The Olympian is trying to prove the body can be fueled by fat alone.
Double Olympic gold medalist, James Cracknell, is running 100 miles in five days whilst only consuming water to prove that the body can be fueled by fat alone.
When explaining the challenge on his social media pages, Cracknell wrote, ‘Why? The Dietary Guidelines advises 55% of our diet should be carbohydrate has no scientific basis. Society is eating too many carbs, as a result over 60% of the UK population is overweight. This project is aiming to prove the body can turn to fat to fuel itself efficiently.’
Cracknell and the team (he is joined by four doctors and three diabetic runners) set off on Saturday, and by Monday evening, they had covered 45 miles. Cracknell shared an update on his Instagram account, writing, ‘2 days & 45miles done with zero calories. Metabolic testing shows no longer burning carbs but energy levels surprisingly good. 3 days left.’
Cracknell has told his followers he is hoping the challenge will ‘add to evidence that a low carb diet is an effective therapeutic treatment for diabetics and beneficial for pre-diabetics’.
Steve Bennett, author of Fat and Furious is one of the runners joining Cracknell on the challenge, wrote on Instagram this morning, ‘All 8 participants feeling great, but sore. Today’s route looks interesting, but we have broken the back of it / as we are ahead on miles. My glucose is in the same range as I would expect after a meal!! What science this is! #fasting’
According to the NHS, diabetes is a ‘ lifelong condition that causes a person's blood sugar level to become too high’. Type 2 diabetes, where the body does not produce enough insulin, is most common in the UK. Studies have proven that a healthy diet and keeping active can help type 2 diabetics manage their blood sugar levels.