The claimEvidence C · limited
Endurance training requires a ketogenic diet
The evidence
Keto is a therapeutic diet, not the endurance default. High-intensity anaerobic performance usually drops once glycogen is depleted, and long-term cardiovascular effects are unclear.
The mechanism, in brief
The ketogenic diet is a way of eating that is very low in carbohydrate (usually <50g a day), very high in fat (70-80% of calories), and moderate in protein. Once carbohydrate is cut off, the liver breaks fatty acids down into ketone bodies (beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate), and the brain and other tissues switch…
Sources (3)
- Ludwig, D. S. (2020). The ketogenic diet: evidence for optimism but high-quality research needed. Journal of Nutrition, 150(6), 1354-1359.
- Crosby, L., Davis, B., Joshi, S., Jardine, M., Paul, J., Neola, M., et al. (2021). Ketogenic diets and chronic disease: weighing the benefits against the risks. Frontiers in Nutrition, 8, 702802.
- Gardner, C. D., Trepanowski, J. F., Del Gobbo, L. C., Hauser, M. E., Rigdon, J., Ioannidis, J. P. A., et al. (2018). Effect of low-fat vs low-carbohydrate diet on 12-month weight loss in overweight adults and the association with genotype pattern or insulin secretion: the DIETFITS randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 319(7), 667-679.