Episode 109 - What's lactate supplements and buffers got to do with endurance sports? | Dr Bryan Saunders

Anyone who’s ever done an interval session, or a hard effort in a race, knows that feeling of fatigue setting in as you hold on for dear life. But is this really all the result of lactic acid, or is something else going on? Can the nutrition strategies used in shorter, more intense events like track cycling or rowing now be applied in longer endurance sports to get more out of ourselves during those hard efforts in training or race day? And why, at this years’ Tour de France, are we hearing stories emerge of cyclists consuming lactate, the very thing we’re told is the root cause of all that suffering?

 

Timestamps:

05:14 - Intro and Bryan's change in workplace

10:42 - Lactate vs lactic acid, and its role in the body

17:08 - Lactate testing, thresholds and what it means for physiology

25:36 - The roles of lactate in body

30:12 - Fueling Endurance Practitioner Membership, T-12 course for athletes, eBook

32:38 - What are buffering supplements and why are they now being used in endurance sports?

40:33 - What is sodium bicarbonate and how does it work?

42:50 - Does the form of sodium bicarb matter (drink vs tablets vs capsules vs mini-tablets/hydrogel)?

49:07 - Sodium bicarb and gastrointestinal issues - how to avoid

54:22 - Dose of sodium bicarb for a performance effect

57:51 - Timing of bicarb for performance - why are cyclists taking it during exercise (rather than before)?

1:03:06 - Is there evidence that bicarb can work for performance in endurance training or competition?

1:05:24 - What is beta-alanine and how does it work?

1:06:50 - Dose and form of beta-alanine and potential side effects

1:09:33 - Need for prolonged supplementation with beta-alanine

1:12:58 - Evidence for beta-alanine or bicarb + beta-alanine combined for endurance performance

1:18:16 - Exogenous lactate supplements/gels

1:20:37 - Is the concept of exogenous lactate supplements new?

1:23:07 - Are the ways exogenous lactate is being used new in professional sport, and is there evidence it works?

1:26:44 - What's likely to happen next with exogenous lactate?

1:28:59 - Bryan's other current research

1:31:45 - Follow up re. exogenous lactate products

1:41:34 - Wrap up

 

Guest - Dr Bryan Saunders - University of São Paulo

ResearchGate: researchgate.net/profile/Bryan-Saunders-2

X: @Bicycle_Bryan 

 

Studies mentioned in this episode:

• Farias de Oliveira L et al. (2022). Extracellular Buffering Supplements to Improve Exercise Capacity and Performance: A Comprehensive Systematic Review and Meta‐analysis. Sports Medicine. 52:505-526. DOI: 10.1007/s40279-021-01575-x.
• Ewell TR. et al. (2024). The Influence of Acute Oral Lactate Supplementation on Responses to Cycle Ergometer Exercise: A Randomized, Crossover Pilot Clinical Trial. Nutrients. 16(16):2624. DOI: 10.3390/nu16162624

 

Fueling Endurance eBook | T -12 Race Nutrition Course | Practitioner Resources

The Fueling Endurance eBook contains answers to 84 of the most common nutrition questions that runners, cyclists and triathletes ask, and contains insights, tips, and quotes from experts and athletes.  The T -12 self-guided course will help prepare you for your next event, with online tools, guides, information and instructions to take you through the 12 weeks leading up to race day. And the Fueling Endurance Practitioner Membership provides access to online tools and calculators I use all the time when working with endurance and ultraendurance athletes. This includes working out the carbohydrate needs for runners (road and trail) and cyclists for different types of training sessions. For more into on each of these, check out fuelingendurance.com.