INDEX

1 Introduction
2 Classification
3 Functions of Carbohydrates
4 Plant and Animal Carbohydrates
5 Sources of Carbohydrates
6 Semi Synthetic Carbohydrates
7 Carbohydrates Digestion & Non
Digestion
8 The Role of Carbohydrates in
Exercise and Physical Performance
 CARBOHYDRATES
A carbohydrate is a biological
molecule consisting of carbon,
hydrogen and oxygen atoms, usually
with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of
2:1; in other words, with the empirical
formula Cm(H2O)n. This formula holds
true for monosaccharides.

Classification of CARBOHYDRATES:-
Chemical Classification of Carbohydrates:-
Carbohydrates, also called Carbs, are defined as aldehydic or ketonic compounds
with a some number of oxydrilic groups (so polyhydroxy aldehydes or ketones as
well).
Many of them, but not all, have general formula (CH 2O)n (only molecules with
n>4 are considered carbohydrates); some, in addition to carbon (C), oxygen (O)
and hydrogen (H), include nitrogen or sulfur.
On the basis of the number of forming units, three major classes of
carbohydrates can be defined: monosaccharides, oligosaccharides and
polysaccharides.

 Monosaccharides or simply sugars are formed by only one polyhydroxy

aldehydeidic or ketonic unit.
The most abundant monosaccharide is D-glucose, also called dextrose.
 Oligosaccharides are formed by short chains of monosaccharidic units (from
2 to 20) linked one to the next by chemical bounds, called glycosidic bounds.
The most abundant oligosaccharides are disaccharides, formed by two
monosaccharides, and especially in the human diet the most important
 are sucrose (common table sugar), lactose and maltose. Within cells many
oligosaccharides formed by three or more units do not find themselves as
free molecules but linked to other ones, lipids or proteins, to form
glycoconjugates.
 Polysaccharides are polymers consisting of 20 to 10 monosaccharidic units;
7

they differ each other for the monosaccharides recurring in the structure,
for the length and the degree of branching of chains or for the type of links
between units.
Whereas in the plant kingdom several types of polysaccharides are present,
in vertebrates there are only a small number.
Polysaccharides are defined
omopolysaccharides if they contain only one type of monosaccharide
as starch, glycogen and chitin;
eteropolysaccharides, instead, contain two or more different kinds (e.g.
hyaluronic acid).

Note: the term “saccharide” derives from the greek word “sakcharon”, which
means sugar.

