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The Power of Carbohydrates: From Cassava & Plantain to Fuel
Carbohydrates have had a bad reputation for far too long. But when it comes to exercise, performance and recovery, they are one of the most important tools in your fuelling toolkit.
At RED-Scue, we believe in Fuel Without Fear — and that means understanding what carbohydrates actually do, rather than labelling them as “good” or “bad”.
From the starch in cassava and plantain to the sugars in dates and maple, carbohydrates come in different forms, follow different digestive pathways and can play different roles in fuelling your training.
So let's break it down.
What actually is a carbohydrate?
Carbohydrate is one of the body's three macronutrients, alongside protein and fat.
At its simplest, carbohydrate is made up of sugar molecules joined together in different ways.
We broadly classify carbohydrates as:
- Monosaccharides — one sugar unit, such as glucose and fructose
- Disaccharides — two sugar units, such as sucrose, lactose and maltose
- Oligosaccharides — short chains of around 3–10 sugar units
- Polysaccharides — long chains, including starch and many forms of dietary fibre
And this is important:
Carbohydrate does not simply mean “sugar”.
Starch is carbohydrate.
Fruit contains carbohydrate.
Fibre is carbohydrate.
Cassava is carbohydrate.
Plantain is carbohydrate.
They simply exist in different forms.
Why do we need carbohydrates?
When you eat digestible carbohydrate, it is broken down into smaller molecules, including glucose.
Glucose can then enter the bloodstream and be used to produce energy.
Your body can also store carbohydrate as glycogen.
There are two important glycogen stores:
Muscle glycogen 🔋
Stored inside your muscles and available for those muscles to use during exercise.
Liver glycogen 🧠
Helps maintain blood glucose, including providing glucose to tissues such as the brain when needed.
This is one reason carbohydrate becomes particularly important when exercise intensity increases.
At higher intensities, your body relies more heavily on carbohydrate because it can provide energy at a faster rate than fat oxidation.
Carbohydrate isn't the enemy of performance. It is one of the fuels that makes performance possible.
Your brain uses glucose too
Your brain has a high energy demand and, under normal dietary conditions, relies heavily on glucose as a fuel.
The brain doesn't have a large store of glucose sitting there ready to use, so maintaining an adequate supply of fuel matters.
This doesn't mean your brain can only ever use glucose — during prolonged carbohydrate restriction or fasting, it can increase its use of ketones.
But for most people eating a mixed diet, carbohydrate is an important source of energy for the brain.
That is one reason inadequate carbohydrate and overall energy availability can affect how you feel, concentrate and perform.
Carbohydrate and exercise: why athletes need it
The harder you work, the more important carbohydrate becomes as an exercise fuel.
That is particularly relevant to:
🏃 Running
🚴 Cycling
🏋️ CrossFit
⚡ Intervals
🏊 Swimming
🥊 High-intensity sport
🏔️ Long endurance events
Carbohydrate can be used rapidly to produce energy, making it particularly valuable when exercise intensity is high.
And carbohydrate isn't just a race-day nutrient.
It can be useful:
BEFORE → DURING → AFTER
your training.
How much carbohydrate do athletes need?
There isn't one magic carbohydrate number for everyone.
Requirements depend on body size, training load, intensity, duration and recovery demands.
Common sports-nutrition ranges include approximately:
3–5g/kg/day
for light training
5–7g/kg/day
for moderate training
6–10g/kg/day
for heavy training
8–12g/kg/day
for very high or extreme training loads.
These are guidelines rather than rules.
Your carbohydrate needs should match the work you're asking your body to do.
That's the idea behind carbohydrate flexibility.
Before exercise: carbohydrate doesn't have to mean a huge meal
One of the things we hear most often from runners and other athletes is:
“I know I need carbs, but I don't want something heavy sitting in my stomach.”
Timing matters.
A large meal containing lots of fat and fibre immediately before exercise may feel uncomfortable for some people.
At other times, a more substantial food-based option can be exactly what you want.
There is no single “perfect” pre-workout food.
It depends on:
- how long until you exercise
- the intensity of the session
- how much carbohydrate you need
- portion size
- texture
- fibre
- fat
- your individual digestion
- what you actually enjoy eating
And that last one matters.
