Carbohydrates & Exercise

Lab Report #1/2

KIN291
Maeve Dunaway, Sydda Marvich, Hanna Stokes

Introduction:

Carbohydrates play an important role in the endurance athlete’s diet, and correct

utilization of carbohydrate consumption can help optimize performance (Harrison, 2018).

Nutrition strategies can be used to decrease factors associated fatigue that deal with glycogen

stores, a decline in blood sugar, and gastrointestinal disturbance. Because the amount of

carbohydrates a human can store is limited, inadequate carbohydrate consumption can

contribute to fatigue in endurance events(Pyke, 2017). Fatigue often contributes to the cause of

decreased workrate, impaired skills and concentration, and increased effort perception (Harrison

2018) . When their availability is maintained during the effort fatigue due to inadequate

carbohydrate consumption can be avoided so endurance athletes are often advised to consume

high carbohydrate meals to maximize blood glucose level and glycogen stores (Pyke, 2017).

While guidelines recommend high consumption of carbohydrates is recommended

before exercise as carbohydrate consumption prior to exercise has been shown to enhance

performance, the timing of consumption is an important consideration for optimizing

performance (Ormsbee, 2014). Guidelines recommend that 4-5 gm CHO/kg body weight be

consumed 4 hours prior to endurance performance and 1-2 gm CHO/kg body weight should be

consumed 1 hour prior to endurance performance to optimise glucose availability (Fink, 2018).

Though guidelines exist for carbohydrate consumption to maximize glycogen stores before

endurance activity, the effect of timing of carbohydrate consumption prior to exercise is not clear

when considering both its metabolic effects and the effects following guidelines have on an

individual’s ability to consume the caloric demands prior to activity(Ormsbee, 2014).

Considering many endurance athletes experience gastrointestinal distress with activity,

guidelines interfere with the athlete’s ability to perform at their best (Wilson. 2016).

The purpose of this research project is to examine the effects of the timing of

carbohydrate consumption on endurance performance and gastrointestinal discomfort during

endurance performance when looking at consumption one hour and three hours before

performance. The hypothesis is that carbohydrate consumption one hour before endurance

activity will have a positive effect on performance but a negative effect on gastrointestinal

distress.

Methods:
Ten participants were separated into two groups. All participants consumed a high

carbohydrate breakfast following guidelines for carbohydrate consumption one hour prior to

endurance activity of 1-2 grams CHO/Kg body weight. All participants performed the Cooper

12-minute run/walk test and were instructed to cover the greatest distance possible during the 12

minutes following the consumption of the high carbohydrate breakfast. One group performed the

test one hour after consuming a high carbohydrate breakfast, and the other group performed the

test three hours after consuming the high carbohydrate breakfast. The test was performed over

two days with two days between each test. On the second day participants switched groups.

Before completing the Cooper 12 minutes run/ walk test all participants completed a

general warm up, dynamic stretching routine, and build ups. Each participant was paired with a

timer and counter to record the the time and the number of laps completed in the 12 minutes.

Following the test, the number of laps completed was recorded and the subjects were asked their

perceived GI distress was recorded on a scale of 0-4, 0 meaning no GI distress and 4 meaning

very severe GI distress. A paired T-test was run to analyze the difference between the one hour
trial and three hour trial.

Results:

There was no significant difference (p= .296) in performance when the carbohydrate

breakfast was consumed one hour before endurance activity and when consumed three hours

before endurance activity. There was no significant difference (p= .494) in GI distress when the

carbohydrate breakfast was consumed one hour before endurance activity and when consumed

three hours before endurance activity. The null hypothesis must be accepted that the timing of

carbohydrate consumption one hour before activity and three hours before endurance activity has

no effect on performance and gastrointestinal distress.

Discussion:

Our results did not support the hypothesis that consuming the carbohydrate breakfast one

hour prior to the test would have a positive effect on performance and a negative effect on

gastrointestinal distress. The hypothesis was that the subjects will consume a specific amount of

carbs based on their body weight and eat that many calories of carbs for breakfast one hour prior

to their twelve minute run which will result in a performance increase and gastrointestinal

distress will decrease. The result showed no significant difference between the two conditions.

There was no correlation or patterns of the participants improving drastically in either the one

hour consumption of carbs prior to the workout versus the consumption of carbs three hours

prior to the workout.

The hydration levels of the subject is something that we did not test for and did not take

into account when taking the gastrointestinal discomfort of our athletes. However, improper

hydration is most often the cause of GI discomfort in participants in de Oliveira’s study (2011).