Physiological Classification of carbohydrates:-

On the basis of their degree of polymerization, they can be classified as:
 simple: mono- and disaccharides (also known as “sugars”) and tri- and
tetrasaccharides (oligosaccharides);
 complex: the polysaccharides.
A further classification lays the foundations on the possibility of being used
directly for energy purpose, so:
 available, as glucose, fructose, galactose between
monosaccharides, sucrose, lactose, maltose and maltodextrin between
oligosaccharides, and starch and glycogen between polysaccharides;
 not available, as xylose (monosaccharide), lactulose (see lactose) and raffinose
(respectively di- and trisaccharide), fiber (cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, pectins etc.)
and resistant or not digestible starch (polysaccharides). The members of this class, also if
ingested, are not digestible nor absorbable and will be fermented by intestinal flora with
release of short chain fatty acids and so yielding some energy.
Functions of Carbohydrates:-
 They are used as material for energy storage and production.
Starch and glycogen, respectively in plants and animals, are stored
carbohydrates from which glucose can be mobilized for energy production.
Glucose can supply energy both fueling ATP synthesis (ATP, the cell’s energy
currency, has inside a phosphorylated sugar) and in the form of reducing
power as NADPH.
It should be noted that glucose, used as energy source, “burns” without
yielding metabolic wastes, being turned in CO 2 and water, and of course
releasing energy.
Monosaccharides supply 3.74 kcal/g, disaccharides 3.95 kcal/g, while starch
4.18 kcal/g; on average it is approached to 4 kcal/g.
 They exert a protein-saving action: if present in adequate amount in daily
nourishment, the body does not utilize proteins for energy purpose, an anti-
economic and “polluting” fuel because it will need to eliminate nitrogen
(ammonia) and sulfur present in some aminoacids.
 Their presence is necessary for the normal lipid metabolism. More than 100
years ago Pasteur said: “Fats burn in the fire of carbohydrates“. This idea
continues to receive confirmations from the recent scientific studies.
Moreover, excess carbohydrates may be converted in fatty acids and
triglycerides (processes that occur mostly in the liver).
 Glucose is indispensable for the maintenance of the integrity of nervous
tissue (some central nervous system areas are able to use only glucose for
energy production) and red blood cells.
 Two sugars, ribose and deoxyribose, are part of the bearing structure,
respectively of the RNA and DNA and obviously find themselves in the
nucleotide structure as well.
 They take part in detoxifying processes. For example, at hepatic level
glucuronic acid, synthesized from glucose, combines with endogenous
substances, as hormones, bilirubin etc., and exogenous substances, as
chemical or bacterial toxins or drugs, making them atoxic, increasing their
solubility and allowing their elimination.
 They are also found linked to many proteins and lipids. Within cells they act
as signals that determine the metabolic fate or the intracellular localization
 of the molecules which are bound. On the cellular surface their presence is
necessary for identification processes between cells that are involved e.g. in
the recognition between spermatozoon and oocyte during fertilization, in
the return of lymphocytes in the lymph nodes of provenance or still in the
leukocyte adhesion to the lips of the lesion of a blood vessel.
 Two homopolysaccharides, cellulose (the most abundant polysaccharide in
nature) and chitin (probably, next to cellulose, the second most abundant
polysaccharide in nature), serve as structural elements, respectively, in plant
cell walls and exoskeletons of nearly a million species of arthropods (e.g.
insects, lobsters, and crabs).
 Heteropolysaccharides provide extracellular support for organisms of all
kingdoms: in bacteria, the rigid layer of the cell wall is composed in part of a
heteropolysaccharide contained two alternating monosaccharide units
while in animals the extracellular space is occupied by several types of
heteropolysaccharides, which form a matrix with numerous functions, as
hold individual cells together and provide protection, support, and shape to
cells, tissues, and organs.

Plant and Animal Carbohydrates :-

Plant carbohydrates include glucose, fructose, galactose, mannose,sucrose,
maltose, trehalose, sugar alcohols (mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol),starch, cellulose,
hemicelluloses, galactomannans, glucomannans and various other
polysaccharides found in gums and seaweeds.

Animal carbohydrates include lactose and trace amounts of

galactooligosaccharides in milk and whey, and glycogen in animal liver, oysters
and mussels, and chitin in crabs shells.

Sugars in honey (fructose, glucose, sucrose, isomaltulose) can be considered

either plant- or animal-derived.

Carbohydrates in human milk include lactose and human milk oligosaccharides

(HMO).
Plant Carbohydrates:-
Carbohydrates are compounds produced during photosynthesis. In plants, they
have two main purposes. First, they provide building blocks for plant structural
components, such as cellulose (important in building cell walls).
Secondly,carbohydrates are molecules that deliver energy for plant growth.

Animal Carbohydrates:-
A carbohydrate is a molecule consisting of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen (CHO).
In nutrition, carbohydrates can be divided into three categories:sugar, starch,
and fibre. When people talk about “carbs”, they are typically talking about sugars
(likeglucose or fructose) and starches (like flour).

Semi-Synthetic Carbohydrates :-
Carbohydrates can be semi-synthetically produced from naturally occurring
carbohydrates, such as glucose, lactose or wheat or—in the United States—from
cornstarch, by using enzymes and/or certain chemicals. Semi-synthetic
carbohydrates may be used as artificial sweeteners, food additives, added fiber,
prebiotic supplements, or binders in pills.

