Hello and welcome back to the Cook Eat Run podcast with X Miles. This week we're tackling a topic that I know affects a lot of runners and that is getting GI issues on a run. I'm chatting with registered dietitian and multi time marathoner Kristy Baumann about the common mistakes runners make that could be causing their gastro issues and, crucially, some tips on how to
avoid them. For new and regular listeners, make sure to note down the new discount code for X Miles To save on all your running fuel, hydration and running kit, use the code cook eat Run June 10. I'll link it below. Don't worry. Cook Eat run June 10 to save 10% this month. The code is good until the end of June, and then we'll have a new code for you, so make sure to keep listening. Kristy thank you so much for joining me this
afternoon, this evening for me. But it's so nice to have you, and I followed you online for a long time, so it's nice to put a kind of face to the instagram.
Yes. Oh, my gosh. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited, to chat with you today and, yeah, just share nutrition knowledge with runners.
Yeah. So I put out a little box on Instagram this morning, and I had a lot of questions. I feel like GI issues are, something that unfortunately, a lot of runners deal with. So, yeah, that's the topic for today. We're going to do a deep dive into it because I think it is a. It's not talked about enough. And then people will often be like, oh, I had a good race, but then this happened. So, let's get straight into it. What do we mean when we say Gi issues?
Yeah, so, GI stands for gastrointestinal. So basically, it's like GI tract. Sometimes people refer to it as your stomach, your gut. So stomach is only part of the gastrointestinal system. So it's anytime that food enters your mouth all the way to when it exits your body. basically, we can experience different GI issues or symptoms
that, can happen during that time. And that can be anything from, you know, gas, constipation, diarrhoea, vomiting, bloating, just a few of the main examples, but it can be a whole host of different symptoms that people can experience.
Yeah, they're not pleasant. And I feel like maybe in running, we talk about them a little bit more than everyday. You know, everyday people talk about in conversation. But why do people get this? Like, it seems like so many people do. Is there, surely there's like, you know, a number of reasons why. But what are the main reasons that you see people experience gi issues from?
Right, yeah. So, I mean, when you think of running in general, like, it's not normal to be one. Eating and running at the same time. That is a very unusual thing when you think about it. and so whether it's what you're eating right before a run or even the days leading up to a run can impact GI issues. but most things that I see, some of the most common causes are, oh, there can be a lot. And it can be tricky to navigate just because there can be so many different factors that go into it.
But what you're eating before your run, the timing of it, under fueling. So even if you're not eating enough throughout week after week, that can be a factor. eating high fibre, high fat, acidic foods, caffeine, other gas producing foods, there can be a whole host of things.
I mean, not to overshare, but I definitely feel like it when I have artificial, ah, sweeteners, they do not sit well with me. Even things like chewing gum I have to be really careful with because it, yeah, just doesn't do me any good. But another reason I feel like I've experienced them in the past is from dehydration. Can dehydration, lack of sodium, impact gi tract and cause kind of diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea, that sort of thing?
Oh, yes, for sure. And I've experienced it too. And I feel like it's one that we don't, like, we automatically often think about. It's the food that caused the, ah, gi issues or what you ate or the gel, or the gels of like, oh, that gel caused me to have stomach pain or this gi symptom. But dehydration is a big one that I see too. Lack of fluids, lack of sodium, lack of electrolytes that can contribute.
So how do we kind of figure out what it is? Is it a process of like, trial and error, writing a food diary? How can we narrow down what might be the cause for our. Well, for the individual's GI issues?
Right. So I think one, understanding, I guess, kind of backing up understanding why it happens again is when we run, blood moves away from our digestive tract towards our working muscles. We need blood flow in order to digest food, in order to digest what's in our stomach, in our digestive tract. And so obviously, like, the jostling and bouncing of running too, contributes to, that
as well. So as far as, like, how to figure out what's going on, it's, I think one, food, like, writing down what you're eating and. Or indicating, like, okay, this is a time that I had GI issues. what else did I have to eat before this? How did I feel? What exactly was the symptom? was it a warm day? What was the weather like? Was I running at a higher intensity?
yeah, that can definitely be a good place to start, is just kind of bringing that awareness to what else is going on besides, you know, when those GI symptoms happen. What else is going on? what am I eating? The timing of it. There's so many different things.