In this study they found that proper hydration levels lead to more efficient carbohydrate

absorption into the muscles. Trying to maintain proper hydration during exercise is a dangerous

game, because drinking too much water would result in GI discomfort and not drinking enough

water accentuates the issue and prevents the flow of carbohydrates to the muscles (de Oliveira,

2011). The participants in the study had various amounts of GI distress. Individuals expressed

more GI distress when they were required to eat carbohydrates one hour prior to their workout

rather than three hours prior to the workout. However, there was three individuals who

experienced the highest level of GI stress when eating carbs three hours before the workout and
three individuals also experienced the highest discomfort when eating carbs one hour prior to the

workout.

Some sources of error that could have been present in the study could have consisted of

human error based with counting the number of laps because someone could have miscounted

the number of laps a participant was on. The results from the study have a source of error

because we ran this test on athletes that weren’t all endurance athletes so the participants in our

study had very different levels of experience. Endurance athletes could have been tested for more

accurate results. There is also a source of error because the subject’s diet or how much water

they consumed prior to the experiment was not controlled which could have skewed our results.

The participants meals prior to the workout on the day of, could have an affect on their

gastrointestinal discomfort and performance. Another way to make the project more accurate

could be to increase the duration of the test, for example, we could have had them run for a

longer time or we could have them repeat the test for multiple days instead of just two days.

The human body is highly dependent on carbohydrate consumption for high intensity

exercise, red blood cells, and the nervous system. Approximately 130 grams of carbohydrates a

day are required to power the nervous system. Out of the 130 grams, 8-10 of them are free

floating glucose throughout our lymphatic system. For optimum carbohydrate benefits, it is

required to perform 60-90 minutes of exercise. Carbohydrates improve performance if taken

during activity. If carbohydrates are consumed during prolonged aerobic activity, performance

will be improved from 15-35%. Carbohydrate intake during activity prevents the decrease in

blood glucose, decreases perception of work, and leads to an increase time to fatigue.

Carbohydrates are just as important to consume before and during activity as the are directly

after activity. Carbohydrates consumed after activity is part of the recovery process which helps
our bodies refill our storage. Using carbs to recover is necessary because in order to be fully

ready for the next competition, your body has to be fully recovered in order to perform at the

highest level. Consuming carbs directly after a workout or practice increases 20-45 mmols/kg

which helps the body recover faster (Fink, 2018).

Directive Questions:

Stacie is a 30 year old woman that is running a marathon. She weighs 120 pounds (54kg).

Prior to the competition, Stacie should be loading up on carbohydrates because it can improve

performance lasting longer than 90 minutes. This carb loading can be done two days prior to the

event. She should be eating 10-12g/kg/day of carbs (Coleman, 2012). For Stacie, this would

amount to about 540+ grams of carbs for the two days before the race. She will want to avoid

foods that are high in fiber to avoid gastrointestinal distress. On the morning of the marathon, she

will want to reduce the amount of energy and carbs that she should eat a decent amount of carbs

and drink carbohydrate rich fluids. On the day of the marathon, she should eat 4g/kg, or 216g of

carbohydrates four hours before and 1g/kg, or 54g of carbs one hour before (Coleman 2012). For

her breakfast on the day of the race, perhaps pancakes, yogurt, a fruit smoothie, and a glass of

1% fat chocolate milk. An hour before the race she could eat a liquid meal that suits these carb

needs to avoid an DI distress during the run.

Once the event commences, Stacie will need 80-90 g of carbohydrates per hour of

exercise from carbohydrate-rich fluids or foods (Coleman, 2012). According to Coleman, there is

a positive correlation between carbohydrate intake and performance (Coleman, 2012). If Stacie

predicts this marathon will take her 4 hours and 30 minutes to complete, she need to consume

about 380 g of carbs throughout the course of the race. This could come in the form of a sports
drink, gels, bars, etc. Stacie should be sure that any and all of the food she is eating is food that

her body is used to.

After the marathon is finished, Stacie will be feeling fatigued and may not have a large

appetite. However, she should recover initially with 15-25 g of protein (Coleman, 2012). For

carbohydrates, the recommended rate is 1 to 1.2 g/kg/h for the first four hours afterward. Stacie

should therefore consume about 64 g of carbs every hour for the first four hours. Stacie can

obtain her protein after her run with a few cups of milk or three large eggs. She should also

consume sodium to promote fluid retention, which she can do by adding salt to any meal. One

half teaspoon of salt contains 1,000mg of sodium.

