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Is keto good for endurance athletes?

This question is about NutritionRunning and Cycling

Sarah Achleithner

No, at this time, limited research shows no clear performance benefits to athletes following a ketogenic diet — endurance or otherwise [

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The keto diet is a high fat, very low carb diet, where carbohydrate intake is typically limited to 30-50g per day. The keto diet has two big downsides for athletes: limited glucose availability and increased oxygen demands. Although fat burning increases following a keto diet, endurance capacity in keto-adapted athletes still appears to be limited by glucose availability [

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Another reason why keto is inferior to higher carbohydrate diets for endurance performance is that ATP (energy) production from fatty acids requires more oxygen than ATP production from glucose [

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]. Higher oxygen demands during exercise equate to lower efficiency, thus limiting the potential performance benefits for athletes following a strict ketogenic diet.

Keto spelled out in food on a brown background

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[2] McSwiney, F. T., Doyle, L., Plews, D. J., & Zinn, C. (2019). Impact Of Ketogenic Diet On Athletes: Current Insights. Open access journal of sports medicine, 10, 171–183.

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