WAG Potatoe chips/crips

[Iwannabemargo]

genetics definitely influences how our bodies process fuel and body composition and tissue distribution. I remember many moons ago a study (possibly by University of California) that studied the genetics of (I think) athletes at the Santa Monica Track Club and testing showed that the majority of sprinters, with large amounts of fast twitch muscle, had genetics from a very small are of West Africa, whereas the top long distance runners came genetically for East Africa.

I look at my three children as well and I have one endomorph, one ecto and one mesomorph and their calorie needs vary greatly

 

[Amusibus]

I agree with what a lot of posters above have said, general statement to group about eating healthy, and policy of bringing only what you consider healthy into the gym. A while back, our head coach spotted my then - 6 year old at practice with a bag of chips. She took them from her and threw them in the garbage, leaving her at a 3 hour practice with nothing else to eat. My child has a medical condition, carnitine deficiency, necessitating that she eat frequently as blood sugar can crash quickly and dramatically. The coach knew about this condition. My point is, there is a line in there somewhere, and she definitely crossed it. Still makes my blood boil when I think about it. If she had a problem with what my daughter was eating, a note/call/quick comment to me after practice would have been acceptable. It bothers me when coaches get this idea like they are the kids' parents.

 

[BlairBob]

Wouldn't carnitine defiency be solved by just eating a lot of protein as Carnitine is amino acids such as Lysine and Methionine? Which is mostly Pork and Beef or just taking Carnitine supplements (which aren't really cheap).

Chips are carbs mostly besides obviously oil and some preservatives, etc. Carbs are not the devil.

Chips sort of aren't the healthiest thing I could see my gymnasts eating but at least it's not fruit snacks and skittles.

Heck, even fruit snacks can be a pretty decent source of fructose. Jellybeans FTW.

 

[COz]

I'm pretty sure that she's got her kids medical issues under control, that's like commenting on diabetics diets etc, there are some things that are harder to control than others.
But the issue with the chips is that with carnitine deficiency, blood sugar can bottom out without regular food. Not cool at all.
We (well, I) make judgements about other peoples diets etc, but refrain from commenting, because you don't actually know what medical conditions people may have. The fact that the coach knew about it makes it beyond cruel, it's medically dangerous in a gym situation.

 

[BlairBob]

It was a question. I'm asking as I'm curious.

I'd be pretty pissed off at that coach.

Some food is generally better than none.

 

[Amusibus]

Ok as it was explained to me, carnitine is a substance that allows the body to burn fat for energy after the blood glucose and liver glycogen (essentially glucose) are both used up. So in a normal person, activity burns up all their sugar stores at which point the body rolls over to fat metabolism as an energy source. My daughter cannot do that. The diet does contain carnitine, but just like with cholesterol, the majority of it is produced endogenously by the body. To answer your question BlairBob, she is taking carnitine supplements -prescription btw - for a while now, and while it reduces symptoms, it does not eliminate them. Before taking it, ~90 minutes was her max between snacks. After starting carnitine, now she can go 2 to 2 1/2 hours. So it's better, but when it drops it drops like a stone and she gets extreme irritability, shakiness, cold sweats, full-on panic attacks, and it can trigger her migraines. So suffice it to say, she is a medically complex child, and we are all doctored up. I was not upset by your question, but COz I appreciate your rightious indignation on my behalf, it made me smile.

 

[BlairBob]

I've had way too many kids who gas out during practice due to lack of enough food going into their mouths.

It really annoys me as a coach. I can't do anything with a kid who is gassed out but let them stretch or go home.

That makes a lot of sense because larger carnitine stores allows you to buffer all the waste products in the muscle to perform longer. I've taken beta-alanine before to buffer carnitine stores during workouts and Beta Alanine+Creatine is a stack that's well documented and popular. That being said I should probably go order some Beta-Alanine even though I tend to eat A LOT of protein from either beef or pork.

From what I read the carnitine defiency has something to do with amino acid transcription of making carnitine to transport fatty acids into the cell mitochondria.

So it makes to carb up to keep up glycogen stores full so you don't have to rely as much on fatty acids for energy maybe. Just a thought.

Generally the aerobic energy system gets tapped when we are all out of the ability to create ATP through what little stores are in the muscles and can be generated quickly by the body. Once you hit the aerobic energy system primarily for energy, energy is slow and you're pretty gassed. And gymnasts live in the phosphate-creatine energy system.

Thanks, I had never heard of Carnitine defiency before all of this.