There are two types of carbohydrate loading that are commonly practiced. The first is the

classical method, which is made up of two phases. The first phase is the depletion phase and this

involves 3 days of a low carb diet paired with very high intensity exercise. Following this phase

is the loading phase, which is the reverse: a high carb diet paired with low exercise levels, which

lasts about 3-4 days (Fink, 2018).

The second method is known as the Sherman method, which is also a 6 day process,

except there are not two distinct phases. With this method, the athlete gradually decreases their

physical activity as they gradually increase their carbohydrate intake (Fink, 2018). In comparison

to the classical method, this does not have many disadvantages.

For an endurance athlete, the Sherman method would be recommended because it is

proven to give the best results without the negative side effects. The classical method has many

downfalls. The low carbohydrate days have left athletes feeling fatigued and without fueling

their bodies properly, which puts them at a higher risk for injury. Mentally, this depletion phase

can be deteriorating on one's self-perception of their performance abilities. However, if an

endurance athlete is going to perform for longer than 90 minutes, carbohydrate loading via the

Sherman method can be extremely beneficial for sustaining their body longer.

According to Coleman, carbohydrate loading can improve athletic performance in cases

where the activity's duration exceeds 90 minutes (Coleman, 2012). As an endurance athlete,

Stacie would find this beneficial. In cases where athletes are not looking to remain active for

more than 90 minutes at a time, they may find carbohydrate loading unnecessary and ineffective.

A specific example in which carbohydrate loading increased physical performance can be

found in a study by Raman and others (2014). This study had a simulated squash match after on

two separate occasions: once following a 48 hour high carb diet and second following a low carb

diet. The results showed that the high carb diet before the simulated squash match produced

higher rates of carbohydrate oxidation and maintained higher blood glucose levels. These effects

were associated with improved physical performance.

Carbohydrate loading was found ineffective in a study by Burke and others that looked at

100km cycling performance in a placebo- controlled trial. Unlike studies performed previously,

this study included a placebo. In this study, 7 well-trained cyclist performed two 100km trials

three days after carbohydrate loading or a placebo- controlled moderate diet. For the

carbohydrate loading trial, meals were designed to provide 9 g CHO/ kg body mass/ day/ Meals

for the placebo-controlled trial were designed to provide 6 g CHO/kh body mass/ day. The

results showed that muscle glycogen utilization, time to completion, or mean power output was

not significantly different between the two trials suggesting that carbohydrate loading does

improve performance in exercise lasting >90 minutes and that positive effects of carbohydrate

loading found in previous studies may be due to the placebo effect (Burke, 2000).
References

Burke, L. M., Hawley, J. A., Schabort, E. J., Gibson, A. S., Mujika, I., & Noakes, T. D.
(2000). Carbohydrate loading failed to improve 100-km cycling performance in a placebo-
controlled trial. Journal of Applied Physiology, 88(4), 1284-1290.
doi:10.1152/jappl.2000.88.4.1284

Coleman, E. (2012). Nutrition for the Marathon and Beyond. Marathon & Beyond, 16(5),
88–104. Retrieved from
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de Oliveira, E. P., & Burini, R. C. (2011). Food-dependent, exercise-induced

gastrointestinal distress. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 8(1), 12.

Fink, H. H., & Mikesky, A. E. (2018). Practical applications in sports nutrition. Burlington,
MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Harrison, S., Carbonneau, É., Talbot, D., Lemieux, S., & Lamarche, B. (2018). Development and
validation of a dietary screener for carbohydrate intake in endurance athletes. Journal of
the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 15(1), N.PAG. Retrieved from
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Fink, H. H., & Mikesky, A. E. (2018). Practical applications in sports nutrition. Burlington,
MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Ormsbee, M., Bach, C., & Baur, D. (2014). Pre-Exercise Nutrition: The Role of
Macronutrients, Modified Starches and Supplements on Metabolism and Endurance
Performance. Nutrients, 6(5), 1782-1808. doi:10.3390/nu6051782

Pyke, A. (2017). Low Carbohydrate High Fat (Lchf) Diets and Endurance Performance. Journal
of Australian Strength & Conditioning, 25(4), 61–64. Retrieved from
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Raman, A., Macdermid, P. W., Mündel, T., Mann, M., & Stannard, S. R. (2014). The
Effects of Carbohydrate Loading 48 Hours Before a Simulated Squash Match.
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Wilson, P. B. (2016). Dietary and non-dietary correlates of gastrointestinal distress
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