Vu Vincent Nguyen

HUN 3800
Literature Review
12/2/13

Are Carbohydrates an Efficient Ergogenic Aid for Performance and

Endurance?

Introduction
Its the day of the big game, many months of training have been put in, close relatives
faintly remember your face; theyre all irrelevant facts, the only thing that matters, is nothing
less than that 110 percent of effort put on the field. Its the second half and the team is down
by a few points. Trying to dig deep down to catch a second wind, something is hindering you;
seems that diet was lacking the night before and during the game fatigue overwhelms the body,
thus, inhibiting ideal motor function. There have been studies that address the subject of
carbohydrate consumption and how it relates to the performance of athletes. Its a fitting
subject to those who are physically active and are competitive. Carbohydrates are the main
source of energy used by the body, here, a relationship between the consumption of
carbohydrates and physical activity exist1.
This literature review will discuss the metabolism of carbohydrates in the body, studies
done over time that cover carbohydrates as an ergogenic aid, and how this topic relates to a
dietetic professional. Studies on carbohydrates and its ergogenic properties have been going on
since the beginning of the 20th century1 with numerous studies connecting the relationship of
consuming carbohydrates to increase performance. With these studies supporting the thesis,
adequate consumption of carbohydrates will have a beneficial impact on performance and
endurance of athletes, the following should provide a solid explanation on how and why
research has postulated this statement.
Metabolism of Carbohydrates

Before discussing the ergogenic properties of carbohydrates, it must be known, the

sources and how carbohydrates are processed in the body. Carbohydrates are broken down
into two categories, simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates
have two categories; a one sugar molecule, monosaccharides and a two sugar molecule,
disaccharides. Complex carbohydrates are categorized as oligosaccharides and polysaccharides,
both containing more than two sugar molecules. The majority of the topic will pertain to
monosaccharides which can be found as glucose, fructose, and galactose2. These are typically
found in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and honey. Once carbohydrates are consumed, they begin
breaking down in the mouth and are fully broken down in the stomach. The small intestines are
where all the absorption of the carbohydrates takes place. This process breaks down the
carbohydrates and converts it into glucose for the body to use for energy. In Raddatz Ds article,
its stated that the liver plays a unique role in controlling carbohydrate metabolism because it
maintains glucose concentrations in a normal range3. This is maintained by a regulated system
of enzymes and kinases that regulate glucose breakdown, storage as glycogen, or synthesis by
hepatocytes. The role of the liver plays a large role in carbohydrate metabolism; it is the
glucose supply, glucose storage and the site of glucose uptake3. The breakdown of
monosaccharides into glucose which is then absorbed into the bodys enterocytes is by a
process called glycolysis. This in turn produces ATP which is what the body uses for energy4.
Storage of Carbohydrates
Cermaks article states the carbohydrates stored in the body as glycogen are
approximately 100 grams in the liver and 350-700 grams in skeletal muscle, depending on

training status and diet1. This article says that during low to moderate intensity exercise, fat is
the preferred fuel by the body and as intensity increases carbohydrate oxidation increases, with
the addition of muscle glycogen, being the most source of energy1. Muscle glycogen is an
essential source of fuel during prolonged moderate to intense exercise, contributing more than
50% of total energy requirements1. Here, we can see that during exercise that requires normal
to intense effort, carbohydrates are required by the body to allow one to physically perform.
The body will hold a limited amount of endogenous carbohydrates, shown in the previous
paragraph, and once these storages are depleted, it is necessary that its compensated with an
exogenous supply of carbohydrates. Once the use of carbohydrates exceeds carbohydrates
stored in the body, fatigue onsets1, causing a loss in performance.
Ergogenic Effect of Carbohydrates
A meta-analysis of 88 randomized cross over studies investigated ergogenic properties
of carbohydrate ingestion on exercise performance. 83% of the studies used cycling exercise
and measured performance by using time to exhaustion or a time trial. The range of
performance was either a 6% increase or 2% decrease. The largest effect of from the metaanalysis was a 6.5% increase of performance where the carbohydrate supplementation
consisted of 3-10% carbohydrates plus protein drink. The composition of the drink provided
~0.7g/kg/hr glucose polymers and ~0.2g/kg/hr fructose and ~0.2g/kg/hr of protein. These
measurements are as follows; the amount of supplement in grams is determined by kg of
bodyweight and consumed per hour. One of the studies, by Hulston and Jeukendrup tested the
placebo effect by recruiting ten male cyclists to perform three exercise trials consisting of

120min of steady state cycling, followed by a 60 minute time trial. During the 120 minute of
steady state, subjects either consumed water, carbohydrate solution, or a non caloric placebo
that matched the carbohydrate solution. The time trial performance times were 11.3% faster in
the carbohydrate trial compared to water and the placebo trial was 10.6% faster than the water
trial. The meta-analysis concluded that the use of carbohydrate supplements with an adequate
composition and administration regiment will increase performance 5. In another study by
Phillips S and colleagues, their aim was toward the benefits of carbohydrate solutions in field
based games. Since there has been a substantial accumulation of research on the positive
influence of carbohydrate prior to and during moderate to high intensity exercise, these studies
are subject to methodological limitations. The concern is that these exercises protocols were
characterized by prolong periods of the same exercise intensity failed to replicate the activity
pattern or physiological demand of team exercise. Potential factors that may influence of
formulating optimal carbohydrate guidelines for field sports are constantly changing exercise
intensity and frequency, duration and intensity of resting intervals, potential to slow rate of
gastric emptying, and restricted access to carbohydrate solutions during games. In addition,
most research failed to show improvements of sprint performance with carbohydrate ingestion,
this is due to the lack of influence of carbohydrates during sprint performance. Findings from
this text showed unanimous support in consumption of carbohydrate solution during prolonged
intermittent exercise to maintain and or improve performance but, is unequivocal in its support
in the efficacy of carbohydrate supplementation in improving capacity. This is due to the little
research that is out there to support this, is methodologically flawed. Other findings from this
text showed that carbohydrate supplementation may elicit alterations in effort perception and

