ArticleThe Journal of physiology2021
Adaptation to a low carbohydrate high fat diet is rapid but impairs endurance exercise metabolism and performance despite enhanced glycogen availability.
Article in The Journal of physiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 67 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
67 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 106 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of Low-Carbohydrate and Ketogenic Diets on Anaerobic Performance in Competitive Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Body composition changes in physically active individuals consuming ketogenic diets: a systematic review.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2021Pooled it
- Performance effects of periodized carbohydrate restriction in endurance trained athletes - a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2021Pooled it
- Acute 1,3-Butanediol Co-Ingestion with Carbohydrate Does Not Improve Endurance Performance in Chronically Ketogenic Male Athletes.Nutrients · 2026Trial
- Carbohydrate restriction drives greater perturbations in circulating metabolites than low energy availability in elite male athletes.Physiological reports · 2026Trial
- Carbohydrate mouth-rinsing does not rescue simulated time trial performance in trained endurance cyclists following a 5-day ketogenic diet.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2025Trial
- Evaluating the Impact of Urolithin A Supplementation on Running Performance, Recovery, and Mitochondrial Biomarkers in Highly Trained Male Distance Runners.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Trial
- Glycaemic Impact of Low- and High-Glycaemic Index Carbohydrate Diets in Ultra-Endurance Athletes: Insights From Continuous Glucose Monitoring.European journal of sport science · 2025Trial
- Caffeine enhances performance regardless of fueling strategy; however, high carbohydrate availability is associated with improved training speeds compared with ketogenic diet.The British journal of nutrition · 2025Trial
- Divergent Changes in Peak Fat Oxidation and FatScandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports · 2025Trial
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- The effect of a short-term ketogenic diet on exercise efficiency during graded exercise in healthy adults.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2023Trial
- Chronic and Postprandial Metabolic Responses to a Ketogenic Diet Compared to High-Carbohydrate and Habitual Diets in Trained Competitive Cyclists and Triathletes: A Randomized Crossover Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Trial
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- Effects of 30 days of ketogenic diet on body composition, muscle strength, muscle area, metabolism, and performance in semi-professional soccer players.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2021Trial
- Neither Beetroot Juice Supplementation nor Increased Carbohydrate Oxidation Enhance Economy of Prolonged Exercise in Elite Race Walkers.Nutrients · 2021Trial
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7 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
key pointsBrief (5-6 days) adaptation to a low carbohydrate high fat diet in elite athletes increased exercise fat oxidation to rates previously observed with medium (3-4 weeks) or chronic (>12 months) adherence to this diet, with metabolic changes being washed out in a similar time frame. Increased fat utilisation during exercise was associated with a 5-8% increase in oxygen cost at speeds related to Olympic Programme races. Acute restoration of endogenous carbohydrate (CHO) availability (24 h high CHO diet, pre-race CHO) only partially restored substrate utilisation during a race warm-up. Fat oxidation continued to be elevated above baseline values although it was lower than achieved by 5-6 days' keto adaptation; CHO oxidation only reached 61% and 78% of values previously seen at exercise intensities related to race events. Acute restoration of CHO availability failed to overturn the impairment of high-intensity endurance performance previously associated with low carbohydrate high fat adaptation, potentially due to the blunted capacity for CHO oxidation. ABSTRACT: We investigated substrate utilisation during exercise after brief (5-6 days) adaptation to a ketogenic low-carbohydrate (CHO), high-fat (LCHF) diet and similar washout period. Thirteen world-class male race walkers completed economy testing, 25 km training and a 10,000 m race (Baseline), with high CHO availability (HCHO), repeating this (Adaptation) after 5-6 days' LCHF (n = 7; CHO: <50 g day
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.