Volume 29, Issue 156, February 2025

The significance of a High- Carbohydrate diet for training efficiency in endurance sports

Aleksandra Litwin^1♦, Natalia Dąbrowska¹, Paweł Nowocin¹, Zuzanna Kudas¹, Paulina Kumięga¹, Dawid Wiktor Kulczyński¹, Piotr Wasiński¹, Karolina Krzywicka², Nikola Perchel¹, Martyna Koszyk³

¹Medical University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury 61, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland
²PKSO Ophthalmic University Hospital in Warsaw, Józefa Sierakowskiego 13, 03-709 Warszawa, Poland
³Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Kazimierza Wóycickiego 1/3, 01-938 Warsaw, Poland

^♦Corresponding Author
Medical University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury 61, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland

ABSTRACT

Among researchers, there has been much debate about the role of macronutrient composition in optimizing endurance performance. Long-term performance effects of CHO-rich (carbohydrate-rich) muscle-sparing diets in endurance athletes are well known, in part due to their impact on glycogen storage and the availability of energy. This paper summarizes current evidence on the effects of different CHO diets on endurance performance and discusses their physiological, metabolic, and practical aspects. Short-term CHO loading (more), both positive and negative, has been established with these, with implications for GI function and exercise metabolism, for example, to recent work. Lastly, the influence of the glycemic index on performance outcomes is outlined in this review. Insights from this research may lead to dietary periodization and gut training strategies that better harness carbohydrate utilization in applied settings (outdoors, on the road, and in real-world ‘hilly’ events). Though the carbohydrate diet will most likely remain a crucial link in the extended armor of endurance nutrition, there is a need to shift the mindset among athletes that a uniform carbohydrate recommendation applies to all athletes under all conditions, and research is warranted to identify individual variables among athletes and sport requirements to create specific carbohydrate need guidelines.

Keywords: High-carbohydrate diet; endurance training; glycogen storage; exercise

Medical Science, 2025, 29, e29ms3490

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v29i156.e29ms3490

Published: 12 February 2025