A. Semi-synthetic carbohydrates obtained by treating plant carbohydrates:

• Semi-synthetic sugars: altrose, arabinose, corn syrup, dextrose (D-glucose),

erythrose, erythrulose, fucose, gulose, idose, high corn fructose syrup (HFCS),
invert sugar, isomaltulose, lyxose, rhamnose, ribose, ribulose, sorbose, tagatose,
talose, threose, trehalose, xylose (wood sugar), xylulose. • Semi-synthetic sugar
alcohols or polyols: erythritol, hydrogenated starch hydrolyzates (FISH) or
polyglucitol, isomalt, lactitol, maltitol,mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol • Semi-
synthetic oligosaccharides: fructooligosaccharides (FOS), gluco-
oligosaccharides, isomalto-oligosaccharides, lactosucrose, maltotriose,mannan
oligosaccharides, N-acetylchitooligosaccharides, oligodextrose, oligosaccharides
from melibiose, pectic oligosaccharides, xylooligosaccharides. • Semi-synthetic
polysaccharides: carboxymethycellulose, dextrin, gellan gum, inulin,
maltodextrin, methylcellulose, microcrystalline cellulose,modified food starches,
partially hydrolyzed guar gum (PHGG), polydextrose, pyrodextrins, xanthan gum.

B. Semi-synthetic carbohydrates obtained by treating animal carbohydrates:

• Galactooligosaccharides (GOS) obtained from lactose • Chitosan obtained from

chitin (from crab shells)

C. Glycerin(e) or glycerol can be derived either from plant oils or animal fats ad
can be added to commercial animal or plant foods.

Sources of Carbihydrates

Carbohydrates are found in a wide array of both healthy and unhealthy foods—
bread, beans, milk, popcorn, potatoes, cookies, spaghetti, soft drinks,corn,
and cherry pie. They also come in a variety of forms. The most common and
abundant forms are sugars, fibers, and starches.

The Healthiest Sources of Carbohydrates :-

Carbohydrates are fuel for metabolism.

Chemical reactions in cells require fuel. Muscles, from heart to digestive system
to biceps and quads all use carbohydrate, in the form of glucose. Brain cells need
twice the energy as other cells.

The brain runs almost exclusively on glucose, using up about 20 percent of your
daily calorie needs. Because glucose is so critical to brain function, your body
maintains blood glucose above a certain level, with a complex set of hormone
signaling systems.

Carbohydrate in food comes in two forms: sugar and starch. The basic building
blocks of both are simple sugars like glucose and fructose. More complex
carbohydrates are made by linking simple sugar molecules together. Fructose
and glucose join to make sucrose. Long chains of glucose are called starch.
Digestion breaks these carbohydrates into single sugar molecules, which are
absorbed into the blood. There is no set RDA for carbohydrate, as there is for
vitamins or protein. Carbohydrate is used for energy needs, so daily intake will
depend on how many calories you need. Since basic fuel needs, for brain
function and metabolism must be met, a minimum amount of carbohydrate
should be eaten everyday. That level, in the chart below, is 130 grams/day for
children and adults.

Carbohydrate has 4 calories per gram, so 130 grams equals 520 calories. The
basal energy needs of most adults are at least twice that. Additional calories can
come from carbohydrate, fat or protein in food.

The best way to think of carbohydrate intake is as a percent of your total daily
calorie intake. The recommended range is 45 – 65% of calories as carbohydrate.
For example, if you eat 1600 calories per day, and 50% of those calories are
carbohydrate, you would eat 200 grams per day. Athletes need to eat at the high
end of the carbohydrate range, to fuel training and competition.

Recommended Dietary Allowances for Carbohydrates

So
urce: Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine, National Academies

Which Foods Are High In Carbohydrate?

Carbohydrates are widespread in our food. Exceptions are meat and fish, which
have no carbohydrate, and pure fats, such as vegetable oils.

Plant foods are our primary source of carbohydrate, and some, such as grains,
are the most concentrated.

The best carbohydrate foods are unprocessed whole foods, like fresh fruit, 100%
juice, whole grains, foods made with whole grains and many vegetables. These
foods also contain fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Foods made with
refined grains have fewer of these nutrients. Foods loaded with added sugars
have few nutrients and can add excess calories.

