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You are here: Home / Supplements / Best Carb Supplement for Runners 2020

Best Carb Supplement for Runners 2020

March 27, 2020 By Mark Henry Leave a Comment

Discover the Best Carb Supplement for Runners 2020: Running primarily uses carbohydrates as fuel for energy. Using the right type of carb supplement can increase running performance, endurance and recovery.

Our knowledge of training for running has increased over the years. From how to run a faster 5, or even a 10k and longer events such as marathons – there’s endless advice online for runners.

However, advice and the science is only just catching up on how to fuel our bodies efficiently.

But one thing we can say from the early, and even to the most recent studies – is that carbs are the main component in endurance nutrition.

This article will run through why carbs are important for a runner, the benefits of using a carb supplement, and the best available in 2020:

elite runner

Table of Contents

  • Why Carbs are Essential for Runners
  • Benefits of Carb Supplements for Runners
    • Increased Performance
    • Enhanced Blood Flow and Nutrient Delivery
    • Shorter recovery Times
  • Best Carb Supplement for Runners 2020
    • Performance Lab Carb Benefits
    • Supplement Facts
    • How Much Does It Cost?
  • Conclusion

Why Carbs are Essential for Runners

Your body uses carbohydrates as its main fuel source, as either blood glucose, or stored muscle and liver glycogen.

When you consume a carb supplement, it enters your bloodstream, being delivered around your body by insulin, where it supports muscle contractions along with blood, nutrients, and most importantly oxygen supply – which increases performance.

Therefore, by making sure you have enough carbs present in your body before, during and after exercise, will be a key factor in how well you perform.

Carb Supplements can enhance the following;

  • Endurance
  • Muscle contractions
  • Blood, nutrient and oxygen delivery
  • Recovery

Also, the quality of the carbohydrates you consume has been shown to affect running performance.

One study on ‘High-Quality Carbohydrates and Physical Performance’ said that where possible, eating a large portion of carbohydrates from quality sources should remain the priority in an athletes diet:

“consuming a majority of daily calories in the form of high-quality, high-carbohydrate whole food sources, such as potatoes, as a means of improving physical performance and recovery from exercise.” (I)

Another reason why carbohydrates are vital for runners is the way carbs are the main macronutrients which have the most impact on running performance, over fats or proteins.

One paper published by J W Helge said that comparing high carb vs high-fat diet protocol, the group using more carbohydrates excelled in performance above the rest. (II)

And one final point to mention on the topic of fat loss: It’s completely possible to consume a high carb diet and still lose weight without affecting performance. Instead, it’s better to focus on overall calorie consumption – not on the removal of carbs. As this is the main fuel source for the body.

performance lab carb and a scoop of chocolate powder

Benefits of Carb Supplements for Runners

Before I highlight the importance of carbs for runners, let’s first take a look at how our energy system works. That way, you’ll better understand your own body works, and how to fuel accordingly using carbohydrates:

When you consume carbohydrates before a run, also known as carb loading, your body digests the foods you eat (or supplements used) and converts them to glycogen. This is how your body stores carbs in your muscles and liver.

Before this happens, inulin is released from your pancreas. Insulin transports carbs, in the form of glucose, into your muscles and liver. But if you consume a carb supplement mid-training, then blood glucose will be immediately used.

Increased Performance

As mentioned, carbohydrates are the body’s most preferred fuel source. By supplying your body with a combination of either fast or slow-releasing carbs (ideally both) then your running performance will skyrocket.

As you hit the road, hills, or wherever it is you run, your body will quickly tap into stored muscle and liver glycogen. When that’s been used up, you’ll hit the wall. Unless you consume fast-acting carbs.

Once you ingest carbs, insulin will be released (for your pancreas) to shuttle the blood glucose to your muscles, where it’s quickly absorbed and burned during each stride you take.

So make no mistake, if you don’t have enough carbs present, the time it takes to deplete your glycogen stores will happen much quicker than if you were to consume a quality carb supplement before and during your run.

blood flow to the heart

Enhanced Blood Flow and Nutrient Delivery

As discussed, when you consume carbohydrates, your pancreas releases insulin. Insulin not only helps to transport carbs into your muscles, boosting your performance, but it will also increase nutrient delivery.

When carbohydrates enter your intestines, they pull-through other nutrients, such as amino acids, minerals and vitamins from foods already eaten.

This increased nutrient pulling is enhanced so much that carbs are able to improve muscle function and repair considerably, as opposed to not supplementing with carbs surrounding your run.

Lastly, carbs dilate blood vessels due to their naturally containing sugars. This helps the above-mentioned micronutrients absorb faster for improved running.

