Fuel Myth

Fat-Adapted Athletes Don’t Need Carbs

Fat-Adapted Athletes Don’t Need Carbs

"Train your body to burn fat and you're free of carbs." The physiology is real — fat adaptation works — but it doesn't do the thing the claim promises. Burning...

Fat-Adapted Athletes Don’t Need Carbs

"Train your body to burn fat and you're free of carbs." The physiology is real — fat adaptation works — but it doesn't do the thing the claim promises. Burning...

Carb-Loading Isn’t Pasta the Night Before

Carb-Loading Isn’t Pasta the Night Before

Half the start line ate a giant bowl of pasta last night and called it carb-loading. As a way of actually filling glycogen, it mostly doesn't work — loading is...

Carb-Loading Isn’t Pasta the Night Before

Half the start line ate a giant bowl of pasta last night and called it carb-loading. As a way of actually filling glycogen, it mostly doesn't work — loading is...

Salt Tablets Prevent Cramp

Salt Tablets Prevent Cramp

"You need salt!" is the most repeated cramp advice in endurance sport — and the one the strongest evidence does not support. Cramp looks like a salt problem and is...

Salt Tablets Prevent Cramp

"You need salt!" is the most repeated cramp advice in endurance sport — and the one the strongest evidence does not support. Cramp looks like a salt problem and is...

Gels and Sports Drinks Together: What Actually Causes the GI Distress

Gels and Sports Drinks Together: What Actually Causes the GI Distress

"Never take a gel with a sports drink" is repeated as a rule in running clubs everywhere. The research tells a more precise story: the variable is carbohydrate concentration and...

Gels and Sports Drinks Together: What Actually Causes the GI Distress

"Never take a gel with a sports drink" is repeated as a rule in running clubs everywhere. The research tells a more precise story: the variable is carbohydrate concentration and...

More Caffeine Doesn’t Mean More Performance

More Caffeine Doesn’t Mean More Performance

Caffeine works — which is exactly why "more must be better" feels obvious. The evidence disagrees: the benefit plateaus around a moderate dose, and past it you collect the jitters,...

More Caffeine Doesn’t Mean More Performance

Caffeine works — which is exactly why "more must be better" feels obvious. The evidence disagrees: the benefit plateaus around a moderate dose, and past it you collect the jitters,...

Gels Aren’t Only for Race Day

Gels Aren’t Only for Race Day

Most athletes treat gels like a fire extinguisher — sealed, saved, cracked open only on race day. That is exactly why they backfire. Your gut is a trainable organ, and...

Gels Aren’t Only for Race Day

Most athletes treat gels like a fire extinguisher — sealed, saved, cracked open only on race day. That is exactly why they backfire. Your gut is a trainable organ, and...

Natural Doesn’t Mean Unlimited

Natural Doesn’t Mean Unlimited

It's just honey — a couple more can't hurt." It feels like common sense, and your small intestine disagrees. Absorption is transporter-limited and dose-dependent even in healthy people. Episode 01 of The...

Natural Doesn’t Mean Unlimited

It's just honey — a couple more can't hurt." It feels like common sense, and your small intestine disagrees. Absorption is transporter-limited and dose-dependent even in healthy people. Episode 01 of The...