Our brain holds more power than we know.
The science and research in sports nutrition has almost entirely focused on what the muscles need, and that's all changing thanks to industry leader and my guest, Louise Burke.
"We forget that we are whole human beings, and we've got a head on top of our muscles and that often directs the traffic in terms of our (sports) performance." - Louise Burke
When Louise speaks, people listen. And that was the case when I spent a morning with her in New York, following her participation in the New York Marathon. As a fellow Aussie, I was excited to meet her. Having grown up in Australia, where Burke's books on sports nutrition grace bookshelves across the country. My parents use recipes from those books to this day, almost 20 years on.
Aside from generational recipe creation, Burke's legacy is guaranteed via her three decades of work with the Australian Institute of Sport, working directly with the world's best athletes and coaches. Her research and knowledge focused on carbohydrate fueling, and utilization is game-changing and has resulted in multiple Olympic medals. In fact, any athlete with goals to increase their performance can benefit from Burke's findings.
To understand where the opportunity lies, we must look back at where we've come. For most of us, we have the personal observation and recognition that if we're feeling a bit tired and flat during a race or a training session, we consume carbohydrates and feel immediately better. We don't have to wait until it's absorbed and taken to the muscle to use it as a fuel source. It's instantaneous.
This is one of the many concepts we discuss when it comes to fueling and carbohydrate use in sports. We also discuss where the future of nutrition lies in elite sport. This conversation is a fascinating look into the life of one of the world's greatest scientist, who has been able to develop her career in putting science into practice.
Thanks to Julia from Unit Nutrition for bringing Louise and me together. Because of this introduction we spent time touching on the innovative practice of mouth-rinsing carbohydrates. As Burke mentioned, "there seems to be something about the act of putting carbohydrates in your mouth that makes your body feel good." And the research proves it. "When we use brain imaging techniques, we can see that putting carbohydrates in your mouth interacts with receptors on your tongue, in your mouth, and your gastrointestinal tract, and it lights up parts of the brain that operate in the area of reward and wellbeing."
While there's an immediate impact, Burke goes on to state, "It all makes sense that once you put some carbs in your mouth, they'll have contact with those receptors, if you swallow it immediately you're not going to get a lot of contact. But if you can keep it in your mouth for five to 10 seconds, then all those areas of the brain light up, and suddenly you start feeling good again."
But what about the future? It turns out; there are quite a few ingredients in food that also impact our brain function. Burke and other leading scientists are researching these effects, with the upcoming 2020 Olympics clearly in their sights. Each Olympics represents a new high-watermark in human achievement. So what's next? Specifically, in a high-temperature setting and environment like Tokyo, cooling strategies are top of mind. Burke said, n"menthol allows us to feel cooler, which could be useful for a hot environment like Tokyo." The research doesn't stop there, Burke states, "there's the bitter sensation that's used with Quinine that gives you a fight or flight experience, a sudden shock where you may find another gear that you didn't have."
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free