Relationship of Carbohydrate Intake during a Single-Stage One-Day Ultra-Trail Race with Fatigue Outcomes and Gastrointestinal Problems: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Due to the high metabolic and physical demands in single-stage one-day ultra-trail (SOUT) races, athletes should be properly prepared in both physical and nutritional aspects in order to delay fatigue and avoid associated difficulties. However, high carbohydrate (CHO) intake would seem to increase gastrointestinal (GI) problems. The main purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate CHO intake during SOUT events as well as its relationship with fatigue (in terms of internal exercise load, exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) and post-exercise recovery) and GI problems. A structured search was carried out in accordance with PRISMA guidelines in the following: Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Scopus databases up to 16 March 2021. After conducting the search and applying the inclusion/exclusion criteria, eight articles in total were included in this systematic review, in all of which CHO intake involved gels, energy bars and sports drinks. Two studies associated higher CHO consumption (120 g/h) with an improvement in internal exercise load. Likewise, these studies observed that SOUT runners whose intake was 120 g/h could benefit by limiting the EIMD observed by CK (creatine kinase), LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) and GOT (aspartate aminotransferase), and also improve recovery of high intensity running capacity 24 h after a trail marathon. In six studies, athletes had GI symptoms between 65–82%. In summary, most of the runners did not meet CHO intake standard recommendations for SOUT events (90 g/h), while athletes who consumed more CHO experienced a reduction in internal exercise load, limited EIMD and improvement in post-exercise recovery. Conversely, the GI symptoms were recurrent in SOUT athletes depending on altitude, environmental conditions and running speed. Therefore, a high CHO intake during SOUT events is important to delay fatigue and avoid GI complications, and to ensure high intake, it is necessary to implement intestinal training protocols.

Continuous Protein Supplementation Reduces Acute Exercise-Induced Stress Markers in Athletes Performing Marathon

“…In this case, it must be considered that the amount of the additives consumed was only in the range of the assumed daily requirement and not at the level provided in food supplements available on the market with the claim of improving aerobic performance. Thus, the results of this study do not support the assumption of an ergogenic effect of protein supplementation and most ergogenic aids in trained individuals accustomed to endurance sports, but instead agree with the position statement of the ACSM regarding nutrition and athletic performance Furthermore, high carbohydrate intake in the preparation as well as during an endurance event remain as the best-documented factor for endurance performance [36][37][38][39].…”

Are the Consumption Patterns of Sports Supplements Similar among Spanish Mountain Runners?

“…When runners compete over long distances, they have training sessions that last more than two hours, in which they will need to provide adequate nutrition and hydration. To do this, and to train the gastrointestinal tract, they use SS, to prevent the appearance of possible gastrointestinal discomfort during competition [ 31 , 32 , 33 ].…”

Ergo-Nutritional Intervention in Basketball: A Systematic Review

“…Proper nutrition helps maintain physical and cognitive performance [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ], supports injury prevention, the return-to-play process, training adaptations [ 14 ] and finally accelerate and optimize recovery processes [ 15 ]. To achieve this, a nutritional plan must be based on the uniqueness of individuals [ 16 ], the playing position [ 17 ], the workload [ 18 ] and other logistics factors such as travel [ 19 ] or food preferences [ 20 ].…”

“…Generally, basketball players are big athletes [ 21 ] with a high muscle mass [ 22 , 23 ], so they have high energy needs that involve eating large quantities of food. Therefore, to avoid gastrointestinal discomfort [ 9 ], they should consider splitting the high volume of food they must eat [ 24 ].…”