Caving food size vs. energy

[bograt]

One of my closest caving buddies 'back in the day' was diabetic, he always managed his condition very well between insulin jabs with Mars bars and crisps (sugar & carbo.) in the ten years we caved together we only had to call one trip short because we started late by many hours and it threw his timing out, Pitlamp will probably remember the chap.

 

[Pitlamp]

Unless you are a diabetic near to death in a well known Northern caving establishment! A slice of Mars bar saved a life and a well known but sadly no longer with us caver.

I'd still be interested in the pork pie v chocolate bar numbers.

AT

Please understand I'm not talking about diabetes above; I'm talking about an insulin reaction (which adversely affects performance) in healthy individuals. (This is basic sports nutrition.)

Bograt - yep, I remember! One important point; sugar is carbo. "Slow release" carbo is very big molecules (e.g. starch) made of large numbers of sugar molecules stuck together. Eat sugars and they whizz into the blood fast. Eat slow release carbs (which must first be digested) and the supply of energy from them is delivered in the optimum way to maintain physical effort.

Diabetes sufferers have special requirements - and soon learn far more about nutrition than most of us non diabetics! (I don't think this topic was about diabetes but it was inevitable it would get mentioned.)

 

[Madness]

[quote author=Pitlamp Please understand I'm not talking about diabetes above; I'm talking about an insulin reaction (which adversely affects performance) in healthy individuals. (This is basic sports nutrition.)[/quote]

Exactly. This is what I was referring to in my first post. Being a bit of an inexperienced lad back then I ate a whole packet of dextrose tablets in less than an hour. My body ground to a halt very quickly and I took quite a while to recover.

Every time you eat something high in sugar you get a sudden increase in blood sugar. Your body then releases insulin into the bloodstream to combat this and reduce the blood sugar level. This causes you to crave more sugar and the cycle continues. If you plotted you blood sugar level on a graph it would be a series of peaks and troughs. As others have already said you need to release sugars into the bloodstream much more slowly. Eating complex carbohydrates is the way to do this.

 

[Pitlamp]

Yep - this advice about eating complex carbs extends to the night before a hard trip, to load up your glycogen (stored carbohydrate) stores. Your body can then utilise these at the optimum rate, resulting in better performance.

This is why marathon runners developed a tradition of having a "pasta party" the night before their event. I was brought up by cavers who subscribed to the "plenty of chips and beer" regime, which actually has something to be said for it  . . . . 

 

[Alex]

Underground, I can't beat pepperamis. I first started taking them underground when I was not allowed sugar by my dentist due to dental work. I found they work far better than chocolate bars or the traditional snack foods, for the following reasons.

1) Once eaten it staves off hunger panes for a good few hours as its a slow release energy source.
2) They come in foil sealed packets, which unlike most chocolate bars etc rarely burst and the contents are not turned to mush.
3) They are not very thick so don't get in the way on tight squeezes, easily fit in my under-suit pocket, without causing me any problems.
4) They are not as bad for your teeth, except, I feel I need to bring a tooth pick along sometimes. Oh well hopelessly trying to dislodge small bits of meat with my tongue gives me something to do while waiting to go up pitches.

 

[bagpuss]

If it's an evening trip I have to eat before I go, and will generally take an emergency snickers (then eat at the hunters again after!) I find longer trips hard as choccie bars/snacks don't really do it for me in terms of energy.. end up taking sandwiches, even took a pasty once much to the envy of my caving chums. Made the mistake of taking a subway on one trip, not wrapping it and ending up having to eat a gritty cave watered soggy sandwich out of sheer hunger. What do people take who burn calories off super fast/are skinny?

 

[wormster]

What do people take who burn calories off super fast/are skinny?

Eat all the time!

 

[Roger W]

According to here:

http://www.caloriecount.com/calories-ginsters-pork-pie-i111460

Ginster's pork pies contain 350 Calories per 100 grams.

A nice tasty mix of carbs (slow-release), fat and protein.

Not totally squash-proof or waterproof, and may not survive the journey from the car to the cave...

 

[caving_fox]

I did used to take sausage rolls or a pork pie caving (suitably protected in a metal watertight tin) but I frequently found that consuming that many carbs and then exercising vigorously left me feeling nauseous as the slow release requires the stomach to digest them over time which wasn't compatible with ascending a pitch or fighting through chokes. But they're ideal if you have a walking bit to do for a while first.

 

[Spike]

I'm going to stick in another vote for soreen malt loaf... It has a nice mix of both types of carbs (1/3 sugar, 2/3 complex), giving you an immediate hit as well as the slow release to keep you going. It's also got a chunk of protein and is relatively low in fat, of which most is unsaturated.

It's also very squishy - I tend to open one corner of the packet and squish the living daylights out of it. Then fold it in half and repeat. This will then fit in a tiny dry-bag (as wet soreen is pretty icky) and provides an incredibly dense hit of energy when I need it. I think it probably re-expands a little as you eat it because it is very filling like this. This doesn't make it any lighter, but it's small enough to drop in a tackle bag without getting in the way.

It also holds itself together pretty well. Flaky pastry things like pasties etc have a tendency for bits to flake off - not so bad in a wet cave perhaps, but in a dry cave can cause funny mould patches if you don't pick up all the crumbs.

 

[Fred]

I'll add a vote too for Malt Loaf, for an extra calorie hit slice and butter it first. Then as Spike says can be squashed down very small but is still tasty.

I also usually split the loaf up into several small poly bags and stash them in suit pockets, tackle bags etc.(I've even carried dried fruit and nut mix , well bagged of course, down a welly.