Rice
Barley
Wheat
Couscous
Oats
Rye
Buckwheat
Pasta
Noodles
Cornmeal
Flour
Tortillas
Bulgur
Cereals
Fruit
Dried fruit: dates, raisins, etc
Potatoes

Legumes: white beans, black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans
lentilsQuinoa
Sweet potatoes
Winter squash, like butternut and acorn
Carrots and carrot juice
Bread
Bagels
Fruit juice
Sugar
Honey
Agave syrup
Corn syrup
Molasses
Milk
Nuts and nut butters

While vegetables are primarily carbohydrate, most aren’t concentrated

carbohydrate, because they have high water content.

Foods made with high carbohydrate ingredients like flour and sugar will
typically also be high carbohydrate. Products like muffins, pancakes, cakes and
doughnuts, candy, snack foods, crackers, and cookies are high carbohydrate.
Beverages sweetened with sugar, honey, agave and corn syrup are also high
carbohydrate.

What Happens If You Don’t Get Enough Carbohydrates?

Carbohydrate deficiency symptoms due to poor intake are rare. A minimum
blood glucose level must be maintained to support brain function and basic
metabolism. If you eat few carbohydrates, glycogen, the storage form of glucose,
is broken down to keep blood glucose in the normal range.

In extreme situations, such as starvation, muscle protein is metabolized, and the

amino acids from that protein are modified to make glucose.
Blood glucose can fall below normal levels for reasons unrelated to dietary
intake of carbohydrate. Insulin controls blood glucose, and excess insulin, due to
metabolic abnormalities or excess dosing for diabetics, can cause blood glucose
to drop. Symptoms include shakiness, confusion, anxiety and vision disturbance.
Again, such symptoms are more likely to be caused by metabolic abnormalities
than by eating too little carbohydrate.

Another sign of eating few carbohydrates might be weight loss. If you cut calorie
intake by cutting out carbohydrate foods, your body will have to use fat stores to
meet energy needs. Strictly speaking, this isn’t so much a carbohydrate
deficiency as a fuel deficit.

Can you eat too many carbohydrates? That’s a hot topic, with plenty of people
advocating low carb diets for weight loss. While cutting carbs might help cut
calories, drastic low carb diets will be unbalanced. Cutting carbohydrate foods
also cuts out the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber in those foods. If you
eat a balanced diet, and stick to a calorie level that’s appropriate for normal
weight, carbohydrate intake in the recommended range is fine.

Carbohydrate Digestion:-
All carbohydrates absorbed in the small intestine must
be hydrolyzed to monosaccharides prior to absorption. Hydrolysis precedes
transport of monosaccharides in hamster intestine. From sucrose, glucose is
taken up much faster than fructose. Monosaccharide transport saturates with D-
glucose at 30 mM.[1]

Digestion of starch begins with the action of salivary alpha-amylase/ptyalin,

although its activity is slight in comparison with that of pancreatic amylase in
the small intestine. Amylase hydrolyzes starch to alpha-dextrin, which are then
digested by gluco-amylase (alpha-dextrinases) to maltose and maltotriose. The
products of digestion of alpha-amylase and alpha-dextrinase, along with
dietary disaccharides are hydrolyzed to their
corresponding monosaccharides by enzymes (maltase, isomaltase, sucrase and l
actase) present in the brush border of the small intestine. In the typical Western
diet, digestion and absorption of carbohydrates is fast and takes place usually in
the upper small intestine. However, when the diet contains carbohydrates not
easily digestible, digestion and absorption take place mainly in the ileal portion
of the intestine.

Digestion of food continues while simplest elements are absorbed. The

absorption of most digested food occurs in the small intestine through the brush
border of the epithelium covering the villi (small hair-like structure). It is not a
simple diffusion of substances, but is active and requires energy use by the
epithelial cells.

During the phase of carbohydrate absorption, fructose is transported into

the intestinal cell's cytosol, glucose and galactose competes with other [|Na|]
transporter required for operation. From the cytosol, monosaccharides pass into
the capillaries by simple or facilitated diffusion.

