I figure this may be a pretty basic nutrition question here (or maybe I'm just making nutrition endlessly complicated) but I'll ask anyway.
I've never really given much thought to my nutrition other than "don't eat junk food". My raceday nutrition has pretty much always consisted of honey stinger gels and clif bars. While nothing specifically has gone wrong with my nutrition I wanted to re-evaluate this since I feel like I have very little knowledge in this area. I like to think I know the basics about nutrition... Saturated / trans fats are bad, and I understand the purposes/ uses of Carbs, protein, and sugar.
My question is: What do you look for within the nutrition label? Plenty of other lineitems on there such as sodium, potassium, and other vitamins. While I understand their importance in exercise/endurance do you actually factor these in when picking bars/gels? Do you avoid things like sugar alcohols, erythritol, and other shady stuff listed in the ingredients?
Not trying to start some keto/paleo/carbs debate here I'm just trying to get some ideas for what I should prioritize when evaluating bars/gels etc. And yes, I understand that nutritional plans are very personalized.... just trying to get some ideas so that I know I am not missing anything major while I tailor a plan of my own.
I've never really given much thought to my nutrition other than "don't eat junk food". My raceday nutrition has pretty much always consisted of honey stinger gels and clif bars. While nothing specifically has gone wrong with my nutrition I wanted to re-evaluate this since I feel like I have very little knowledge in this area. I like to think I know the basics about nutrition... Saturated / trans fats are bad, and I understand the purposes/ uses of Carbs, protein, and sugar.
My question is: What do you look for within the nutrition label? Plenty of other lineitems on there such as sodium, potassium, and other vitamins. While I understand their importance in exercise/endurance do you actually factor these in when picking bars/gels? Do you avoid things like sugar alcohols, erythritol, and other shady stuff listed in the ingredients?
Not trying to start some keto/paleo/carbs debate here I'm just trying to get some ideas for what I should prioritize when evaluating bars/gels etc. And yes, I understand that nutritional plans are very personalized.... just trying to get some ideas so that I know I am not missing anything major while I tailor a plan of my own.