Summary
The influence of four isolated periods of dietary manipulation upon high intensity exercise capacity was investigated in six healthy male subjects. Subjects consumed their ‘normal’ (N) diet (45±2% carbohydrate (CHO), 41±3% fat, 14±3% protein) for four days after which they exercised to voluntary exhaustion at a workload equivalent to 100% \(\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{{\text{2 max}}} } \). Three further four-day periods of dietary manipulation took place; these were assigned in a randomised manner and each was followed by a high intensity exercise test. The dietary treatments were: a low CHO (3±1%), high fat (71±5%), high protein (26±3%) diet (HFHP); a high CHO (73±2%), low fat (12±2%), normal protein (15±1%) diet (HCLF); and a normal CHO (47±3%), low fat (27±2%), high protein (26±2%) diet (LFHP). Acid-base status and blood lactate concentration were measured on arterialised-venous blood at rest prior to dietary manipulation on each day of the different diets, immediately prior to exercise and at 2, 4, 6, 10 and 15 min post-exercise. Other metabolite concentrations were measured in the blood samples obtained prior to dietary manipulation and immediately prior to exercise. Exercise time to exhaustion after the HFHP diet (179±63 s) was shorter when compared with the N (210±65 s; p<0.01) and HCLF (219±69 s; p<0.05) diets. Exercise time after the LFHP diet (188±63 s) was also reduced when compared with the HCLF diet (p<0.05) but not significantly when compared with the N diet. Immediately prior to exercise after the HFHP diet plasma pH, bicarbonate, blood PCO2 and base excess levels were lower when compared with the N diet (p<0.05, p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001 respectively), the HCLF diet (p<0.05, p<0.001, p<0.01, p<0.001 respectively) and the LFHP diet (p<0.05, p<0.01, p<0.05, p<0.001 respectively). Levels of plasma bicarbonate and blood base excess were also lower after the LFHP diet when compared with the N (p<0.05) and HCLF (p<0.01, p<0.001 respectively) diets. Immediately prior to exercise, plasma free fatty acids (FFA; p<0.001, p<0.01, p<0.05), blood 3-hydroxybutyrate (3-OHB; p<0.05, p<0.05, p<0.05) and plasma urea (p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.05) were all higher after the HFHP diet when compared with the N, the HCLF and the LFHP diets respectively; plasma total protein was higher when compared with the N diet (p<0.05). The results of the present experiment suggest that dietary composition influences acid-base balance by affecting the plasma buffer base and circulating non-volatile weak acids and by doing so may influence the time taken to reach exhaustion during high intensity exercise.
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Greenhaff, P.L., Gleeson, M. & Maughan, R.J. Diet-induced metabolic acidosis and the performance of high intensity exercise in man. Europ. J. Appl. Physiol. 57, 583–590 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00418466
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00418466