Sportsmen, many of you have digestive problems during training and/or long-distance sports events such as trails, half-marathons, marathons, triathlons...
In these situations, you always question your diet (gluten, sugars, wheat, dairy products...) but in spite of all these efforts and research, you do not find which food is the cause.

What are the symptoms?

•  Gas
•  Painful bloating
•  Feeling of overflow in the stomach
•  Transit disorder (diarrhea and/or constipation)
•  Sensation of an air tube in the right side of the abdomen
•  Digestive sounds
•  Burning, sourness and pain in the stomach
•  Swelling of the intestine similar to "a rope
•  Stomach ache due to stress
•  Odor of the gauze rather sour
•  False urge to have a bowel movement

Do you have at least 3 recurring symptoms described above? Keep reading, you may find your cure! First of all, it is important to differentiate between high digestive disorders, i.e. essentially linked to the stomach, and low digestive disorders, linked to the intestines.

• Among the high digestive disorders, we find acid reflux in the throat, epigastric pain and vomiting.
• Low-level digestive disorders include more generalized abdominal pain, diarrhea, and/or urges to have a bowel movement.

Apart from the anxiety and the competition as reasons for these digestive disorders. However, there are other physiological causes.

• Decreased blood flow to the digestive tract. In fact, the blood flow is mainly directed to the muscles used during the effort. This results in a decrease in the blood supply to the digestive tract, which then does not drain the digestive acidity. This acidity can therefore cause damage to the mucosa. The organism is unable to assimilate the water; vomiting occurs as a result.
• As a result, dehydration occurs more easily and accelerates the reduction of blood flow.
• Esophageal reflux can also be caused by the vibrations induced by the repeated movements of running.
• Taking aggressive medications such as anti-inflammatory drugs
• A change of diet that is not suitable for the athlete.
• Irritable bowel syndrome is a physiological cause that is not insignificant and is very common among athletes who put their intestinal mucous membranes to the test.

What are the solutions?

• Respect the 3-hour rule between the end of the last meal and the start of the event.
• Make a light meal by favoring complex carbohydrates such as basmati rice, quinoa, bulgur, buckwheat,...by eliminating fats and excess sugars that increase fermentation.
• Take the time to eat by chewing the food well
• Do not try new foods the days before a competition
• Do not take anti-inflammatory or other medications that are aggressive to the mucous membranes
• Drink a few small sips every 15 minutes from the start of the race. This drink will have been tested prior to the training sessions,
• Avoid foods** containing FODMAP (Fermentable - Oligosaccharides - Disaccharides - Monosaccharides - And - Polyols) at least 4 weeks before your event.

What foods should you exclude in the month before your sport goal?

Fruit: apricot, avocado, unripe banana, cherry, canned fruit in juice, persimmons, lychee, mango, blackberries, nectarine, watermelon, peach, pear, Apple, plum, prune, raisins, and other dried fruit in general.
Vegetables (Prefer Cooked): garlic, Artichoke, asparagus, beet, eggplant, broccoli, raw celery mushroom, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, Cauliflower, shallot, corn, onion (all varieties), leek, snow pea green bell pepper, Jerusalem artichoke
Dairy Products: ice cream, cream, milk-based desserts, unripened soft cheese (cottage, mascarpone, ricotta), cottage cheese, milk (cow, goat, sheep), milk powder.
Pulses: soybeans, mung beans, kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas.
Cereals: Cereal bar, wheat-based cookies, wheat or rye in large quantities (e.g. bread, crackers, cookies, couscous, pasta), wheat-based breakfast cereal.
Miscellaneous: Almond, sweetened beverage and soda, industrial deli meats depending on ingredients and additives, chewi gum, chicory, fruit concentrates, jams, fructose, honey, dried fruit, gum, large portion of fruit, sunflower seeds, inulin, isomalt (953), fruit juice. maltitol (965), mannitol (421), mint, dandelion, pistachios, corn syrup, sorbitol (420), lollipop, xylitol (967).

If you follow these tips carefully, most of your symptoms should disappear. If this is not the case, consult a gastroenterologist to detect any other pathology. A visit to a health specialist such as a dietician may be helpful in finding alternatives to these common foods that may cause deficiencies in their absence.

Good preparation!