Carbohydrates and fat for training and recovery.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review synthesizing literature without systematic search or meta-analytic methodology.
PubMed 14971430 · doi:10.1080/0264041031000140527
What was done
Narrative review synthesizing scientific literature published since 1991 on post-exercise muscle glycogen storage and training fuel requirements to formulate dietary guidelines for athletic recovery.
What was found
The abstract reports qualitative guidelines without specific numerical effect sizes: - Carbohydrate intake should be individualized relative to body mass (g/kg) and training volume to restore muscle glycogen. - Moderate-to-high glycemic index carbohydrates are recommended as the primary source for glycogen resynthesis. - Co-ingesting protein with recovery meals supports repair and can augment glycogen restoration when carbohydrate intake is suboptimal or meal frequency is low. - When recovery time between workouts is < 8 hours, carbohydrate ingestion should begin as soon as practical; for longer recovery intervals (~24 hours), intake timing can be distributed flexibly. - There is no evidence that high-fat, carbohydrate-restricted diets enhance training adaptation.
Why it matters
Provides evidence-based dietary recommendations for athletic recovery, emphasizing early carbohydrate and protein timing when recovery windows are short and identifying no training benefit from high-fat diets.
Limits
The abstract describes a narrative review without explicit systematic search protocols, quality assessments, or quantitative effect sizes. Specific gram-per-kilogram dosage targets are omitted from the abstract text.
Cited by
- context The faster carbohydrate is ingested post-exercise, the faster muscle and liver glycogen stores are replenished.