Shorter recovery Times

Due to the way carbohydrates enhance nutrient delivery, energy production and running endurance, then carbs should be a pivotal macronutrient in a runner’s diet. But not only for these reasons…

This is because carb supplements will also assist in muscle repair when combined with other nutrients such as leucine.

For example, studies indicate that when carbohydrates are consumed with a protein source pre-training, muscle protein synthesis (MPS) can be accelerated. (III) MPS is the delivery of amino acids for muscle function and repair.

Not only will the consumption of carb supplements assist in muscle repair post-exercise, but they will also allow you to train on a more frequent basis by re-filling your glycogen stores – a vital practice used by elite athletes. This is also referred to as glycogen resynthesis.

RELATED: Caffeine Post Exercise: Accelerate Your Recovery

Best Carb Supplement for Runners 2020

Now that we’ve run through the details of why carbs are important, which is Best Carb Supplement for Runners 2020?

Performance Lab carb is the best supplement for runners. This is all due to the high-quality nutrition this ‘state of the art’ carb supplement will provide your body.

This advanced carb supplement is packed with organic ingredients and natural flavourings (no synthetic additives found here). It also contains essential minerals that will increase energy production, performance and recovery.

Not only that, but it will keep you energised for 2+ and more with instantly available energy – unlike other carb supplements that will spike your blood sugar, then leave you with a crash soon after.

Performance Lab Carb Benefits

So what’s behind the Best Carb Supplement for Running 2020? The main ingredient is Karbolyn®, which is made using potato, rice and corn starch.

Karbolyn has been shown to digest faster than sugar, yet it’s able to sustain energy for hours afterwards. This is because it’s a relatively complex carb.

In comparison to other carb supplements. Most other supplements you’ll find will spike your blood sugar in a short space of time. This will ultimately leave you feeling fatigued soon after – due to the sugar crash.

However, this isn’t the case with Performance Lab Carb as it will slowly feed your muscles with high-quality nutrients for several hours. Yet it’s still able to be absorbed at a faster rate than sugar. This means you’ll have immediate energy when you need it – for numerous hours.

Also, Performance Lab Carb will pull nutrients through your digestive tract. This will increase the supply of essential nutrients such as amino acids into your working muscles to assist your running potential.

Enhances muscle and cellular performance by delivering high-quality carbohydrates, essential minerals and organic compounds.

Works quicker than sugar, while supplying a steady release of glucose into the muscles for 2 + hours.

Quick energy when you need it for intense sprints or long, hard runs.

Better energy production with the use of essential minerals.

High-quality supplement: Contains organic compounds, and scientifically proven ingredients designed for enhanced human performance.

Supplement Facts

performance lab carb sport supplement facts

How Much Does It Cost?

For 1kg the price is £49.00 ($60). When you consider the high-quality ingredients inside this supplement, along with the advanced formula and organic elements for energy production, I believe this is a fair price.

Buy Performance Lab Carb Here

Conclusion

The quality of carbohydrates, meaning, the micronutrient content present in most other carb supplements are zero. They contain literally no nutritional value, just calories in the form of sugar.

They consist of dextrose or maltodextrin, along with sweeteners from artificial sources such as E numbers. Which, as a fact, the World Health Organisation is urging companies to warn consumers on the dangers these additives bring.

But as you can imagine, supplement companies don’t want to warn potential customers as this will ultimately affect their profits.

This is where Performance Lab Carb comes in. It’s made using the most natural, micronutrient-rich elements with organic flavourings, and a state of the art carb formula designed to fuel your body with a sophisticated fueling system. Meaning, a combination of slow and fast-acting carbs.

I have been using Performance Lab Carb for some time now. It gives me energy all day long. It doesn’t bloat me like other carb supplements, and I’ve never had an upset stomach – it’s the cleanest-tasting carb supplement I’ve ever used, hence why it’s the Best Carb Supplement for Runners 2020.

References:

(I) Kanter, Mitch. “High-Quality Carbohydrates and Physical Performance: Expert Panel Report.” Nutrition Today, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Jan. 2018. (source)

(II) Helge, J W. “A High Carbohydrate Diet Remains the Evidence-Based Choice for Elite Athletes to Optimise Performance.” The Journal of Physiology, John Wiley and Sons Inc., 1 May 2017. (source)

(III) White, James P, et al. “Effect of Carbohydrate-Protein Supplement Timing on Acute Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, BioMed Central, 19 Feb. 2008. (source)

Filed Under: Carbohydrate, Supplements

About Author

Mark Henry
Mark Henry

Mark is a Nutrition Expert, Journalist and competitive sports enthusiast. He draws upon years of personal experience within sports nutrition, research, and testing – to deliver information based on the most up-to-date studies to unclutter the confusing world of sports nutrition. Learn more.

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