By Vicki Hackman
Halloween is over, but the leftovers linger... bars, bites, and nibbles designed to send kids of all ages into sugar nirvana. Well, it's time to throw away the candy. Whether disguised as a Halloween goodie or an "energy" fuel, refined sugar is far more trick than treat - and its effects can be truly frightening.
Simple sugars - such as the cane sugar and/or fructose used in nearly every processed food and many popular sports energy products - are associated with a long list of health problems. Weight gain and tooth decay are just the beginning; more worrisome potential conditions include dementia, epilepsy, diabetes, and many kinds of cancer. (Read more about the connection between sugar and cancer in Endurance News issue 91.
Statistics suggest that the sugar habit is a tough one to shake, unfortunately. The average American is estimated to consume 150 pounds of the stuff per year as part of his/her diet. Add to that annual total another 50 pounds if you use a sugar-based sports drink just 10 hours per week, 50 weeks a year. (Read the details in EN 90, p. 5,"Sugar, do the math" by Brian Frank.)
Sadly, athletes who still buy the myth that sugar in any form makes a good athletic fuel are jeopardizing their health and sabotaging their athletic performance - perhaps unknowingly. During a race or workout, they may frequently experience nausea, energy crashes, and poorer than hoped for performance, not realizing that such a performance isn't par for the course.
Real endurance fuels - NOT candy!
The truth is, if you fuel right, you WILL feel great - and perform up to your true potential. Hammer Nutrition offers real endurance fuels - NOT candy. Formulated with only the healthiest ingredients - including complex carbohydrates and no refined sugars - HEED, Hammer Gels, Hammer Bars, Perpetuem, and Sustained Energy provide the quality energy your body craves. They contain purely natural ingredients, nothing artificial, and are made in the U.S.A. according to the strictest quality standards.
The complex carbohydrate maltodextrin used in Hammer Nutrition endurance fuels delivers solid, sustained energy - not the flash and crash energy spikes caused by sucrose, fructose, or sugar combinations. What's more, your body can process maltodextrin much more smoothly than it can simple sugars. You won't experience the nausea or upset stomach that simple sugar fuels often cause.
If your bag still contains tricky candy fuels, it's time to toss them away! Treat your body to the nutrition it craves. Hammer Nutrition fuels are real endurance fuels - not candy. Experience what it's like to "Fuel right, feel great!"
