Energy supplements for sailors

Sports dietitian Peta Carige offers some words of advice - and warning - about the use of energy bars and other supplements.

Sailing competition often involves long days on the water as starting times for races are delayed owing to the environmental conditions Obviously nutrition is an extremely important part of this preparation and adequate fluid and energy on the day is often the most difficult aspect to perfect on every day of a competition. Yet it does directly affect your performance!

Likewise, ocean racing involves long periods at sea, often with the added complication of seasickness and altered routine, both of which make it difficult to replace the energy reserves being lost.

The gold standard intake of carbohydrates is 1 gram of carbohydrates per kilogram of bodyweight per hour. This is often a challenge to achieve for any athlete. However, sailing has additional transportation and packaging challenges.

Sports bars are appropriate for use within the sport of sailing for the following reasons:

• They are a compact source of energy, supplying carbohydrates and protein in a highly transportable form.

• They are a non-perishable snack that often contains vitamins and minerals in addition to protein and carbohydrates.

• They can be taken to international events without contravening customs regulations.

• They are easy to store on ocean racers and can be handed out whenever required.

• They are a compact fuel source that can be used to optimise pre-race, during and postnutrition strategies.

Look for low residue/fibre bars, which are carbohydrate rich to have as your prerace snack. These are also good options to use during races. Try and use bars that provide both protein and carbohydrates as part of your recovery nutrition plan, especially if it will be a substantial period of time before you are able to eat or have your next meal.

There are a few things to consider and look out for before you purchase.

• Look for bars that have a combination of protein and carbohydrate, and not just a protein bar as it is the carbohydrate goals for individuals that we often struggle to achieve during and after a race.

• Check if the bar contains any caffeine. If you have not used caffeine in a sports supplement before, this is not something that you would want to trial for the first time in a race.

• Does the bar come in a variety of flavours so you can mix it up and avoid flavour fatigue?

• What is the temperature going to be where you are competing? Will the bar melt or freeze and therefore be inappropriate?

• Always practice eating the bars in training first before you try and use them in a competition. It is also a good idea to take some savoury options as well to break up the often sweet taste of energy and protein bars (pretzels, savoury muesli bar, sandwiches on your breaks).

• Try chopping the bar up into bite size pieces that you can put in a plastic zip bag. Hopefully it doesn’t crumble.

You still need to remember your fluids and hydration!In fact, if you read the fine print on many high-carb bars they specifically recommend high liquid intake (200 to 400ml per bar) to ensure there are no adverse gastro effects.

For additional information, go to the AIS website or consult your local sports dietitian.

The editor taste tests some leading brands

There is a great line in the movie Crocodile Dundee, when Dundee is cooking a goanna over his campfire and the journalist, Sue Charlton, asks him whether he’s going to eat any. Dundee replies: “Well, you can live on it, but it tastes like s**t.”

That’s always been the problem with “energy food” on boats - you know it’s good for you, but it tastes like s**t. Well, not anymore.

Specially for this feature, another Yaffa journalist and I decided to “take one for the team” and taste test a range of energy bars that fulfill the energy/carb/protein/fat criteria that is recommended by leading sports dietician, Susie Burrell. We were very pleasantly surprised with what we found.

So here are our top five brands, with a few taste notes on each one. Please remember that taste is a very subjective measure, and what I like won’t necessarily be what your whole crew will enjoy.

Our advice is to buy a few of the brands that you think will appeal, and try them out during club racing BEFORE the big event.

Em’s Power Cookies and Bars

Developed by a Canadian triathlete living in New Zealand, Em’s products are made from all-natural rolled oats and have a combination of natural sugars from raisins, honey and rice syrup, with a touch of brown sugar for taste.

Power Cookies (Serve Size 185g)

Excellent taste. Big chunks of chocolate and raisins, good texture. Also a decent size serving ideal as a snack on the rail.

Per serve Per 100g
Energy 1381kJ 1624kJ
Carbs 49.3g 58g
Protein 5.6g 6.6g
Fat 12.6g 14.8g

Power Cookie Bites (Serve Size 30g)

Bite-sized servings of the above cookies. Could be good for dinghy sailors between races, but too small for big, hungry rail meat during the Sydney-Hobart.

Per serve Per 100g
Energy 487kJ 1624kJ
Carbs 17.4g 58g
Protein 2.0g 6.6g
Fat 2.8g 14.8g

Power Bars (Serve Size 80g)

Flavours:

Chocolate Oat Explosion: Excellent. Not too “oaty” and lots of choc. My favourite.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bomb: Sweet, nice flavour, not too “oaty”.

Apricot Attack: Flavour very strong. Very “oaty”. Not my favourite in this range but you may love it.

Per serve Per 100g
Energy 1253kJ 1567kJ
Carbs 49.8g 62.2g
Protein 5.2g 6.5g
Fat 8.8g 11g

Power Bites (Serve Size 27g)

See note above re serving size – ideal for dinghies, too small for keelboats.

Per serve Per 100g
Energy 425kJ 1567kJ
Carbs 16.8g 62.2g
Protein 1.8g 6.5g
Fat 3.0g 11g
www.powercookies.com

Shotz

Developed by a Perth triathlete and firefighter, Shotz proved so popular among the triathlon community that they moved their operation to Melbourne.

Energy Bars (Serve Size 50g)

I’ve listed these in order of my preference, but you might disagree.

Choc Almond Ammo: One of my favourites among all the brands tasted. Big chocolate flavour. Very easy to eat.

Apple Berry Blast: Great taste, with lots of berry flavours. A bit sticky.

