Improved Recovery from Prolonged Exercise Following the Consumption of Low Glycemic Index Carbohydrate Meals

Abstract

This study examined the effects of the glycemic index (GI) of post-exercise carbohydrate (CHO) intake on endurance capacity the following day. Nine active males participated in 2 trials. On day 1, subjects ran for 90 min at 70% VO2max (R1). Thereafter, they were supplied with either a high GI (HGI) or low GI (LGI) CHO diet which provided 8 g CHO/kg body mass (BM). On day 2, after an overnight fast, subjects ran to exhaustion at 70% VO2max (R2). Time to exhaustion during R2 was longer in the LGI trial (108.9 ± 7.4 min) than in the HGI trial (96.9 ± 4.8 min) (P < 0.05). Fat oxidation rates and free fatty acid concentrations were higher in the LGI trial than the HGI trial (P < 0.05). The results suggest that the increased endurance capacity was largely a consequence of the increased fat oxidation following the LGI recovery diet.