Carbohydrates: What We Know about Low versus High Levels for Athletes

As discussed previously in detail (Chapter 7), carbohydrates hold various physiological roles in both brain and muscle function, and they contribute to muscle and liver glycogen-storage content. An interest in carbohydrate, as a key nutritional component, stems from original research in the 1960s (Bergstrom et al. 1967) and has become the stronghold for diet manipulation with the goal of maximizing its importance in muscle. Coaches, athletes, and researchers often disregard the role of carbohydrate in tissues other than muscle, as well as the partnership of highcarbohydrate ingestion and low-fat diets. The majority of available literature evaluates the effects of a high-carbohydrate diet (70-15-15; carbohydrates, fat, protein) or a low-carbohydrate diet, i.e., a high-fat diet (40-50-10), on performance, failing to14.1 Introduction ... 277 14.1.1 High Carbohydrate ... 279 14.1.2 Moderate Carbohydrate ...280 14.1.3 Low-CHO and Very-Low-Carbohydrate Ketogenic Diets ... 28114.2 The Old-School Basics on Carbohydrates ... 282 14.2.1 Carbohydrate-Loading and High-Carbohydrate Diets ... 28214.2.1.1 High Carbohydrates: Effects on Performance ... 283 14.2.1.2 High Carbohydrates: Effects on Body Composition...284