Are Chocolate-Flavored PowerBars Pro- Or Anti-Coagulant?

Hi! Folks,

As I now engage my brain to prepare for the fifth time for the Lake Placid Ironman race, my thoughts return to food. For endurance sports, the right food for you is critical, but not necessarily easy to find. In 2009, I bonked really badly on the bike, with my average wattage for the ride dropping from an expected 160 Watts to about 140 Watts. The ‘bonk’ set in at about 80 miles into the 112 mile ride as a gradual inability to maintain my power output, and at about 100 miles it developed into nausea. I tried taking some dilute Coca-Cola to settle my stomach, but to no avail. This was my big mistake - at that point in the ride I should have done the one thing I did not feel like doing, eat! What was worse, after the race I was so mad about my poor performance that I failed to go to the roll-down meeting, and missed a Hawaii slot that rolled right on by me. Bummer!!!!

I spent the next year training my stomach on the bike by exploring different foods with the right glycemic index. During endurance sports we require sugar in a form that provides the energy you need to replace your depleted liver glycogen, whilst avoiding a surge of blood glucose that will trigger insulin release followed by an undershoot of blood glucose, which again will generate symptoms of bonking. Well! I tried lots of foods, some were great, but would dissolve in the rain or heat, were too sticky or fragile to handle, or just sat in my stomach undigested. I finally, after about five months of trial and error settled on chocolate flavored PowerBars. They just worked, and I didn’t become sick of them, even though I needed to be able to comfortably eat eight to nine of these 240 calorie candies during the bike leg of the race. They worked for me as an effective energy source and I was happy, but then along came my stent?

Now, what about my AAA-stent. I didn’t want to bleed to death or have my stent blocked by blood clots, so I wondered, ‘are chocolate flavored PowerBars pro- or anticoagulant?’ It is well known that many foods have anticoagulant properties, and such foods combined with anticoagulants could possibly lead to unwanted bleeding. I was instructed upon leaving the hospital after the insertion of my AAA-stent to take an anticoagulant dose of aspirin and my usual fish oil tablets, which also have anticoagulant properties. The goal is to reduce the risk of blood clots forming in my stent, which could be a real problem if it occurred.

Here are the ingredients of a chocolate-flavored PowerBar:

C2 Max Carbohydrate Blend (Organic Evaporated Cane Juice Syrup, Maltodextrin, Fructose, Dextrose) Oat Bran, Soy Protein Isolate, Alkalized Cocoa, Brown Rice Flour, and 2% or less of Canola Oil, Vegetable Glycerin, Salt, Chocolate, Natural Flavor, Nonfat Milk, Almond Butter, Peanut Flour, Minerals: Calcium Phosphate, Potassium Phosphate, Ferrous Fumarate (Iron),Vitamins: Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C),Vitamin B6 Hydrochloride, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1)

The only ingredient I wondered about initially was soy protein, for which a quick Google search revealed that it apparently does not appear to influence blood clotting, whilst it is recommended for the reduction of blood pressure and cholesterol which are both risk factors for AAA formation. Then I wondered about the almond butter, but it seems to discourage blood clots, so that was fine. I couldn’t find any consistent concerns about Peanut Flour, either. Furthermore, as the vitamin list did not include vitamin K, I think I’ll stick to my chocolate-flavored PowerBars on the bike, for now at least. But no other flavor worked for me - isn’t that interesting? It has to feel good to eat or it just won’t work. An upset stomach has ruined many an Ironman race; you see it every time you race. In fact, my pre-stent coach, Chris Hauth, said that “sometimes you just need to eat something you feel like, even if it is a Snickers Bar!” He’s right about that!

Cheers,

KevinImportant Note: These posts do not provide medical advice. You should always consult your physician before undertaking or significantly modifying an exercise program.

Copyright © 2010 Kevin T. Morgan aka FitOldDog, Old Dogs in Training, LLC.