The best fuelling strategy is one you can actually stick to.
During exercise: your gut is part of your performance system
For prolonged exercise, carbohydrate during training can help maintain energy availability and performance.
Common guidance is around:
30–60g carbohydrate per hour
for many endurance sessions lasting around 1–2.5 hours.
For longer endurance events, experienced athletes may use up to around 90g/hour, particularly when consuming multiple transportable carbohydrates and when that intake has been practised and tolerated.
And that's where things get really interesting.
Glucose and fructose use different transporters
Glucose and fructose are both monosaccharides, but they don't use exactly the same pathway to cross the intestinal wall.
Glucose → primarily SGLT1
Fructose → primarily GLUT5
This means consuming multiple transportable carbohydrates can allow carbohydrate to be absorbed using different intestinal transport pathways.
That's one reason glucose + fructose combinations are common in endurance sports nutrition.
But there is a crucial point:
More carbohydrate isn't automatically better.
Your gut needs to learn to tolerate higher carbohydrate intakes.
This is why athletes often talk about “training the gut.”
Just like your legs adapt to running, your gastrointestinal system can adapt to repeated carbohydrate intake during exercise.
So where does RED-Scue fit?
This is where our formulation gets really interesting.
A RED-Scue 70g Fuelling Bar provides approximately:
38g carbohydrate
7.1g protein
4.4g fibre
16.1g fat
It isn't designed to be a conventional gel.
It isn't designed to be a protein bar either.
It is carbohydrate-first, food-first sports fuel.
And we use a combination of plant-based ingredients to create it.
Cassava + plantain: the carbohydrate foundation 🌱
Cassava and plantain are naturally carbohydrate-rich foods.
A significant proportion of their carbohydrate is starch.
And starch is a polysaccharide — long chains of glucose units.
So the process looks something like:
CASSAVA + PLANTAIN
↓
STARCH / POLYSACCHARIDES
↓
Digestion breaks the starch down
↓
GLUCOSE
↓
Small intestine
↓
ABSORPTION
↓
Bloodstream
↓
ENERGY + GLYCOGEN
This is different from simply eating free glucose.
The starch has to be digested first.
And then there are dates + maple 🍁
RED-Scue also contains ingredients such as dates and maple, which contribute sugars.
This brings other carbohydrate structures into the picture.
Monosaccharides
Glucose
Fructose
These are single sugar molecules.
Disaccharides
For example:
Sucrose = glucose + fructose
Sucrose is broken down during digestion into its component monosaccharides.
Oligosaccharides
These are shorter chains of sugar molecules. Some are digested, while certain types of fermentable carbohydrate can reach the large intestine and interact with the gut microbiota.
Polysaccharides
These include:
Starch
Glycogen
Non-starch polysaccharides such as many types of fibre
So RED-Scue isn't simply a “sugar bar” or a “starch bar”.
It contains carbohydrate from multiple plant-based food sources.
What about the absorption rate of RED-Scue?
This is where we need to be scientifically precise.
You may see sports products talk about carbohydrate being “absorbed at X grams per hour”.
But 38g of carbohydrate in a bar does not mean 38g is absorbed per hour.
The actual digestion and absorption of a food depends on many factors, including:
- starch structure
- processing and cooking
- particle size
- fibre
- fat
- protein
- texture
- portion size
- how quickly it is eaten
- exercise intensity
- individual tolerance
And absorption rate is not the same thing as glycaemic index.
Unless the finished RED-Scue product has undergone specific physiological testing, we shouldn't claim a precise absorption rate.
What we can accurately say is that RED-Scue provides approximately 38g carbohydrate from a combination of carbohydrate-containing plant ingredients, including starch-rich cassava and plantain and sugars contributed by ingredients such as dates and maple.
Fibre is carbohydrate too 🌱
This is one of our favourite carbohydrate facts.
Fibre is a type of carbohydrate.
But much of it isn't digested and absorbed as glucose in the small intestine.
Instead, different fibres can:
- support bowel regularity
- contribute to gut health
- interact with the gut microbiota
- influence digestion
- contribute to satiety
- affect blood-glucose responses
Some fermentable carbohydrates reach the large intestine, where gut microbes can ferment them and produce short-chain fatty acids, including acetate, propionate and butyrate.