Carbohydrates not digested in the small intestine, including resistant

starch foods such as potato, bean, oat, wheat flour, and
several monosaccharide oligosaccharides and starch, are digested in a variable
when they reach the large intestine. The bacterial flora metabolize these
compounds anaerobically in the absence of oxygen. This
produces gases (hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane) and short-chain fatty
acids (acetate, propionate, butyrate). The gases are absorbed and excreted
by breathing or through the anus (flatulence). Fatty acids are rapidly
metabolized. Butyrate is used mainly by cells in the colon and acetate is
absorbed into the blood and taken up by the liver, muscle and
other tissue. Propionate is an important precursor of glucose in some animals,
but not humans.
Digestion of starch begins with the action of salivary alpha-amylase/ptyalin,
although its activity is slight in comparison with that of pancreatic amylase in
the small intestine. ... In the typical Western diet, digestion and absorption
ofcarbohydrates is fast and takes place usually in the upper small intestine.

Digestible Carbohydrates :-
Starch is partially broken down to a disaccharide maltose in the mouth by the
enzyme salivary amylase, and further in the small intestine by pancreatic
amylase—delivered by a pancreatic juice—into dextrins, maltotriose, maltose
and isomaltose, which are further broken down by the enzymes maltase and
isomaltase to glucose [103. NOTE: Raw starch is digested slowly and
incompletely [73'79].

Disaccharides are broken down to monosaccharides with the help of the

enzymes in the intestinal lining: sucrose is broken down to glucose and fructose
by sucrase, lactose to glucose and galactose by lactase, maltose to two glucoses
by maltase, and trehalose to two glucoses by trehalase.

Monosaccharides glucose, fructose, galactose, mannose, and glycerin(e)/glycerol

can directly absorbed in the small intestine without being previously digested by
enzymes. A semi-synthesized sugar tagatose, and sugar alcohols (lactitol,
maltitol, mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol) can-- be only partly absorbed in the small
intestine; the rest of them are broken down (fermented) by the large intestinal
bacteria to smaller molecules that are partly absorbed.

Non-Digestible Carbohydrates :-
Oligosaccharides, such as fructooligosaccharides (FOS), and dietary fiber, such as
cellulose, pectin and gums, cannot be digested by the enzymes in the small
intestine, but can be at least partially broken down (fermented) by beneficial
large intestinal bacteria to short chain fatty acids (SCFA), monosaccharides,
hydrogen, methane, or carbon dioxide, which can be partially or completely
absorbed.
 Nondigestible carbohydrates can be a significant source of energy for individuals
whose small intestine has been partly removed (short bowel syndrome or SBS)
[11].

Prebiotics are indigestible carbohydrates that selectively promote the growth of

the beneficial large intestinal bacteria. Prebiotics include fructooligosaccharides,
trans-galactooligosaccharides, inulin, lactulose and resistant starches.

FODMAPs (Fermentable Oligo-, Di- and Monosaccharides And Polyols) are

slowly digestible or indigestible carbohydrates that may cause abdominal
bloating in some people, especially in those with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

How does carbohydrate affect anyone with Type 1 diabetes?

All carbohydrate is converted into glucose. In someone without diabetes, the

body produces insulin automatically to deal with the glucose that enters the
blood from the carbohydrate-containing food that we eat and drink.

In Type 1 diabetes the same principle applies but because your body doesn’t
produce any insulin, you have to take insulin, either by injections or a pump. This
will help to lower the glucose in the blood after eating carbohydrate-containing
foods. Most people follow twice-daily or basal bolus insulin regimes.

 Twice-daily insulin

If you are taking fixed amounts of insulin twice a day you may find it beneficial to
have consistent amounts of carbohydrates on a day-to-day basis, and eat roughly
the same amount of carbohydrate at similar times each day. More carbohydrate
than usual can cause blood glucose levels to go too high, and less than usual can
cause a hypo (low blood glucose levels).

