The effects of low carb / ketogenic diets on anaerobic performance in athletes 💥

Are carbs key for power athletes?

Effects of Low-Carbohydrate and Ketogenic Diets on Anaerobic Performance in Competitive Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Study Details

This new meta-analysis compiled data from 13 studies (273 participants) to establish the effects of…

1️⃣ Low-carb diets (≤130 g/day)

2️⃣ Ketogenic diets (≤50 g/day or ≤10% total energy intake)

…on anaerobic performance (power output, repeat sprint ability) 💪

Here is what they found ⬇️

Key Findings

📊 Low carb and keto diets provided mixed results for peak power during single maximal efforts

🚨 Repeated high-intensity exercise was consistently impaired

(likely reflecting reduced muscle glycogen availability and limited glycolytic ATP production)

Further analysis revealed that…

💥 Anaerobic power output was maintained-to-slightly-improved

👟 Repeated sprint ability was modestly impaired

🩸 Blood lactate concentrations were greatly and consistently reduced

Conclusion

Carbohydrate restriction appears to either maintain or impair anaerobic performance in athletes ‼️

However, there were large discrepancies between studies in intervention lengths, performance measures etc 🤷‍♂️

So we can’t look too deeply into these findings just yet.

But if maximal power output is important, carbs are probably your best approach ✅

Reference

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42197050/

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