Blood sugar levels for athletes

Clyde; What would be an ideal pre-race blood sugar level for an elite distance runner? (5K and up). Peter

RESPONSE: Normal blood sugar levels are tightly controlled around 5 mM i.e. 100 mg/dL by the hormones glucagon and insulin. This corresponds to about 20 Calories of sugar in the blood circulation of the average adult (5 L blood). The goal, therefore, is to maintain this blood sugar at the start and throughout training and competition. Not consuming enough calories will allow blood sugar to drop more, obviously. Not so obvious is that over-consuming calories will also cause a drop in blood sugar. This is because of the initial rise in blood sugar drives a large insulin rise that drives blood sugar down. Therefore, the best way to maintain a stable blood sugar before and during training or competition is to consume no more than about 100 Cal in any quarter hour. Even better is to have dilute calories in your training fluids so that calories enter the body in small amounts more frequently.

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