 Basal bolus insulin

If you are using a basal bolus insulin regime or pump you can be much more
flexible in how much insulin you take and when you take it. Most people
following this regimen will count carbohydrates that they eat and drink and then
calculate how much insulin they need to take. The amount of insulin will change
depending on how much carbohydrate they have eaten.

The Role of Carbohydrates in Exercise and Physical

Performance:-
Introduction

Interest in the influences of food on the capacity for physical activity is as old as
mankind. From earliest times, certain foods were regarded as essential
preparation for strenuous physical activity. In a recent consensus conference on
food, nutrition and sports performance, carbohydrate containing foods were
identified as having the most significant impact on exercise performance. The
nutritional importance of protein, as a fuel for exercise and as a contributor to
strength development, has been over emphasized, whereas the fluid intake has
been, by comparison, underplayed (183).

Most studies on the influence of carbohydrate intake on exercise performance

have been conducted in laboratories using either cycling or treadmill running.
Performance is usually assessed as either the time to exhaustion (endurance
capacity) during exercise of constant intensity, or the time to run a
predetermined distance or complete a prescribed workload (performance) in
the shortest time possible. In some studies, the investigators have combined the
elements of both endurance capacity and performance in one protocol in order
to try to simulate an activity pattern common in sports. For example, running at
a constant submaximal pace for an hour or more and then completing a set
distance in as fast a time as possible; or cycling at a constant submaximal
workload and after an hour pedaling as fast as possible to complete a set work
load as quickly as possible. The division between endurance capacity and
endurance performance is artificial because in any real life endurance race or
event, both endurance capacity and pace are required in order to be successful.
Nevertheless, by obtaining a better understanding of simple endurance capacity,
we can get a clearer picture of the essential determinants of endurance
performance.

Some general dietary considerations

Health professionals argue that a healthy diet is one which provides us with at
least 50% of our daily energy intake in the form of carbohydrates, 35 % or less
from fats and the remainder from proteins. The common message is that we
should move from high fat meat-based diets to those that are made up of more
carbohydrates and fresh fruits and vegetables. The consensus view on the diet
for athletes and active people is that it should include more carbohydrate-
containing foods than recommended by the health professionals. Their diets
should be such that about 60% of their daily energy intake is obtained from
carbohydrates, 30 % or less from fat and 10 to 15 % from proteins (183).

Carbohydrate diets and endurance capacity

An early study exploring the link between diet and exercise capacity found that
after a period on a high carbohydrate diet, endurance capacity on a cycle
ergometer, doubled in comparison with the exercise times achieved after
consuming a normal mixed diet. In contrast, a fat and protein diet reduced
exercise capacity to almost half that achieved after normal mixed diets. This
clearly showed the benefits of eating a high-carbohydrate diet before prolonged
exercise and was the first to establish importance of the carbohydrate content in
the diets of athletes preparing for competition.

The benefits of carbohydrate loading before prolonged submaximal exercise

have been shown mainly during cycling. A link was demonstrated between
endurance performance during cycle ergometry and pre-exercise muscle
glycogen concentration (184). The importance of muscle glycogen during
prolonged exercise was confirmed in subsequent studies which showed that
fatigue occurs when muscle glycogen concentrations are reduced to low values
(185-187). Therefore, it is not surprising that attempts were made to find
methods of increasing muscle glycogen stores in preparation for prolonged
exercise. One study (188) examined the influence of different nutritional states
on the resynthesis of glycogen during recovery from prolonged exhaustive
exercise. It found that a diet low in carbohydrate, and high in fat and protein for
2 to 3 days after prolonged submaximal exercise, produced a delayed muscle
glycogen resynthesis, but when this was followed by a high carbohydrate diet for
the same period of time, glycogen supercompensation occurred (see Figure 7).
This dietary manipulation not only increased the pre-exercise muscle glycogen
concentration but also resulted in a significant improvement in endurance
capacity (see Figure 8). Although this original method of carbohydrate-loading
was recommended as part of the preparation for endurance competitions, the
low carbohydrate, high fat and protein phase of the diet is an unpleasant
experience. Therefore, alternative ways were explored to increase the pre-
exercise glycogen stores without including a period on a diet high in fat and
protein (189). It was found that a carbohydrate-rich diet consumed for 3 days
prior to competition, accompanied by a decrease in training intensity, resulted in
increased muscle glycogen concentrations of the same magnitude as those
achieved with the traditional carbohydrate loading procedure.