Choc Mint Missile: I’m not a big mint fan, but I still gave this 8/10. It has a very strong mint flavour, which could be good for people feeling a bit seasick.

Sticky Date Explosion: The name worried me, thinking of the ablution facilities on most racing boats, but this tastes good. Quite “oaty” though.

Typical analysis – figures vary slightly depending on flavour.

Per serve Per 100g
Energy 762kJ 1525kJ
Carbs 30.8g 61.6g
Protein 3.7g 7.4g
Fat 4.4g 8.8g

Shotz Energy Gel (Serve Size 45g)

Gels give fast, sustained fuel for high endurance sports and would be ideal for dinghy sailors needing a quick boost between races, or even keelboat crews doing a series of windward/leewards. The Shotz gels taste better than other gels I’ve tried in the past, but they still lean towards the goanna comment above. As a result I didn’t test the whole range. If you are sailing in a way that expends a lot of energy, try a few of these. Flavours: Wild Bean, Cola, Berry Banana, Cola Vanilla, Lemon Lime, Wild Berry.

Per serve Per 100g
Energy 495kJ 1100kJ
Carbs 29.8g 66.2g
Protein 0.0g 0.0g
Fat 0.0g 0.0g

Shotz Hydration Tablets

Rather than storing electrolyte replacement drinks on board, these could be handy for long ocean races. The sugar-free, thirstquenching electrolyte replacement tablets are dropped into water. Especially good for people who have been seasick, they taste pretty good too. Flavours: Orange Vanilla, Lemon.

www.shotz1.com

Endura Energy Bars

Endura products are made by Health World, an Australian-owned company. They split their product range into categories such as rehydration, recovery, energy, peak performance, protein, muscle support and improve metabolism. As we are primarily concerned with energy, it’s the energy bars and gels that we looked at. Endura energy bars are a high carbohydrate energy source, with no artificial colours or flavours and with a balanced mix of vitamins and minerals. Chocolate: Chewy. Mild flavour. Very easy to eat.

Serve Size: 60g
Per serve Per 100g
Energy 1022kJ 1703kJ
Carbs 38.2g 63.6g
Protein 8.1g 13.5g
Fat 6.4g 10.6g

Endura Energy Gels

These sports energy gels contain both quick release and slow release carbohydrates, which means you can get a boost after a sail change, for example, while also getting some longterm effects. There are five flavours: Citrus, Vanilla, Grape, Raspberry and Coffee.

Serve sizes: Single serve 35g sachets, in boxes of 20 sachets.
Per serve Per 100g
Energy 444kJ 1682kJ
Carbs 26g 98.5g
Protein <0.1g <0.1g
Fat <0.1g 0.2g
www.endura.com.au

Power Bar

One of the original energy foods for endurance athletes, these were among my favourites for taste, even though they are a mass-produced, imported Nestle product as opposed to some of the “natural” and Australian-owned alternatives listed here. Take note of the warning about consuming plenty of water with these bars. That’s important anyway when you are racing, but especially if you are also eating energy bars. Power Bars aren’t “oat” based – they actually taste like a confectionery bar you might buy from the corner store. If your crew are fussy eaters, try them with these.

The downside I found was that they don’t like being left in hot cabins – they congealed a bit.

Chocolate: Awesome flavour, but with a slight after-taste.

Caramel Vanilla Crisp: Again, awesome flavour.

Vanilla-coconut: My favourite from a taste perspective.

Typical analysis (Vanilla Crisp):
Serve Size 60g
Per serve Per 100g
Energy 954kJ 1590kJ
Carbs 40g 67g
Protein 8g 14g
Fat 3g 5g

Power Bar Gel Blasts

Power Bar also make gels. However, instead of being a gel liquid, like Shotz, these are like lollies. Hand a packet of these to the rail meat and you’ll have friends for life!Raspberry and Lemon flavours both have a very pleasant tang. Again, drink plenty of water.

Serve size: 60g per packet of 8 lollies.
Per serve Per 100g
Energy 834kJ 1390kJ
Carbs 45g 75g
Protein 3.9g 6.5g
Fat 0.0g 0.0g
www.powerbar.com.au

Go Natural

Go Natural is an Australian-owned family company that has been in the business since 1987. They make a range of different products including fruitnut bars, snack bars, and what they call SuperFoods. Their nut bars are sweetened with Australian honey and are gluten-free. They also use Australian-grown almonds, peanuts and macadamias.

Some of my favourites were:

Fruitnut Bar – Choc Macadamia: Great texture and nice flavours with a hint of cherry.

Snackbars – Trail Mix: Mixed berry and grain. Pleasant flavour, but very “oaty”.

Superfoods – Almond Cranberry: Big chunks of almonds. Not “oaty” at all. Excellent taste.

Typical analysis (Trail Mix):
Serve Size 40g
Per serve Per 100g
Energy 663kJ 1657kJ
Carbs 25.2g 62.9g
Protein 2.9g 7.3g
Fat 5.1g 12.7g
www.gonatural.com.au

Susie Burrell’s Carb Criteria

(per serve)
Energy: 1000-1200kJ
Carbohydrates: 45-60g
Protein 5-10g
Fat: less than 10g per 100g

Where to purchase

While some supermarkets now have “health food” sections where you can buy the bigger brands like Power Bars, smaller companies can’t get their products in there or don’t produce a big enough volume. These companies generally sell their products directly off their website or through cycle shops. Because carb bars and energy gels are widely used by endurance athletes, triathlon, cycle and running specialists almost always have a good range. Some gyms will also carry them. For more information, go to the company websites as listed on these pages.