Ketogenic diets, exercise performance, and training adaptations

Abstract

Purpose of review: The ketogenic diet has been proposed as a nutritional strategy in sports. This review was undertaken to provide an overview of the recent literature concerning the effects of ketogenic diet on exercise performance and training adaptations.

Recent findings: Most recent literature on the ketogenic diet and exercise performance showed no beneficial effects, especially for trained individuals. During a period of intensified training, performance was clearly impaired during the ketogenic intervention, while a diet with high carbohydrates maintained physical performance. The main effect of the ketogenic diet resides in metabolic flexibility, inducing the metabolism to oxidize more fat for ATP resynthesis regardless of submaximal exercise intensities.

Summary: The ketogenic diet is not a reasonable nutritional strategy, as it has no advantage over normal/high carbohydrate-based diets on physical performance and training adaptations even when used only in a specific training/nutritional periodization stage.