Muscle glycogen concentrations before and after constant load cycling to

exhaustion, following three dietary conditions
1 = Mixed diet for 3 days
2 = Low carbohydrate diet for 3 days
3 = High carbohydrate diet for 3 days
Source: Adapted from Bergstrom, J., Hermansen, L., Hultman, E., Saltin, B. (188)

There have been fewer studies on the influence of carbohydrate loading and
endurance capacity during running. In one of the few running studies, the
question of what type of carbohydrate should be consumed in preparation for
prolonged exercise was considered (190). The runners' normal mixed diets were
modified by providing either additional protein, complex carbohydrates or
simple carbohydrates. The 'complex' carbohydrate group supplemented their
normal mixed diet with bread, potatoes, rice or pasta. The 'simple' carbohydrate
group ate their normal mixed diet but increased their carbohydrate intake with
chocolates. Running times increased after both high carbohydrate diets. The
complex carbohydrate group improved their running times by 26%, and the
simple carbohydrate group improved by 23%. There was no improvement in the
performance times of the protein group, confirming that the carbohydrate
content of the diet is the important nutrient and that the changes were not
simply the consequence of a greater energy intake.

Cycling time to exhaustion at constant load under three dietary conditions

1 = Mixed diet for 3 days
2 = Low carbohydrate diet for 3 days
3 = High carbohydrate for 3 days
Source Adapted from Bergstrom, J, Hermansen, L, Hultman, E, Saltin, B (188)

Carbohydrate diets and endurance performance

In a recent study, the influence of carbohydrate loading on running performance

during a simulated 30-km race was conducted using a laboratory treadmill
(191). One of the aims of this study was to determine at what point during the
race runners began to show signs of fatigue and how this was modified by
dietary manipulation. The treadmill was instrumented so that the subjects
controlled their own speeds using a light-weight hand-held switch.

Changes in speed, time, and distance elapsed were all displayed on a computer
screen in full view of the subjects. The runners were divided into two groups
after the first 30-km treadmill time trial. One group increased their carbohydrate
intake during the 7 day recovery period, whereas the other group ate additional
protein and fat in order to match the increased energy intakes of the
carbohydrate group. Although there was no overall improvement in performance
times for the two groups, the carbohydrate group ran faster during the last 10
km of the simulated race. Furthermore, eight of the nine runners in the
carbohydrate group had faster times for 30 km than during their first attempt,
and better times than the control group. Even though the carbohydrate group
ran faster than the control group, after carbohydrate loading they had lower
adrenaline concentrations. This was attributed to the carbohydrate loading and
subsequent maintenance of normal blood glucose concentrations throughout the
race. Noradrenaline concentrations increased, as expected, during the simulated
30-km races following normal dietary conditions and after carbohydrate loading.

Carbohydrate diets and high intensity exercise

More people participate, at a recreational level, in 'multiple-sprint' sports (such

as soccer, hockey, tennis, basketball and rugby), than endurance (cycling,
swimming or running). These multiple-sprint sports involve a mixture of brief
periods of exercise of maximum intensity followed by recovery periods of rest or
light activity, and last up to 90 minutes. Only a limited amount of information is
available, however, on the influence of diet on exercise of maximal intensity and
brief duration. One of the reasons for the limited amount of research on this
topic has been the lack of suitable laboratory methods for studying the
metabolic and physiological responses to maximal exercise. Inexpensive micro-
computers are now widely available, and so they are used to record rapid
changes in power outputs during maximal exercise of short duration.

