Trial reportPhysiological reports2026
Carbohydrate restriction drives greater perturbations in circulating metabolites than low energy availability in elite male athletes.
Trial report in Physiological reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Carbohydrate restriction drives greater perturbations in circulating metabolites than low energy availability in elite male athletes.Physiological reports · 2026Trial
- Adaptation or Maladaptation? Rethinking How Energy Restriction Outcomes Are Monitored.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Periods of low energy availability (LEA) are common in elite athletes and typically arise from reduced energy intake, often involving some degree of carbohydrate (CHO) restriction. Whether the metabolic profile created by energy restriction per se is distinct compared to that driven by CHO restriction is unknown. Using untargeted metabolomics, we examined metabolic perturbations linked to CHO restriction and energy restriction in plasma from elite male endurance athletes. In a semi-randomized controlled trial, athletes (n = 20) completed one of three 5-day dietary interventions: high energy-high CHO (HCHO); LEA (energy-restricted, CHO-reduced); or low-CHO, high-fat (LCHF; energy-matched, CHO-restricted). Plasma samples were taken at multiple timepoints pre- and post a standardized 25 km race walk protocol. Metabolomic analysis was performed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), with multivariate analysis conducted using RM-ASCA+ and hierarchical clustering. A total of 5391 metabolic features were detected and 138 metabolites annotated. LCHF induced substantial metabolic perturbations, especially after prolonged exercise, including elevations in fatty acyls, hydroxy acids, dicarboxylic acids and acylcarnitine intermediates, responses not seen under LEA. We conclude that CHO restriction concomitant with a high-fat load induces a greater metabolic perturbation in selected lipid-based metabolites than short-term LEA exposure in elite athletes undergoing prolonged endurance exercise.
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Registered trials
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.