Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life

from the blue agave cactus, is an especially good source of easy digestible fructose. I explain this food in detail in Chapter 5, page 158. Bananas, mangos, and papayas are also fructose-rich (and alkaline-forming). The combination of glucose- and fructose-rich fruit is a very good energy snack, providing both quick and prolonged energy.
     
    One excellent fuel source for high-performance training, racing, or intense exercise that is often overlooked is coconut oil. Coconut oil is a rich source of medium-chain triglycerides, or MCTs. This form of fatty acid is excellent for, among other things, quick energy. As with glucose, MCTs go directly to the liver to be burned as fuel. I explain coconut oil and MCTs in detail on page 144.
     
    I’ve developed a simple recipe for a snack before a short intense workout or race. Direct Fuel Bites (recipe, page 125), as I call them, combine dates and coconut oil for the ultimate source of quick, natural energy. They provide a direct source of simple carbohydrate. The body gets the fuel from the glucose and MCTs even before the dates and coconut butter are digested.
     
     
    Level-Two Activity. If I will be performing a mid-range to long workout that lasts up to three hours but is still quite intense, or compete in a race such as a marathon, I slightly shift the ratio of nutrients in my pre-exercise snack. I include a small amount of alkaline protein, usually raw hemp, and a source of essential fatty acids, such as ground flaxseeds or soaked almonds, for prolonged, high net-gain energy. This nutritional premise can be easily applied to any exercise routine, whether as vigorous or not. My raw energy bars (recipes, pages 226-232) and energy puddings (recipes, pages 125-126) supply this ratio. They are digested quickly and supply the nutrients required to sustain high-level performance for an extended period. Simple-carbohydrate based, the energy bars and puddings also provide a small amount of fat and protein to help extend the time between refueling. Including small amounts of fat and protein in an easily digestible form will improve endurance in moderate to long events.
     
    For less strenuous activity, such as long hikes and low-intensity bike rides, a more balanced approach is called for. A good pre-exercise snack in this case consists of about three times more carbohydrate than both protein and fat: a 3:1:1 ratio. Up to one part each of protein and fat for every three parts of carbohydrate can be beneficial before and during longer exercise bouts because, during lower intensity exercise, the body burns primarily fat. This is a critical training zone for endurance athletes, as it teaches their body to become efficient at using fat as fuel, therefore sparing glycogen (carbohydrate stored in the muscle) and resulting in better endurance. However, even a fraction of time spent in the fat-burning zone will burn muscle if not enough amino acids are present, hence the need to consume a small amount of protein before a longer exercise period. Its consumption will slow the release of the carbohydrate, stretching it out for a longer time, thereby improving endurance, preventing muscle loss, and keeping body fat to a minimum.
     
     
    Level-Three Activity. For those of you who are preparing for events such as Ironman or who participate in adventure racing and other endurance activities lasing longer than three hours, it’s important to train your body to become efficient at burning fat as fuel, and in doing so, preserve glycogen stores. Glycogen is carbohydrate stored in the muscles. Within only a few hours of activity, muscle glycogen will be burned up and the body will require more fuel to keep performing at a high level. You will need to eat food high in simple carbohydrate to avoid a decline in performance. However, to reduce the body’s dependence on glycogen and the need to consume more food, it is important to teach the body to use glycogen sparingly by shifting its fuel source to fat. Unlike glycogen, fat is plentiful and is near impossible to run out of. Even the leanest of people have enough fat stores to fuel them for several back-to-back Ironman races. The trick is accessing the fat, and this requires the right kind of training. Exercising at a relatively low intensity will tap the fat stores and burn it for energy. A large part of endurance training is spent at a low intensity for that reason, to access fat stores and in doing so improve the body’s ability to use fat as