I know. I think that's why it's so difficult, isn't it, that it's hard to pin down. Even as seasoned runners, you can think you've done everything right and then just have a, like, a day where something goes wrong and you're, like, in pain or as, like, in the portaloos or having to kind of stop yourself from being sick. But, one person says, or actually quite a few people said, is it just inevitable that at the end of the marathon, I'm going to feel
sick? Or is there, can they avoid it in any way?
The way you're eating or what you're eating is a huge part, and I don't think anyone needs to always be feeling sick at the end of the marathon. There's a lot of nutrition strategy that goes into play to prevent that from being from happening. And part of it, which I think sometimes can happen, is like, people will only experience it on race day, their GI issues.
Exactly.
Because you're running faster, you're running at a higher intensity because you're trying to run a certain time or, set up Pb pR. And then that's a big part. And then sometimes, like, just during training runs, you're like, oh, I can get away with, like, one gel during a ten mile run. And we have to train our stomach to actually fuel, like, we are going to fuel
on race day. So even though we can get away during a training run with less fuel, if your stomach has to get used to it, your stomach has a muscle, it has to be trained just like you're training your legs to run 13.1 mile, 20, you know, a half or full marathon.
Yeah. Do you think any of, like, race day nerves play into it?
Oh, yeah, for sure. I think they can definitely be playing a contributing factor. However, I recently asked another runner about like her nerves. And when the GI issues happened on a run, because oftentimes they're at the start, but then once you start get going, like, they kind of go away. And she said, yeah, it was like the nerves went away, but then once the GI issues started to happen, the nerves came back.
So it's. It's like we have to practise our fueling, so then our, you know, our stomach gets used to it and we feel confident in how to eat. So those nerves, it can kind of like be a cycle, I guess, is what I'm saying.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So you get nervous that you're gonna have issues, you have issues, you're worried about what's good, the, like, repercussions of the issues are gonna be. Yeah. So we, you and I both preach the benefits of a carb load. That's obviously something that's kind of new ish to a lot of people when they're actually just running the marathon, because we're not doing it in our
long runs. How would you recommend people get around that and especially kind of people that don't maybe have such a carb heavy diet, in thinking of things like babels and breads and those sort of quite wheat heavy carbs, how would you suggest people practise or get around having issues as a result of the carb load?
Right. So, I mean, a big part is, eating the low fibre, the white, refined, easy to digest carbohydrates, because if you're eating a lot of like, whole grains or like, you know, whole wheat bread, eating, the higher fibre or eating more carb loading on potatoes, with. Or fruits and vegetables that can add bulk to your Gi tract, which takes longer. Longer to digest, longer to get out of your digestive tract, which ultimately can cause GI issues. Bloating gas Gi issues on race day too.
That's a good tip. What about if. So, I. I felt quite bloated doing my carb load, so I used a lot of drinks.
Yeah.
Do they still work as well for a carb load?
Yep, yep.
Like squat strings, those kind of thing.
Yes, yes. I'm a big proponent of. Yeah, drinking your carbohydrates because that tends to be easier on. On your stomach, on your digestive tract. Obviously. Choosing those drinks that. With real sugar in versus, like, the artificial sweeteners in.
Yeah.
Or being aware of, like, carbonated drinks. Carbonated drinks are probably not going to be a good option for carb loading because, again, of. Of the carbonation causing gas and bloating but yeah, choosing like fruit juices or smooth fruit smoothies or sweet tea. I don't know. What were some of your favourite drinks that you used?
I, ah, just use things like Gatorade and scratch, high carb drink, coconut water and a lot of those three and orange juice, but on repeat, basically. they were just easy to get and easy to drink and pretty high carb, most of them. But I did still feel like a little bit bloated. I saw something on Instagram
yesterday. There was someone saying, actually if you do experience bloating or like GI issues or IB's type symptoms that maybe we should be avoiding like high waisted leggings or shorts for our marathons because they can actually impact it. Have you ever worked with anyone that changed literally what they were wearing to help with their Gi?
I haven't specifically, but I mean, it makes sense, like if the compression of the spandex shorts is, you know, putting that pressure on your, your stomach and your digestive, talk like that doesn't feel the best.
so maybe something to try if people. Yeah, I've tried everything else.
