Low-Carbohydrate-High-Fat Diet: Can it Help Exercise Performance? 2017

Chen-Kang Chang, and Katarina Borer, and Po-Ju Lin
Sport Science Research Center, National Taiwan University of Sport, Taichung, Taiwan.

Low-carbohydrate-high-fat (LCHF) diets have been used as a means of weight loss and control of symptoms in several clinical conditions. There is emerging evidence that the metabolic changes induced by LCHF diets enhance endurance performance. The aims of this review are to examine the evidence of LCHF diets in improving various aspects of athletic performance. Long-term LCHF dietary intake may help control body weight and fat mass while maintaining lean body mass in athletes in weight-sensitive sports. LCHF-adapted endurance athletes can reach the maximal fat oxidation rate of approximately 1.5 g/min, with a lower carbohydrate oxidation rate and similar muscle glycogen content and a resynthesis rate compared to their counterparts consuming high-carbohydrate-low-fat (HCLF) diets. The elevated fat oxidation rate and glycogen sparing effect may improve performance in ultra-endurance events. These metabolic changes may also prevent the decline in performance in later stages of repeated high-intensity movements, in which the aerobic metabolism becomes more important. However, elevated blood concentrations of non-esterified fatty acids and ammonia during exercise after LCHF diets may lead to early development of central fatigue. It appears that at least several months of adaptation to a LCHF diet are required for the metabolic changes and restoration of muscle glycogen to occur. Further investigations on LCHF diets are needed regarding (1) performance after weight loss in weight-categorized sports; (2) repeated high-intensity exercise performance; (3) development of central fatigue during endurance events; (4) perceptual-motor performance during prolonged intermittent sports; and (5) ideal dietary fatty acid compositions.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries

Related Publications

Chen-Kang Chang, and Katarina Borer, and Po-Ju Lin
January 2021, Medical hypotheses,
Chen-Kang Chang, and Katarina Borer, and Po-Ju Lin
February 1992, Hospital practice (Office ed.),
Chen-Kang Chang, and Katarina Borer, and Po-Ju Lin
August 1997, The New England journal of medicine,
Chen-Kang Chang, and Katarina Borer, and Po-Ju Lin
March 1971, Medizinische Klinik,
Chen-Kang Chang, and Katarina Borer, and Po-Ju Lin
September 1975, Comprehensive therapy,
Chen-Kang Chang, and Katarina Borer, and Po-Ju Lin
November 2022, Metabolites,
Chen-Kang Chang, and Katarina Borer, and Po-Ju Lin
May 2022, Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985),
Chen-Kang Chang, and Katarina Borer, and Po-Ju Lin
February 2023, The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness,
Chen-Kang Chang, and Katarina Borer, and Po-Ju Lin
June 2001, International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism,
Chen-Kang Chang, and Katarina Borer, and Po-Ju Lin
October 1932, Canadian Medical Association journal,
Copied contents to your clipboard!