for athletes taking part in endurance
sporting events. Hannele Steyn-
Kotze, athlete, microbiologist and
nutritionist, has tested Rooibos drinks
as an alternative with promising results.
Endurance athletes may be better off
consuming inexpensive, home-made Rooibos drinks than relying exclusively on
expensive, over-hyped energy products, says Hannele.
She has 25 years of experience in competitive
racing including 11 Triathlon World Cups,
nine Mountain Bike World Cups, a ladies’ Cape
Epic Win, numerous endurance World Championships and two more pages of
achievements.
Following her 10th Cape Epic and a number of
200km one-day races, Hannele began experimenting with alternatives as she found
the sugars in some energy products were not effective. Other endurance athletes
she talked to related similar experiences.
Hannele says there have been many studies
into exercise and nutrition, but very little has focused on how to sustain
energy levels during multi-day events. “I’m not saying there aren’t some good
energy products – I continue to use a very good, scientifically researched
nutrition product and energy drink to supplement natural products – but not all
of them work optimally for endurance athletes,” she says.
She says another concern is some are packed
with sugars, vegetable fat, artificial sweeteners, flavouring agents and colorants.
Consuming these on a sustained basis, particularly if you are constantly
pushing your limits, isn’t a good idea. Instead of relying entirely on
supplements, Hannele has gone back to basics, experimenting with natural
products that are easily digested.
“I love Rooibos and it also ticked all the
other boxes – it’s natural, easily digested and packed with antioxidants, so it’s
really healthy. I decided to try it in training, but to concentrate the flavour,
opted to use Rooibos espresso powder. I mixed it with a little bit of honey,
for fast energy and milk to provide fats and protein. Viola – a tasty, healthy,
natural energy drink,” she says. At Annique we will suggest athletes mix
Rooibos with the Annique Lifestyle Shake.
According to Hannele, the milk can be
replaced with other options such as soy, rice or nut milk, or for shorter races
omitted altogether. “Diabetics can use Xylitol. Depending on how organised you
are, you can mix it up and freeze it overnight or make it fresh in the morning.
There’s no risk of it going off as you should
be consuming at least 500ml to 750ml of liquid an hour,” she says.
Hannele raced the eight days of the Epic and
the Trans Karoo (a 240km one-day race), drinking only Rooibos mix and water and
she was the first lady to finish the Trans Karoo and the seventh solo rider
in a field of 250.
While Hannele acknowledges different combinations
work for different people, she found that combining natural products and
nutritional supplements work well for her.
Special thanks
To Beauty Bulletin for my awesome hamper below:
I appreciate it dearly ladies.
Regards,
Zharina
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