Carbohydrate intake and recovery from exercise

Prolonged heavy exercise, whether as part or training or competition, can only be continued when there is an adequate amount of carbohydrate available to fuel muscles and the brain. Fatigue is closely associated with depletion of the limited stores of carbohydrate in the muscle and in the liver. Therefore, it is not surprising that strategies have been developed to ensure that not only are the carbohydrate stores well stocked before exercise but that they are also restored as soon as possible after exercise. Consuming carbohydrate immediately after exercise increases the rate of muscle glycogen resynthesis and also results in greater endurance capacity during subsequent exercise. A recovery diet that is high in carbohydrate (similar to10 g kg(-1) body mass/day) will allow athletes to restore their exercise capacity on the following day, which is not the case when they eat a mixed diet with matching energy content. The type of carbohydrate in the recovery diet also has an influence on endurance capacity the following day. A recovery diet that contains low glycaemic index carbohydrates result in a higher rates of fat oxidation and greater endurance running capacity than diets that are contain mainly high glycaemic index carbohydrate foods. Although consuming carbohydrate-protein mixtures during recovery from exercise increases the insulin response, and possibly glycogen resynthesis rate, there appears to be no greater recovery of endurance capacity than following the consumption of carbohydrate alone. (C) 2004 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.