Macro partitioning
Long-term LCHF diet adaptation may improve performance in repeated high-intensity exercise (e.g., field sports) by maintaining power output in later stages of competition through increased fat oxidation and glycogen sparing.
If you play sports with lots of stopping and starting (like soccer or basketball), switching to a low-carb, high-fat diet might help you stay strong in the second half of the game. This takes months to adapt to. It won't necessarily make you faster in a single sprint, but it might help you maintain your speed when you are tired.
Thus, the increased fat oxidation rate and muscle-glycogen sparing effect after long-term adaptation to LCHF diets may be helpful to maintain and/or improve performance in latter stages in these sports.
Why this rating
The paper cites studies with mixed results (some showed impairment, others showed maintenance) and calls for more research.
Source
Low-Carbohydrate-High-Fat Diet: Can it Help Exercise Performance?
Chen‐Kang Chang et al. · Journal of Human Kinetics · 2017
DOI 10.1515/hukin-2017-0025
More from this paper
- Long-term adaptation (several months) to a low-carbohydrate-high-fat (LCHF) diet enhances endurance performance in ultra-endurance events by increasing maximal fat oxidation rates and sparing muscle glycogen, without compromising glycogen resynthesis.Moderate
- Long-term LCHF diet adaptation may lead to the early development of central fatigue during exercise due to elevated blood concentrations of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and ammonia.Moderate
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