What should eat before, during and after a marathon?

The keys to effectively managing diabetes include:

* proper diet
* losing excess weight
* lowering cholesterol
* controlling blood sugar
* exercise

If you are a long-distance runner, there are some steps you can take to prevent the potential complications of exercise:

1. Monitor your blood sugar, during your
work-outs, to see how your body responds
to the exercise. Do this before the "bg
race," you can anticipate your caloric
needs and prepare for them.
2. Balance your diet with carbs, proteins
and fats, to help stabilize your blood
sugars over the long run. Include energy
bars on your run - they average 250
calories per bar, and are high in both
protein and carbs.
3. Stay hydrated - dehydration impacts
not only your blood sugar, but also your
electrolytes. Sports drinks are high in
simple sugars and electrolytes. If you
want to drink these beverages, alternate
with water, so you don't end up with
excesses in potassium and sodium.
4. Listen to your body - if you start to
feel hungry or thirsty, feed your body.
Hunger and thirst are symptoms that your
body is in need of fuel and fluids.

An average-weight person (150 pounds) burns 700 calories per hour, running 10 minute miles. This does not include uphill intervals, and sprints. You need to compensate for these calories during a long race, to ensure that your body has enough fuel to avoid ketoacidosis, and keep your blood sugars stable.

We lose fluids by routes other than just our bladder. These types of fluid loss are called "insensible losses," and account for between 500-650ml of fluid a day, in the average person. The amount lost during exercise can be 10 times this amount, depending on the type and duration of exercise.

Anticipate that you will need more than the normally recommended amount of fluids when you run long races. Take your body weight, divide by 2.5, then multiply by 30. This is the minimum number of milliliters of fluid you should drink each day. Expect to at least double this if you are running a long race.

Drink in small frequent quantities, and alternate with eating, so that you don't overload your stomach. This can result in cramps, since the majority of your blood is going to support your muscles, rather than you internal organs.

Run with carbs, fats, proteins and fluids on board, to keep your blood sugars stable and to support you for the long haul.