so if you're not drinking enough, which typically means
16:53
you're probably not getting those electrolytes because
16:55
typically with as athletes, you know, a lot of us will be adding
16:59
in electrolytes into our routine.
17:01
Then you know, we're going to, we're going to shortchange a lot
17:03
of those just daily functions that happen for digestion.
17:06
So you're more likely to experience Constipation, more
17:09
likely to experience diarrhea, issues with utility or
17:13
peristalsis, again, that movement of digestion.
17:15
So things just aren't going to move the way that they should.
17:18
It tends to be the number one goal that I work with when I
17:21
work with clients of like that is foundational to everything
17:24
that you're doing, including gut health as an athlete.
17:27
I think that there are so many things that any athlete
17:30
listening to this could take away as far as wanting to
17:32
implement some things. But what would be some of your
17:34
top tips for an athlete to take and implement right away as far
17:37
as a starting point to work towards that normal functioning
17:40
gut, that overall gut health? I think #1 would be make sure
17:42
you're eating enough, make sure that you're properly fueling.
17:45
Like I said, one of the number one things that I see athletes
17:48
doing is under fueling and having digestive issues as a
17:52
result of that. So #1 work with a dietitian.
17:55
You know, you've got wonderful dietitians already here that can
17:58
support you. That's number one.
18:00
You need to be getting enough fuel #2 I would say diversity is
18:03
so key. A lot of the times with my
18:05
endurance athletes, it's like oatmeal, peanut butter, banana.
18:08
You know, they're eating the same thing for breakfast every
18:10
day. And then lunch is, you know,
18:12
like a with Turkey and and Cape Cod chips.
18:15
And so we need, we need more color, we need more diversity.
18:18
We need, you know, fermented foods and prebiotic rich foods.
18:21
We need color in our diets because that's really what we
18:24
know from the research is going to support optimal health is
18:28
diversity. And so if we're eating diversity
18:31
in our diet, then that's going to transfer into diversity in
18:35
the bacteria that live in our gut, not to mention the bacteria
18:39
thrive off of that fiber. And keeping those bacteria live
18:43
helps to keep that gut lining nice and strong, which prevents
18:46
that what we call leaky gut. So properly fueling, getting
18:50
enough total energy, including your macro nutrients, right?
18:54
Your proteins, your fats, your carbs #2 diversity, color.
18:58
And then #3 I would say, you know, nervous system is a huge
19:02
part of digestive issues that I see in my practice.
19:05
And what I mean by this is the way that you're eating or your
19:08
relationship with food. We live in a busy world, right?
19:12
Destroys attracted world, a busy world, a stressful world.
19:15
And stress has a big impact on our gut health.
19:18
You know, when we're stressed, our bodies go into that fight or
19:20
flight mode. Our bodies don't really know the
19:22
difference between being chased by a tiger and you know, we saw
19:26
something on social media that triggered us.
19:27
And so when you are eating, your body really wants to be in that
19:31
rest and digest mode for optimal absorption, for optimal
19:35
motility, even the the way you react to that food, right?
19:38
You can actually create a response to a food just because
19:41
of the state of your nervous system, because you're stressed,
19:44
because you're anxious or distracted, you're rushing.
19:47
So slow down when you eat, chew your food to applesauce
19:50
consistency. Really try to be present with
19:52
food, because the way that you eat is also just as important as
19:56
what you eat. I'm so glad you brought up like
19:58
that brain and gut connection. I think that there's a lot out
20:01
there that talks about that, but can you talk specifically about
20:04
how that like actually? Works.
20:06
There's two main mechanisms as to how we talk about the gut
20:09
brain connection. So the first one is a physical
20:12
connection and that is the physical connection of our brain
20:15
to our gut via the vagus nerve. And the vagus nerve is one of
20:19
the largest nerves, cranial nerves in our body.
20:22
It innervates almost every organ in our body.
20:24
So you can kind of think of it like starting at the brain.
20:27
And then it's got these little finger like projections that
20:29
touch all of our organs, including our digestive system.
20:32
So I like to talk about it in terms of a walkie-talkie.
20:34
If your brain is feeling a certain way, if you're feeling
20:37
anxious up here, it's going to send that walkie-talkie signal
20:40
down to your gut and say, oh, we're, we're, we're irritated.
20:43
And that can cause inflammation that can create movement, not in
20:47
a good way, like diarrhea or even Constipation.
20:50
So there's this physical connection that we have lots of
20:53
research to support any imbalance related to this vagal
20:57
nerve dysfunction is what we call it.
20:59
The second connection is not a physical connection per SE, but
21:04
a connection via certain hormones and neurotransmitters.
21:08
So there are neurotransmitters, right, that are produced in the
21:10
body, things like serotonin and dope mean, and when these are
21:13
produced in the body, they have a direct impact on our gut
21:16
health. In fact, there's a great amount
21:19
of research linking, you know, symptoms like IBS to low
21:22
serotonin or serotonin dysfunction in certain
21:25
individuals. And so it's important to keep in
21:27
mind that we have that hormonal aspect as well that is also
21:31
going to connect our gut in our brain because those hormones
21:34
have an effect on both of these major organs.