Yeah, for sure.
If you have. Are experiencing GI issues on the run, is there anything you can do in the moment to either stop things getting worse or stop their symptoms altogether? Is there anything you can recommend for people? Any magic pills?
Yeah, right. It kind of depends on the symptom, I feel like, and it definitely takes like, navigating in the moment. But for example, I had a runner, who attended some of my master classes and we talked about sloshy stomach, so, like, where it feels like water is like just sloshing around in your stomach. And so, she remembered that we talked about it and she was thinking back to what
she was drinking during the race. You know, this was like at mile 17, miles 18 of the race, and she's like, oh, I realised I was just drinking primarily water and I wasn't taking my electrolytes. I wasn't, you know, getting the sodium in, whether it's from the gels or whether she was taking salt tabs or capsules. And so she, in the moment, remember that stop drinking plain water and still took her gel and then focused on getting those electrolytes in which hell. And she
was like, yeah, it was pretty quick and easy. It actually, my sloshy stomach went away pretty quick.
If that could be a reason for it. Is it too late if you're halfway through or at mile 20? Or is it like, if you're experiencing symptoms, just try the electrolytes, try the sodium, and it's not likely to make it worse.
Well, you know, if somebody's taking too, if they've already been taking a lot of sodium and electrolytes, it could be the opposite problem where they're not getting enough fluids for the amount of sodium and electrolytes that they're taking. So it becomes this puzzle piece of what was the root cause of my GI issues. You know, nausea would be another one of. It could be related to lack of carbs. It could be related to lack of fluids and
electrolytes and dehydration. I feel like sometimes our body shows us the same signs or same symptoms.
For more than one root cause without telling us why.
Yeah, right.
Oh, that's. Yeah. So basically, it's a miracle that we get through some of these races without feeling sick or dehydrated or, you know, having diarrhoea, because everything has to work. Like, you have to have the right amount of carbs, be fueling correctly, the right amount of fluid and sodium, and all work together. Well, I'm really grateful that I've managed to figure it out most of the time, then.
Yeah. I wonder.
So many people are struggling.
Yeah.
Okay. Somebody else asked, is it bad to take imodium or, like, an anti diarrheal before races and before their weekly long runs?
So my approach, and I'll be interested to hear your approach, but my approach is, let's figure out why you're needing to take it, why you're needing to take the ammonium or, you know, what the root cause is. You know, is it more. Maybe it's more of, like, I've experienced GI issues in the past, and I'm afraid of that. And there is absolutely, like we mentioned, this mental component, our brain is directly connected to our gut through the vagus nerve, and so it's
communicating back and forth. So even the fear of experiencing GI issues can cause GI issues. but it's. I'm a big proponent of let's get down to the root reason and figure out what's going on, to solve it that way.
Yeah, I definitely agree with you for the long run, I feel like I have taken it as a free, just an insurance policy before marathons, before, or taking it with me in my bag. On a long run, those imodium instants, and sometimes just taking it makes signals to my brain like, you're going to be okay. So almost in the same way that the fear of getting symptoms makes you get symptoms, they're like, I'm going to be fine because
I've taken this. Helps the stomach. I don't know whether that, makes sense, but, yeah, I think in the long, like, on long runs, especially, where
you can be a bit more strategic in planning. Like, if you are nervous, plan a route around bathrooms, practise your fueling, practise your hydration, even if you're running like two mile loops by your house or whatever you need to do in training so that by race day you can control not, you know, you can't control the weather, you can control a bit more of what you're eating in the lead up, but you've figured out how to get through the nutrition and hydration to the best of your ability so
that you don't need to take them every single week, right?
Yep, yep. Yeah, that's good.
I am, yeah, I definitely have carried them in pockets or given them to people on the course as like, an emergency. Like, can you take my electrolyte bottle and my imodium and. Yeah, hope for the best. But, so far there's been no, I don't think I've had to poop during a race before, so I'm on a marathon, so.
Yeah, that's good.
Sorry, serious overshare. Yeah, I think, yeah, that seems to be the new thing. I don't know that you saw like, the viral reel of the guy in the Boston marathon, porter Potty.
Oh, no, I have, I haven't seen it. You'll have to send it to me if you can find it.