Even though there is rapid utilization of muscle glycogen during several brief
periods of maximal exercise, the rate of glycogenolysis decreases as exercise
continues. For example, in a series of 10 maximal sprints of 6-second duration
and 30-second recovery on a cycle ergometer, glycogen degradation was reduced
by half during the last sprint (192). This glycogen sparing is probably the
consequence of an increase in the aerobic metabolism of glycogen and free fatty
acids (193).

Performance during sports which involve several brief sprints may not be
improved by carbohydrate loading. Sports which demand that their participants
perform a combination of submaximal running and brief periods of sprinting,
such as soccer, reduces muscle glycogen concentrations to critically low values.
Performance is impaired when this occurs, and so carbohydrate loading would
probably be of benefit to participants in multiple-sprint sports (194).

Composition of pre-exercise meals

The type of the carbohydrate in pre-exercise meals and their influences on

subsequent endurance capacity has, until recently, received too little attention.
The description of carbohydrates as either simple or complex is an inadequate
way of classifying them. A metabolically more informative way of describing
carbohydrates is the degree to which they raise blood glucose concentrations.
Carbohydrates which produce a large increase in blood glucose concentration, in
response to a standard amount of carbohydrate (50g), are classified as having a
high glycemic index. The metabolic response during exercise is different as a
consequence of the glycemic indices of the carbohydrates consumed preceding
the exercise (195), and so the choice of carbohydrate in pre-competition meals
could have an effect on performance.
In one study on the influence of high and low glycemic index carbohydrate foods
on exercise capacity, the low glycemic index carbohydrate appeared to improve
endurance capacity to a greater extent than the high glycemic index food (196).
This study used lentils as the low glycemic index food, with potatoes and glucose
as the high glycemic index foods, and compared the responses to these after
drinking a glucose solution or plain water.

Eating a high fat meal three to four hours before exercise is not recommended as
a nutritional preparation for endurance competitions because these meals take a
longer time to digest. There is some evidence from animal studies to suggest that
increased fat intake will result in a lower than normal oxidation of carbohydrate
during exercise. If this glycogen sparing did occur following a high fat meal then
it would be expected to delay the onset of fatigue in a similar manner to
consuming carbohydrate-rich meals before exercise. A recent study has
attempted to answer this question by comparing the endurance performances of
subjects following isocaloric high fat or high carbohydrate meals, four hours
before submaximal exercise (197). The pre-exercise meals contained
approximately 280g of carbohydrate in the high carbohydrate meal and 84g in
the high fat meal. There was no statistically significant difference between the
endurance times from the high carbohydrate and high fat (low carbohydrate)
meals (197).

Recovery from exercise

Recovery from exercise is not a passive process. Tissues undergo repair and
reproduction, fluid balance is restored and substrate stores are replaced.
Carbohydrate replacement is one of the most important events during recovery.
When several days separate periods of exercise or participation in sport, a
normal mixed diet containing about 4 to 5 g/kg body weight (BW) of
carbohydrate is sufficient to replace muscle glycogen stores. However, daily
training or competition makes considerable demands on the body's
carbohydrate stores. Therefore, the normally high carbohydrate intake of
athletes may not be enough to prevent a gradual reduction in this important fuel
store. For example, even when the daily carbohydrate intake is 5 g/kg BW,
cycling or running for an hour each day gradually delays the daily restoration of
muscle glycogen stores (198). Increasing the carbohydrate intake to 8 g/kg BW
per day may not be enough to prevent a significant reduction in muscle glycogen
concentrations after 5 successive days of hard training (199). These studies
underline the importance of prescribing adequate amounts of carbohydrate for
athletes in training and justifies the need for more frequent recovery days
between periods of intense training.

Summary

The clear message from over a half a century of research on the links between
food, nutrition and exercise capacity is that next to natural talent and
appropriate training, a high carbohydrate diet and adequate fluid intake to avoid
dehydration are the two most important elements in the formula for successful
participation in sport. Of course, there is an underlying assumption that athletes
normally eat a well-balanced diet made up of a wide variety of foods, and
contains sufficient energy to cover their needs.