mood state which could facilitate improvements in exercise performance such as shooting
accuracy, passing, dribbling, or tackling. The presence and extent of such benefits depend on
factors such as pre-exercise muscle glycogen status, intensity and duration of exercise bout,
and amount and timing of carbohydrate ingestion. Most the research failed to show
improvements in sprint performance during team games exercise with carbohydrate ingestion
because it doesnt call for enough endogenous muscle glycogen because it remains above the
critical threshold of ~200mmol/kg dry weight. All in all from this article, carbohydrates are an
ergogenic aid but do not directly alter physiological response to prolonged intermittent
exercise. The general metabolic response to intermittent exercise is increase in blood glucose
concentration, greater carbohydrate oxidation rates, along with attenuated blood free fatty
acids and fat oxidation6. We see that carbohydrates have ergogenic effects on prolonged
endurance type events, but carbohydrate ingestion has been shown to improve performance
during high intensity exercise of relatively short time, approximately 60 minutes.
Type and Amount Needed
With this, it can be seen that carbohydrates do in fact have a strong ergogenic property
when it comes to exercise and performance. But what types and in what amounts are these
supplements needed to perform optimally. There are two types of carbohydrates categorized
by the rate at which they are oxidized. One are consisted of glucose and glucose polymers
which are oxidized at high rates of 1.0-1.1 gram per minute and the other group composed of
fructose and galactose are oxidized at a slower rate of approximately 0.6 grams per minute.
With this said, it is recommended that during exercise lasting one to two hours, consumption of

carbohydrates in the form of glucose is needed to allow the high exogenous carbohydrate rates
of approximately 1.0-1.1 gram per minute to maintain optimal performance. The American
College of Sports Medicine also recommends that athletes consume 30-60 grams of
carbohydrates per hour to enhance performance during moderate to high intensity exercise
lasting longer than 60 minutes7, 8. There has also been discussion on the benefits on multiple
transportable carbohydrates, glucose and fructose, and how consuming both may increase
oxidation rates further. Since glucose is absorbed through the body by a specific transport
protein it becomes a limiting factor for carbohydrate oxidation. But, fructose is absorbed
independently from glucose through a different transport protein. In theory, the combination
of ingesting both glucose and fructose should result in increased capacity for carbohydrate
absorption and oxidation rates9. Jentjens and his colleagues tested this theory by recruiting
trained male cyclist who did a two hour cycling exercise on four different occasions during
which they ingester either water, 1.2 grams per minute of glucose, 1.8 grams per minute of
glucose, or 1.2 grams per minute of glucose plus 0.6 grams per minute of fructose. When
compared to the glucose only trials, the combined ingestion of glucose plus fructose resulted in
approximately 55% greater exogenous oxidation rates (1.26 grams per minute compared to
0.83 grams per minute in glucose only)10.
Summary

References:
1. Cermak N, van Loon L. The Use of Carbohydrates During Exercise as an Ergogenic
Aid. Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) [serial online]. July 12, 2013;Available from:
MEDLINE, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 27, 2013
2. An Introduction to Nutrition Book. Website http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/anintroduction-to-nutrition/s08-01-a-closer-look-at-carbohydrates.html Accessed
November 28, 2013
3. Raddatz D, Ramadori G. Hepatic Carbohydrate Metabolism.Molecular Pathology Of Liver
Diseases [serial online]. January 2011;:109. Available from: Publisher Provided Full Text
Searching File, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 28, 2013
4. Monireh D. Review: A quick look at biochemistry: Carbohydrate metabolism. Clinical
Biochemistry [serial online]. n.d.;Available from: ScienceDirect, Ipswich, MA. Accessed
October 21, 2013.
5. Vandenbogaerde T, Hopkins W. Effects of acute carbohydrate supplementation on
endurance performance. Sports Med. 2011;41(9):77392. Accessed November 29, 2013
6. Phillips S, Sproule J, Turner A. Carbohydrate Ingestion during Team Games
Exercise. Sports Medicine [serial online]. July 2011;41(7):559-585. Available from:
SPORTDiscus with Full Text, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 29, 2013
7. Sawka M, Burke L, Eichnet E, et al. American College of Sports Medicine position stand:
exercise and uid replacement. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007;39(2):37790. Accessed
November 29, 2013
8. Rodriguez N, Di Marco N, Langley S. American College of Sports Medicine position stand:
Nutrition and athletic performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2012;44(2):344-51. Accessed
November 29, 2013
9. Jentjens R, Underwood K, Achten J, et al. Exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates are
elevated after combined ingestion of glucose and fructose during exercise in the heat. J
Appl Physiol. 2006;100(3):80716. Accessed November 29, 2013
10. Jentjens R, Venables M, Jeukendrup A. Oxidation of exogenous glucose, sucrose and
maltose during prolonged cycling execise. J Appl Physiol. 2004;96:128591. Accessed
November 29, 2013