So when someone says:
“Carbs are bad for your gut.”
That's far too simplistic.
The type, amount, timing and individual tolerance matter.
But more fibre isn't always better before a run
This is another important distinction.
Fibre is valuable for overall health, but more fibre immediately before exercise isn't necessarily better for everyone.
Some athletes prefer lower-fibre, easier-to-digest carbohydrate immediately before or during demanding exercise, particularly if they are prone to gastrointestinal discomfort.
That's why sports fuelling needs to consider timing as well as nutritional quality.
And why RED-Scue isn't marketed as “the more fibre, the better”.
It's about the whole formulation.
Why does RED-Scue contain fat?
Our bar contains approximately 16.1g of fat.
That's because RED-Scue is food-based rather than a concentrated carbohydrate gel.
Fat:
- provides energy
- contributes to flavour
- contributes to texture
- contributes to satiety
- forms part of the overall food matrix
But fat generally takes longer to digest than carbohydrate.
So again, timing matters.
A higher-fat food may not be what someone wants immediately before a very intense session.
But a food-based bar can provide a different fuelling experience from a gel — particularly when you're looking for something more substantial and enjoyable.
And why protein?
There are approximately 7.1g of protein in a RED-Scue bar.
But we're deliberately not trying to make a protein bar.
Protein has important roles in:
💪 Muscle repair
💪 Adaptation
💪 Maintenance
💪 Recovery
But carbohydrate has a particularly important role in fuelling exercise.
So RED-Scue is carbohydrate-first, not protein-first.
And after training, consuming carbohydrate alongside protein can form part of a recovery strategy.
Carbs can spare protein
When sufficient carbohydrate and energy are available, carbohydrate can help reduce the need to use amino acids as an energy source.
This is sometimes described as a protein-sparing effect.
That matters because protein has jobs to do beyond simply being burned for energy.
It can contribute to:
repair + adaptation + maintenance
So fuelling appropriately isn't about choosing carbs OR protein.
It's about understanding what each nutrient is doing.
What about glycogen and recovery?
When you exercise, particularly at higher intensities, you use stored muscle glycogen.
Afterwards, carbohydrate helps replenish those stores.
If you have another demanding session coming up soon and need rapid glycogen restoration, sports-nutrition guidance commonly recommends approximately:
1.0–1.2g carbohydrate/kg/hour
during the first few hours of recovery.
This is particularly relevant when recovery time is short.
So:
CARBS BEFORE → fuel availability
CARBS DURING → maintain carbohydrate availability
CARBS AFTER → replenish glycogen
Carbohydrates are stored with water
Here's another reason people can misunderstand carbs.
Glycogen is stored alongside water.
When carbohydrate intake drops substantially and glycogen stores decrease, some of the initial weight loss can therefore reflect water loss, not simply loss of body fat.
This is one reason the scale can move quickly when someone dramatically changes their carbohydrate intake.
A rapid change in body weight isn't automatically a rapid change in body fat.
Carbohydrates and hydration
Carbohydrate and sodium can also play a role in intestinal fluid absorption and fluid retention, which is one reason carbohydrate-electrolyte drinks can be useful during prolonged exercise.
Again, context matters.
You don't need a sports drink for every 30-minute run.
But during prolonged exercise, particularly in heat or when sweat losses are high, carbohydrate, sodium and fluid can work together as part of a fuelling and hydration strategy.
“Simple” versus “complex” isn't the whole story
You've probably heard:
“Simple carbs are bad.”
“Complex carbs are good.”
It's not that simple.
A carbohydrate's effect depends on:
- the type of carbohydrate
- the food matrix
- fibre
- fat
- protein
- processing
- portion
- timing
- what else you eat with it
- what you're doing physically
A banana and a sugary drink both contain carbohydrate, but they are obviously very different foods.
Likewise, cassava and plantain are starch-rich foods, but their nutritional contribution is much more than simply “starch”.
Carbohydrate diversity matters 🌈
Different carbohydrate sources bring different combinations of:
starch + sugars + fibre + micronutrients + plant compounds
That's why we don't believe there is one “perfect” carbohydrate.
