Keto for athletes: its effect on performance and body composition

Thinking Nutrition

For decades, carbohydrates have been at the centre of sports nutrition guidelines to help maximise physical performance and maintain muscle glycogen levels. But interest in an alternative approach, that being very low-carbohydrate ketogenic diets, has been growing for some time. With the dual aim of reducing body fat and enhancing the use of fat as a primary fuel source during exercise, there are plenty of glowing social media testimonials attesting to the benefits of this way of eating for athletes. But the research evidence for some years has been painting a very different, and often, opposing picture. And that’s what I explore in this podcast episode when I look at the findings of a recent systematic review on the topic of how the keto diet performs on exercise performance and body composition in athletes and trained individuals.

Links referred to in the podcast

• Effect of a ketogenic diet on performance and body composition in athletes and trained individuals https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35757868

Episode transcript
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