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We live in a world where hiking nutritional advice is abundant and often contradictory. I’ve seen peanut butter berated as a “naughty product” in some articles and hailed as a protein-packed powerhouse in others. In some years, high-fat diets have been met with dismay, while in others they are touted as the solution to weight loss, ketosis, and eternal youth.
While walking nutrition advice tends to be more practical, it does not exist in a vacuum. Much of the advice we receive is filtered into the walking world through layers of diet culture and sensationalist media. The truth is that we still don’t know much about how the body works. Digestion and the way certain foods and nutrients affect the body is incredibly complex and ridiculously diverse. It is rarely the same from person to person. That’s why fad diets like probiotic supplements, intermittent fasting, and even increased protein intake are poorly understood.
To get to the bottom of a few of the common myths, I spoke with Katie Barylski, the registered dietitian and lifelong hiker behind Revival Nutrition Counseling in Boulder, Colorado. Here are their thoughts on eight common misconceptions.
Myth: Simple sugars are bad for you. Complex carbohydrates are always a better choice.
Truth: When people talk about “sugar” or “simple sugars” being bad for you, they are primarily talking about processed sugars. This is the type of sugar you find in candies and cookies, not the kind you find in sweet potatoes or dried fruit, Barylski says.
“I don’t want to say that eating too much has zero negative health effects [processed] sugar,” he explains. “However, there are a lot of simple sugars. They can certainly be part of a satisfying, nutritious and sustainable dietary pattern. And they really shine on longer or more challenging hikes.”
Simple sugars are a readily available source of glucose, which is the primary fuel for our body as well as our brain. They can lift the mood and keep energy levels high on walks. And when we’re fasting, they’re actually a better choice than complex carbohydrates like starches or whole grains because we get energy faster from simple sugars. “In some cases, complex carbohydrates can cause digestive distress and negatively impact performance,” says Barylski.
Myth: Sugar causes inflammation.
Truth: Chronic inflammation, a type of whole-body inflammation that can be associated with chronic diseases, is a fairly new and poorly understood concept. While people like to use sugar as an easy scapegoat, there isn’t enough research to support it, Barylski says.
“I think we overemphasize the role of diet in general when there are so many other factors that can cause chronic inflammation,” he explains. “Stress, discrimination, access to safe, clean water, your environment, your home life—these factors have much greater impacts on your health and your likelihood of developing chronic inflammation or chronic disease than we realize.” In fact, research shows that diet and exercise account for only one-third of the factors that contribute to our health. The rest has to do with our genetics or environment—factors largely beyond our control.
While there’s some research showing that a diet high in simple sugars may be associated with higher inflammation, that doesn’t necessarily make sugar the enemy, Barylski says.
“Eating simple sugars, even regularly, as part of a nutrient-diverse diet, probably won’t be a cause for concern, especially if you’re protected from some of the other non-diet-related variables,” he says. In other words, unless you’re suffering from systemic discrimination, inadequate drinking water, or chronic stress, your sugar intake is probably just a drop in the bucket.
Myth: If you go crazy, it’s because you didn’t eat enough on the road.
Truth: Hikers often think of blowouts as a result of inadequate fuel consumption on the trail. But the truth is, says Barylski, that generosity can have many different explanations. This could be an indication that you had too little breakfast that morning, or even too little breakfast the day before the hike.
You can also have fun because you eat very little in your life in general. This condition is common among dieters, walkers, and people who tend to have an unbalanced diet. If you’re running a calorie deficit in your daily life, eating a big breakfast won’t be enough to return your energy to walk-ready levels.
“Eating habits over time are important,” says Barylski. “It’s not just about what you eat that day. “If you’re not eating enough or there’s a complete imbalance in your diet, this can cause your gait to suffer.”
Myth: Eating a high-fat snack before getting into your sleeping bag will help you stay warm at night.