Your everyday diet might include:
🍌 bananas
🌴 dates
🥔 potatoes
🍚 rice
🍞 bread
🌱 cassava
🍌 plantain
🌾 oats
🫘 beans and legumes
🍎 fruit
And your sports fuel can be another part of that picture.
You don't have to earn your carbohydrates
One of the biggest problems with carbohydrate messaging is the idea that you need to “earn” your carbs.
You don't.
Your body needs energy on training days and rest days.
Rest is part of training.
Recovery is part of training.
Your body continues to use energy for:
- your brain
- your heart
- your organs
- immune function
- temperature regulation
- everyday movement
- tissue repair
- recovery
Carbohydrate needs may change with training load, but eating carbs isn't something you need to deserve.
And there is no magical 6pm carbohydrate cut-off
Your body doesn't suddenly decide that carbohydrate becomes “bad” after a particular time of day.
Overall energy intake, nutritional adequacy, food choices, activity and individual needs matter much more than an arbitrary clock.
For athletes, eating carbohydrate in the evening can also be completely appropriate — particularly when training, racing or recovering.
Low carbohydrate availability is different from simply “eating carbs”
There is an important distinction between choosing a lower-carbohydrate diet and low carbohydrate availability in relation to exercise.
When overall energy intake is insufficient relative to exercise demands and normal physiological needs, low energy availability can occur.
Chronic low energy availability can contribute to Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) and affect multiple body systems, including bone, reproductive, metabolic, immune and cardiovascular function, as well as performance.
That is why fuelling isn't just about performance.
It's about health too.
And it's one of the reasons RED-Scue exists.
So why did we create RED-Scue?
Because we kept seeing the same problem:
People know they need to fuel.
But the available options don't always feel like something they want to eat.
Some people love gels.
Some love chews.
Some want sweets.
Some want something more substantial.
Some want a soft, fudgy texture.
Some want vegan and plant-based options.
And some simply don't want another dry, claggy, protein-heavy bar.
We wanted another option.
Meet your food-first carbohydrate fuel 🌱
RED-Scue combines:
🌱 Cassava + plantain
Our carbohydrate-rich foundation, providing predominantly starch.
🌴 Dates + maple
Contributing additional carbohydrate and sugars.
🌱 Plant ingredients
Providing naturally occurring fibre and other nutritional components.
⚡️ ~38g carbohydrate
Because carbohydrate is the priority when you're creating an exercise fuel.
💪 ~7.1g protein
Present as part of the whole-food formulation — without turning RED-Scue into a protein bar.
🌱 ~4.4g fibre
Because fibre is a carbohydrate too, and plant foods naturally contain it.
🥜 ~16.1g fat
Contributing energy, flavour and that distinctive food-based texture.
And importantly:
IT TASTES GOOD.
Because the best fuel isn't necessarily the one with the longest ingredient list or the most impressive nutrition claim.
It's the one you can actually eat, tolerate and come back to.
Before. During. After.
RED-Scue can fit into different parts of your fuelling strategy.
BEFORE ⚡️
When you want carbohydrate before training without necessarily eating a large meal.
DURING 🏃♀️
For longer sessions where you need to keep adding carbohydrate.
AFTER 🔋
As part of a carbohydrate-containing recovery snack or meal.
Exactly where it fits depends on the session, your total carbohydrate needs, what else you're eating and your individual tolerance.
There is no one perfect way to fuel
A gel isn't wrong.
A banana isn't wrong.
Rice isn't wrong.
A sports drink isn't wrong.
A chew isn't wrong.
A RED-Scue bar isn't automatically “better”.
They're different tools.
The goal is to have enough options to find what works for you.
Your sport.
Your session.
Your timing.
Your digestion.
Your preferences.
Your life.
REAL FOOD. REAL CARBS. REAL FUEL.
Carbohydrates are not something to fear.
They're not something you have to earn.
They're not simply “sugar”.
And they're not all the same.
They're a diverse family of nutrients that can provide energy, replenish glycogen, support training and recovery, contribute fibre and form an important part of a balanced diet.
At RED-Scue, we simply wanted to put that science into something plant-based, food-first, soft, fudgy and genuinely enjoyable to eat.
Cassava + plantain.
Carbohydrate-first sports fuel.
Fuel Without Fear. ❤️