21:37
A lot of times with athletes they get really nervous before
21:40
like a game, a race or something like that.
21:42
Is this the same system or pathway that might cause like
21:45
that feeling of needing to use the restroom before an event?
21:48
Like that nervous stomach that some people might experience.
21:51
Yes, absolutely. And this was 100% me when I was
21:54
younger. I remember I would always skip
21:56
eating before my soccer games because I was always just so
22:00
anxious. I couldn't fathom the idea of
22:02
stomaching something. And now I know better and the
22:04
importance of feeling before. But yeah, of course that that
22:08
stress that you experience before any sort of endurance
22:12
event or anything at all can signal, you know, when you have
22:15
epinephrine and adrenaline that are going through the body,
22:18
those are going to also have an impact on our gut health and
22:21
like you said, can cause us to have, you know, things like
22:24
diarrhea. Occur are there certain foods or
22:26
food groups that you recommend for like that almost nervous
22:29
stomach that people get or is it kind of working through?
22:32
Oh my gosh, Riley and I joke about this all the time that
22:33
this podcast should be called. It depends because it depends
22:36
from person to person. But is there something specific
22:39
or does it depend from athlete to athlete?
22:41
Yeah, I mean, there's definitely some general guidelines to
22:44
consider if you are someone who struggles with that in general,
22:48
it's good to keep those kind of basic principles of what we want
22:51
to eat before workout. You know, I know both of you
22:53
talk about these types of strategies of like you don't
22:56
want something super high in fiber, you don't want something
22:58
super high in fat, you know, especially the closer you get to
23:01
workout because that is not going to be optimal for
23:04
digestion. And so those kind of same
23:06
principles apply. But then there's also things to
23:08
consider of easily digestible is going to be kind of across the
23:12
board good for both of those scenarios.
23:14
Maybe a bowl of oatmeal, you know, maybe even lower FODMAP
23:17
foods for certain individuals. So this it's kind of like a
23:20
situational low FODMAP recommendation where they don't
23:23
need to be low FODMAP for the entire day, but maybe before
23:27
they go out and exercise, they would choose, you know, not an
23:30
apple pre workout, but maybe something that's low FODMAP like
23:33
oatmeal that's going to be easier to digest knowing that
23:36
they're going to have, you know, that kind of like irritated gut
23:40
before they do that type of exercise.
23:42
So low FODMAP options are typically things that we might
23:46
talk about, you know, in our practice.
23:48
Other things that could be helpful to keep in mind would be
23:51
caffeine, right? If you're already someone who's
23:53
super anxious, you know, you want to make sure you're looking
23:56
at what types of things are in your electrolyte blends.
23:58
Is there caffeine in there? Are you drinking caffeine on an
24:01
empty stomach? There's tons of different gels
24:04
and goos out there now that have caffeine added to them.
24:07
And if you're an anxious person, this just is not the good, this
24:09
is not the good choice for you because that's definitely going
24:12
to exactly those digestive symptoms.
24:15
But other than that, I would say yes, the IT depends answer is
24:18
definitely a good one because, you know, we all are so
24:21
different and individualized, but you know, bland foods, easy
24:24
to digest, maybe considering low FODMAP, cutting the caffeine,
24:28
you know, understanding your triggers, right, Lactose can be
24:31
a big one. So doing like liquid milk, for
24:33
example, might just not be the best fit for you.
24:36
So keeping like a little bit of a food symptom journal might be
24:39
helpful to identify foods that in those situations are going to
24:43
be your go to. For anyone listening who's not
24:45
familiar with the term FODMAP, can you define that and share a
24:48
little bit about what that means?
24:49
Yeah. So the Fodmaps, they are
24:51
basically an acronym that stands for a group of different types
24:54
of carbohydrates. I don't know them all off the
24:57
top of my head at this very moment, but if you look them up,
25:01
they're basically multiple different classes of these types
25:04
of carbohydrates. And based on the research that
25:06
we have, they are carbohydrates that are typically poorly
25:09
absorbed. And if you have symptoms like,
25:12
you know, IBS type symptoms or we'll call it like a nervous
25:15
stomach pre exercise, then these are foods that because they're
25:19
poorly digested, are going to not be the best choice for you
25:22
if you're looking to improve symptom management.
25:25
So it sounds like when we're talking about gut health,
25:27
especially for athletes or maybe just someone who's not an
25:30
athlete too, everything is very individualized.
25:32
But there are a lot of things that you can work with clients
25:35
and athletes on to help them manage that and make sure that
25:37
they're still feeling properly and managing maybe those
25:40
sometimes not so great symptoms that we think of associated with
25:43
gut health. Yeah, absolutely.
25:44
And you know, there's sometimes where, you know, people are just
25:47
eating things that have ingredients in them, like
25:50
artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols.
25:52
And sometimes it's just identifying those ingredients
25:55
and understanding, you know, that that those ingredients were
25:58
really causing them to have those digestive symptoms.
