scholarly journals A review of the ketogenic diet for endurance athletes: performance enhancer or placebo effect?

Author(s):  
Caitlin P. Bailey ◽  
Erin Hennessy
Author(s):  
Ed Maunder ◽  
Deborah K. Dulson ◽  
David M. Shaw

Purpose: Considerable interindividual heterogeneity has been observed in endurance performance responses following induction of a ketogenic diet (KD). It is plausible that a physiological stress response in the period following the dramatic dietary shift associated with transition to a KD may explain this heterogeneity. Methods: In a randomized, crossover study design, 8 trained male runners completed an incremental exercise test and ran to exhaustion at 70%VO2max before and after a 31-day rigorously controlled habitual diet or KD intervention, and recorded heart rate variability (root mean square of the sum of successive differences in R–R intervals [rMSSD]) upon waking each morning along with the recovery–stress questionnaire for athletes each week. Data were analyzed using linear mixed models. Results: A significant reduction in rMSSD was observed in the KD (−9.77 [4.03] ms, P = .02), along with an increase in day-to-day variability in rMSSD (2.1% [1.0%], P = .03). The reduction in rMSSD in the KD for the subgroup of individuals exhibiting impaired exercise capacity following induction of the KD approached significance (Δ −22 [15] ms, P = .06, N = 4); whereas no effect was observed in those who exhibited unchanged exercise capacity (Δ 5 [18] ms, P = .61, N = 4). No main effects were observed for recovery–stress questionnaire for athletes. Conclusions: Our data suggest those working with endurance athletes transitioning onto a KD may consider using noninvasive, inexpensive resting heart rate variability measures to gain individual-level insights into the likely short-term effects on exercise capacity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-152
Author(s):  
David M. Shaw ◽  
Fabrice Merien ◽  
Andrea Braakhuis ◽  
Lauren Keaney ◽  
Deborah K. Dulson

PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. e0198388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen K. Broelz ◽  
Sebastian Wolf ◽  
Patrick Schneeweiss ◽  
Andreas M. Niess ◽  
Paul Enck ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 222 (3) ◽  
pp. 140-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariane Sölle ◽  
Theresa Bartholomäus ◽  
Margitta Worm ◽  
Regine Klinger

Research in recent years, especially in the analgesic field, has intensively studied the placebo effect and its mechanisms. It has been shown that physical complaints can be efficiently reduced via learning and cognitive processes (conditioning and expectancies). However, despite evidence demonstrating a large variety of physiological similarities between pain and itch, the possible transfer of the analgesic placebo model to itch has not yet been widely discussed in research. This review therefore aims at highlighting potential transfers of placebo mechanisms to itch processes by demonstrating the therapeutic issues in pharmacological treatments for pruritus on a physiological basis and by discussing the impact of psychological mechanisms and psychological factors influencing itch sensations.


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