He's like, hi, I'm blowable. And this is me at the start of the race. And then he's like, I'm at mile 14. Someone come get me. And he's like, in the loo? Yeah, not having a good time. I'm sure it was just for show, but I think it highlighted just how many people do end up having to use them on race day. But.
Okay, a bit more specific. But any tips for people with inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis or Crohn's, with dealing with symptoms or trying to kind of make sure they're feeling the right way and taking the right kind of nutrition products to limit symptoms?
Yeah, so definitely, like, anytime that there's a, ah, medical, underlying medical condition, you have to be, you know, your body the best. So you know what foods are potential trigger foods. and so that's so different from person to person. and then sticking with, you know, I always talk about sticking with those foods. The days leading up into your race that, you know, work for, work for you and that you've been eating throughout your training cycle.
those are kind of the key things that come to mind offhand. how about for you, anything?
Yeah, it would just be like watching what's in certain products. So I know that in some sports products, especially in the US, there are more additives, more sweeteners. So that's something that I'm really aware of. And like, again, it sounds silly, but when I'm travelling and I don't get on well with the milk in the US, but I'm fine with it in the UK. So just especially if you're travelling for races, just take it. Bringing things from home that you know are safe.
This goes really for everybody, to be honest.
And then, yeah, just again with things like ulcerative colitis and Crohn's, like, you can't help if it's a flare and there's, you know, if you are flaring and even if you're eating all the things that are normally fine or taking the sports nutrition products that are normally fine and sometimes it's a bit hard to avoid, you know, the kind of symptoms of those and just being, again, trying not to have that as a stress, like you said, like, try not to stress about the fact that you might have
issues and m be prepared. Like take Lou, roll with, you know, where the bathroom stops are, go, multiple times before you hit the start line and just, yeah, be kind to yourself and just think, right, it's better to make stops than need to, you know, DNF the race because you need medical assistance kind of thing.
Right? Yeah. Yes, exactly. I was gonna say, you make a good point with, like travelling throws a whole nother, whole nother obstacle, in the, in it of travelling to races.
So, yeah, I mean, it's a fun part of racing for a lot of people. Like, I absolutely loved getting to travel, especially to the US, but I've definitely made the mistake of when I went into Chicago the first time, I was trying to show my now husband that I was like so cool and relaxed and just chill about marathons and that we could go and have hot dogs the night before the race and it
was such a bad idea. At, Marl, I think like 16, I started throwing up and yeah, needless to say, and I'm sure there were other factors, I'd probably gone out at, ah, a faster pace than I was actually really trained for. It was a warmer day than I had trained for, but the hot dogs definitely haunt me still.
Have you hate?
Yeah. Have you had any race day disasters where you've just been like, I knew better than that.
Well, one of my ones that I always think about, I took a gel with like 100 milligrammes of caffeine on for the first time on race day. I was like, oh, this will be perfect. It'll give me a boost of energy. And one, I was dehydrated. I had just like taken sips of water along the way until mile 17. And, too, I never practised that gel and like, it hit me like a tonne of bricks and like, it was like the worst pain ever.
Oh, no.
M in the middle of the race, eventually it went away but it definitely took a few miles.
and when it gets hard anyway, when your head and your legs have gone, the last thing you need is to like add something else to that, like dumpster fire situation that's going on. Anyway, so, yeah, practise, practise, practise. One again, quite a niche question. Someone messaged in to say they have CSID, which means they have an inability to digest, sucrose and isomorphose. I don't know why I've written it like that. anyway,
different types of sugars. Are there other options for long run fuel that you can recommend?
Yeah, I mean there's definitely, I don't know offhand what types of sugars, and maybe, you know offhand, but I mean, thankfully one, there's like so many different types of gels out there now that are made from whole foods and made from different types of sugar. and you don't have to use gels or chews. there's a variety of sports drinks with carbohydrates in. But also like, you know, the food options, whether it's dried fruit or, you know, applesauce pouches or, you know,
candy, like. And I haven't looked specifically what types of sugar those food, what. Where those types of sugar are in food. But, thankfully there's a lot of options out there for different simple carbohydrate foods that you can use during a run too.
So it's obviously very individual and a bit of a minefield. Do you have any like three top takeaways for people who deal with Gisus for them? Kind of going forward to start honing in on what might be their problems and how they can start to solve those.