26:01
And sometimes it's a really quick fix.
26:02
And sometimes it's, you know, more of a journey where they've
26:05
been dealing with, you know, underlying imbalances for a
26:07
while. Maybe they do have things like
26:10
small intestinal bacterial overgrowth or, you know, maybe
26:13
they do have something like a parasite.
26:15
And there does need to be more long term attention that isn't
26:19
just diet related, but also supplement wise or even working
26:23
with their gastroenterologist. But nutrition, you know, can be
26:26
such a powerful tool. And sometimes just looking at
26:28
those little things like hydration and ingredients and,
26:32
you know, properly feeling in terms of nutrient levels and
26:35
making sure there's no deficiencies can be all that we
26:38
need to do as dietitians. All right, Aaron, we have a
26:40
couple ending questions for you. We ask everybody who is on the
26:43
podcast, these are poor questions.
26:45
And because it's called the More Carbs Podcast, of course we're
26:48
gonna ask you what your favorite carbohydrate.
26:49
Is I love as this is very specific but I love Japanese
26:55
sweet potatoes. They are like they're staple in
26:58
our household. My husband and I eat them like
27:01
at least once or twice a week. If you haven't tried them I
27:04
highly recommend it. Sometimes we'll do like a tahini
27:07
with Maple syrup like drizzle on it or we'll make like a Chipotle
27:11
Mayo sauce with it. I love potatoes in general, but
27:15
the Japanese sweet potatoes if you haven't had them, it's my
27:17
favorite. I love to roast them with
27:19
cinnamon and salt and put a little bit of peanut butter on
27:21
them. Yum.
27:22
Yes, absolutely. What?
27:24
About your favorite pre workout. Fuel, My favorite pre workout
27:27
fuel. I'm pretty much an oatmeal
27:29
person through and through. Oatmeal with Maple syrup like
27:32
that with a little bit of salt is my go to.
27:36
It's never failed me digestive wise or energy wise.
27:40
So that is that is my favorite I.
27:43
Like the salt ad? Yep, it enhances that like
27:46
Maple, the robust Maple flavor and just yeah, hits the spot.
27:51
What is your favorite post workout?
27:53
Fuel post workout. I love smoothies, especially in
27:57
the hot weather right now, but in the winter I would say like
28:00
my favorite thing to eat post workout.
28:03
If it's especially not like a run or something where I'm like
28:06
a little bit more nauseous, I'm gonna go for like eggs with
28:09
toast and some sort of fruit. I love mangoes.
28:13
I like always have to have fruit at the end of my meals for some
28:16
reason. It's just like my, my go to or
28:19
we love pancakes. We're a big pancake family.
28:22
We make a lot of pancakes, banana, pumpkin.
28:24
I love, you know, coming home from the gym or something and
28:27
having pancakes just like a, you know, especially as an adult,
28:31
you know, having pancakes feels like such, such a luxury.
28:35
I love pancakes now I want some so bad it's like 2:00 in the
28:39
afternoon. But I mean like anytime is a
28:41
good time for pancakes. Yeah, you, you understand.
28:44
I got you. And then this is seems to be
28:46
like the hardest question for the podcast, but we're big few
28:49
people here. So what's your favorite pair of
28:50
cakes? Favorite pair of cakes?
28:51
OK, so my stepdad works for New Balance.
28:54
So I have to, I have to plug that and that's all I wear now
28:58
to, you know, to keep it in the family.
29:02
So I've got the New Balance 1080V or something like that.
29:06
I've been wearing those. I've had, I've already gone
29:08
through, I don't know, 10 or 12 pairs in the past few years.
29:13
So it's the black and white 1080V or something New Balance.
29:18
And they're they're very, very comfortable.
29:20
You'll see a lot of people wearing them, I think think they
29:22
have a men's version as well that are basically the same.
29:26
Erin, thank you so much for being on this episode.
29:28
We so appreciate everything that you have shared today and
29:30
hopefully our listeners have taken away a lot of great
29:32
information, too. For anyone who wants to find
29:34
you, follow you, ask you more questions, what is the best way
29:37
for them to do that? Yeah, so definitely social media
29:41
wise, I'm most active on Instagram, Nutrition, Rewired
29:45
and then my website nutritionrewired.com.
29:48
And if people want to get in touch, they can send me a DM on
29:51
Instagram. I do my best to get to those or
29:54
there's a little chat bubble function on my website and if
29:57
you send a message there, go straight to my e-mail and I'm
30:00
always happy to, to connect with people and answer any questions
30:04
that they might have. And and my podcast is also
30:06
Nutrition Rewired and have a lot of great topics on there, always
30:11
tying in gut health and nutrition.
30:13
We will leave all of Aaron's information in the podcast show
30:16
notes so that way you can easily find her, listen to her podcast,
30:19
and reach out to her if you want to.
30:21
Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Eat More
30:23
Carbs Podcast. Please make sure you rate,
30:25
subscribe, and review. And as always, remember to eat
30:28
more carbs.