İ am not sure but i find out that to get to much sugar decreasing my apnea ability, tested myself in week , i mean one week i got too much honey-chocklet at breakfast, one week only salty olive , chese , breath, at breakfast ...second week was better than first...any idea?
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Sugar kills Apnea?
- Thread starterSEDATE
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Thread Status: Hello
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I've noticed the same effect in my self and thus avoid sugar during preparation for any serious performances (and generally in life too). There are propably more complex reasons too, but I think one obvious one is that it increases the respiratory quotient, ie. the ratio of carbon dioxide produced per oxygen consumed.
Normally the RQ would be around 0.85. In a mode where you are metabolizing mostly fat, it would be around 0.70 and in "pure carb mode" 1.00. Which means that in extreme case, just by changing your diet, you will be producing up to 30% more co2 (realistically, the changes will not be so huge, but in theory...).
If the RQ is too high, to get the same comfort level you have to hyperventilate aggressively. So in the beginning your co2 will be much lower than normal (which is not good), yet in the end it will be through the roof. You get the bad effects in both ends. In the beginning your relaxation is ruined, hr is up. In the end, horrible contractions and a quickly building panicky feeling. Where as with a good, steady rise of a lower RQ you build up CO2 from the normal level slower up to your limit, staying in control.
Too low is not good either. In pure fat mode you will feel wonderful, but pass out sooner.
So the ideal static diet would include some complex carbs in moderation. So using common sense: avoid sugar, processed wheat, sweets, pastrys...Favor whole grain, veggies, fruit.
Too much protein has a similar effect on me. Especially protein supplements (whey). I still eat those during training season, but during "apnea season" I favor a balanced diet of "a little bit of everything but avoiding the obvious pitfalls".
Normally the RQ would be around 0.85. In a mode where you are metabolizing mostly fat, it would be around 0.70 and in "pure carb mode" 1.00. Which means that in extreme case, just by changing your diet, you will be producing up to 30% more co2 (realistically, the changes will not be so huge, but in theory...).
If the RQ is too high, to get the same comfort level you have to hyperventilate aggressively. So in the beginning your co2 will be much lower than normal (which is not good), yet in the end it will be through the roof. You get the bad effects in both ends. In the beginning your relaxation is ruined, hr is up. In the end, horrible contractions and a quickly building panicky feeling. Where as with a good, steady rise of a lower RQ you build up CO2 from the normal level slower up to your limit, staying in control.
Too low is not good either. In pure fat mode you will feel wonderful, but pass out sooner.
So the ideal static diet would include some complex carbs in moderation. So using common sense: avoid sugar, processed wheat, sweets, pastrys...Favor whole grain, veggies, fruit.
Too much protein has a similar effect on me. Especially protein supplements (whey). I still eat those during training season, but during "apnea season" I favor a balanced diet of "a little bit of everything but avoiding the obvious pitfalls".
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I treat fruits as simple sugars actually. Mostly because they affect me the same way. Fructose is a monosaccharide though it has a lower GI compared to other simple sugars.
As for RQ=1, if someone theoretically has the CO2 tolerance to handle it I'm not sure why it wouldn't be beneficial as you will be able to use more of the stored oxygen. Might not be too good for depth disciplines due to CO2 narcosis though.
As for RQ=1, if someone theoretically has the CO2 tolerance to handle it I'm not sure why it wouldn't be beneficial as you will be able to use more of the stored oxygen. Might not be too good for depth disciplines due to CO2 narcosis though.
There is another aspect of hi sugar input that probably has negative effects on apnea, excess insulin production. A big suger hit just before diving results in high insulin production, driving blood suger down very fast. First you get high energy (at a high C02 cost) then you get low energy availability. Also, at first the excess sugar makes your body think it just had a huge meal, then, suddenly, is very short on food. I'm not very knowledgable on the physiological details, but this kind of see/sawing back and forth can't be good for apnea performance.
Connor
Connor