Protein Nutrition for Endurance Athletes: A Metabolic Focus on Promoting Recovery and Training Adaptation.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review of metabolic and nutritional studies without systematic review methodology.
PubMed 40117058 · doi:10.1007/s40279-025-02203-8
What was done
This narrative review synthesized recent metabolic research over the past decade regarding daily protein requirements, per-meal protein dosing, and protein co-ingestion strategies for endurance athletes focusing on recovery, adaptive response, and performance.
What was found
Habitual protein intake in endurance athletes is typically around 1.5 g/kg/day. Recent requirement studies indicate that a daily intake of ~1.8 g/kg/day should be advocated, rising above 2.0 g/kg/day during carbohydrate-restricted training or on rest days. The abstract notes an absence of definitive dose-response data to determine per-meal protein targets for endurance exercise. Additionally, co-ingesting protein with carbohydrate before or during exercise showed no compelling evidence for improving performance or accelerating muscle/liver glycogen resynthesis when adequate carbohydrate is consumed, though protein may assist adaptation during periodized low-carbohydrate or low-energy availability states.
Why it matters
It updates protein intake targets for endurance athletes beyond standard baseline recommendations, specifically highlighting higher demands during carbohydrate-restricted training phases.
Limits
The paper is a narrative review rather than a systematic review with meta-analysis. The abstract reports no definitive quantitative data for optimal per-meal protein dosing due to a lack of dose-response muscle protein synthesis trials tailored specifically to endurance exercise.
Cited by
- supports In endurance athletes, higher protein intake improves exercise recovery up to approximately 1.6 to 1.8 grams per kilogram of body weight.