Truth: Barylski says he hasn’t seen any scientific research on this topic (probably because there isn’t one) but he doubts its accuracy. He explains that temperature regulation is more about consuming adequate and balanced amounts of macronutrients (proteins, fats, and carbohydrates) throughout the day and throughout your life in general. A single snack right before bed is unlikely to affect your body temperature much, even in the short term. (It is better to sleep with a hot water bottle or do some exercise before going to bed.)
“If you’re generally running in a calorie deficit, you’re much more likely to struggle with temperature control than if you’re eating well,” says Barylski.
Myth: You should avoid eating protein in the middle of a walk because it is difficult to digest.
Truth: Hiking publications (included) backpacker) he generally advises hikers to prioritize fats and carbohydrates on the trail. Typically, the advice is that you should only load up on protein once you’re in camp, as it’s the most effective way to help your muscles recover. But Barylski says that’s not necessarily the best advice.
“It’s true that focusing more on carbohydrates may be more appropriate for high-intensity walks, as carbohydrates require less energy to digest,” he says. “But if you’re a day hiker or moving at a more moderate pace, the best recommendation is to pair carbohydrates with protein for sustained energy.”
He says protein may be slightly easier to digest than high-fat or high-fiber foods. Pairing proteins with carbohydrates (think: bagel and jerky or a PB&J sandwich) can help slow digestion and give you a more consistent release of energy instead of blood sugar spikes and crashes.
“Fats can also be paired with carbohydrates and have a similar slowing effect on the insulin response,” says Barylski. “But fats are one of the hardest things for our bodies to break down. Therefore, eating something high in fat on the road may be more likely to cause digestive distress.”
Myth: Dried and freeze-dried foods have less nutritional value than fresh foods.
Truth: Contrary to popular belief, the process of dehydration does not actually lose the nutritional value of foods.
“[Backpacking meals] It retains the vast majority of nutrients, minerals and vitamins,” says Barylski. “But if someone is worried about vitamin or mineral degradation, they can take a daily multivitamin supplement.” He recommends taking this vitamin with food for better digestion and making sure it’s a high-quality vitamin. Supplements are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), so look for “USP” on the label, which is the highest level of regulation available.
Myth: Skipping breakfast before a hike is an effective way to burn more fat.
Truth: We’re looking at you, intermittent fasters. “Skipping breakfast may affect the type of energy your body uses while walking, but it’s not the most metabolically efficient option. And it comes at a cost,” Barylski says. “The most likely risks include hitting the wall faster, irritability, nausea, or digestive distress.”
Some people can actually skip breakfast without any negative effects. But most people experience low energy, irritability, and brain fog (i.e., hanging) as a result of low blood sugar. When your blood sugar drops, cortisol and other stress hormones rise, which is why you get cranky.
The other problem, Barylski adds, is that it’s not just oil that breaks down when you’re low on fuel.
“Your body also needs amino acids and gets them through the breakdown of muscles,” he says. Weight loss dogma often teaches that fat breakdown will occur first and muscle breakdown will only occur if you run out of fat. But Barylski says these processes often start at the same time. Our bodies aren’t as picky as we’d like them to be, and there’s really no way to control or target fat burning.
Myth: Losing weight will make you better at walking.
Truth: In social media comments (for this post and others), I often see people suggesting that being overweight makes your ability to walk worse. Others seem to believe that thinness is a good measure of health and fitness. Barylski says these ideas are just stereotypes and are not objectively true. Numerous scientific studies show that weight is not actually a determinant of health.
“Culturally, we are taught that it is normal, even reasonable, to make judgments about people’s health based on their appearance,” says Barylski. “It’s unhelpful at best and actively harmful at worst. There are so many things that go into weight. Just as there are skinny people who aren’t fit or healthy, there are fat people who are fit and healthy.” So, just because you’re a skinny hiker doesn’t mean you’re clean or can neglect your diet on the trail. Similarly, if you’re a larger hiker, you don’t need to change your eating habits or lose weight to improve your hiking performance. And no matter what your size, you don’t have the right to make comments about it. .