Right. So I would say, the first thing to look at, one of the first things to look at is if it's happening just on race day. Consider these two things. One, your hydration. Are you drinking enough fluids? Are you taking in the amount of sodium and electrolytes that you need based on your sweat rate? because like we talked about, dehydration is a huge component of experiencing GI issues. two, training your stomach. So practising how you plan to fuel on race day and practising it when you're
running at a higher intensity. So doing during long runs, when you're running at race pace or doing interval workouts or even, you know, mid week during a speed workout that you're training your stomach and your stomach's getting used to digesting those gels or chews or whatever you plan to use on race day, the sports drink, during the faster paced stuff. So that's,
two things offhand. And then if it's like happening, again, kind of on a regular basis, a couple times a week, I would start with kind of that food log of just writing down, you know, these are things that I'm eating the night before, maybe a long run, a hard workout or when they tend to happen. And then this is what I'm eating the morning of. You know, maybe you're running in the morning and you're not eating anything and that can even be a factor in
causing, Gi issues too. So, but that's, that can be definitely a starting point to see if you can find start to see the trends.
Okay, great. That's really helpful. How. My last question for you. Sorry, is going to be how do you feel like what's your favourite sports nutrition products? How do you, did you feel for your last marathon that you did?
Yeah, so I actually like variety. but some of my favourite gels are the huma gels. Huma plush gels which has extra electrolytes. And I'm a salty sweater and I've experienced muscle cramps. I so many like for eight marathons that my foot would always cramp. And I finally realised it was related to lack of fluids and lack of electrolytes. Anyway, so humour huma flush gels, I'll do a combination of that plus the goo rock tain Morton. And then I really like the, scratch high carb drink. Ah, to
get in extra carbs in as well. but taking a gel every 30 minutes and then bringing a handheld water bottle with scratch in and using that first half of the race. And then, often we'll refill it the second half of the race to, continue to stay hydrated.
Yeah, I did that for Boston. I took a handheld for the first like five, 6 miles. and it was so helpful just to be able to kind of get ahead, especially on a slightly hot day. Get ahead of the nutrition of the. Well, nutrition, because I had carbs and electrolytes in there, but the hydration and not start on the back foot and go in kind of already dehydrated. so yeah, I found that really helpful. But I think so many people are reluctant to have told something or to bring things with them.
Oh, yeah, I totally was that way for years. Yeah. And then I, just practised it basically with all my long runs, even during midweek runs I would just get used to and then just realised now, like, I tried, even in the winter time, I tried running 10 miles without water and I was like, oh my gosh, I need water, I need fluids, I need electrolytes. Like, you get used to it eventually.
Yeah. So actually summer is a great time to practise it because we do need more fluid, more electrolytes, even on our slightly shorter runs are maybe like less intense runs, especially if you're doing them kind of mid day or just straight off to work, that it's going to be quite warm, hopefully. I hope we're going to have a warm summer. So it's a good time to practise with the handhelds, with the hydration and the electrolytes and carbs and things, right?
Yep. Absolutely.
Great. Well, thank you so much, Kristy Where can people find you and work with you? Learn more about what you know, your offerings are?
Yeah, so I'm on Instagram marathon nutritionist. Feel free to send me a DM direct message if you listened and let me know what you learned. and then I work specifically with runners in helping them fuel and navigate their fueling plan. Navigate GI issues. I have a free training, actually it was funny you reached out and maybe you saw some of my posts, but a free training about navigating GI issues? I did.
I was like perfect.
Realising so many at some point or another, runners are experienced, you know, I've experienced that. You've experienced it. Most runners are experiencing GI issues and just, you know, if they're happening over and over again, it's so frustrating. so helping navigate through that and then, I kick off, this fall. Starting in July, we'll have a group coaching programme for fall races. In helping individuals, m have a personalised fueling plan for race day.
Thanks so much for listening to this week's. Episode of the Cook Eat run podcast with X Miles Don't forget to use the code cook eat run June 10. It's linked at the bottom at x miles to save 10% on everything in next week's episode, I'm chatting with Andy blow from precision fuel and hydration about sweat hydration and how to come up with your own hydration plan to boost performance this summer. So make sure to subscribe to the show wherever you listen to your podcast so you don't miss
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