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  • Essay / Studying the Effects of Transitioning to a Low-Carbohydrate, High-Fat Diet

    Many studies have been conducted over the years to analyze the effects of reducing dietary carbohydrates on health and physical performance. This study analyzed the effects of dietary modification from the "usual Western diet (WD) to a very low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet (VLCHF) over 4 weeks" on performance and physiological responses during training. high-intensity interval training (HIIT). no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay To conduct the study, 18 moderately trained men were examined over a 4-week period. They were separated into two groups: 1. A very low CHO and high fat group and 2. A group with a usual mixed Western diet. A VLCHF diet limited carbohydrate intake to 20-50 g/d and replaced most lost calories with fat and maintained a low to moderate amount of protein. The men were aged 18 to 30 years and practiced regular non-competitive low-endurance physical activity of at least 3 sessions/week and all participants had no experience with the VLCHF diet. Before and after the experiment, a maximum incremental treadmill test (GXT) was performed to identify VO2 max. The treadmill started at 7.0 km/h and increased by 1.5 km/h every 4 minutes. The HIIT sessions took place over 4 weeks and the sessions were spaced 48 hours apart. These sessions involved a 10-minute warm-up at 60% of their VO2 max. The main session consisted of 5 very intense repetitions of 3 minutes at 100% VO2 max. Recovery was 90 seconds. HIIT sessions lasted 34 minutes. Sessions were conducted in the morning at similar times each day (approximately 30 minutes apart) at least 3 hours after their last meal. Testing was performed in a thermally controlled environment where body mass composition was determined and a capillary blood sample was collected. before all exercise interventions. Participants were also asked to participate in 3 to 5 sessions of unsupervised training primarily based on endurance, while recording their heart rate throughout these sessions. Participants were provided with meal planning recipes and suggestions from dietitians, and assistance was provided throughout the test when participants needed it. Five days before the intervention, all quantities of food consumed were recorded daily. Alcohol consumption before and during the intervention was prohibited as well as caffeine consumption before the laboratory sessions. The results showed that overall there were no adverse effects on the GTX or HIIT performance of participants consuming the VLCHF diet. In the VLCHF group also, substrate oxidation was found to have changed significantly. Fat oxidation levels and blood lactate concentration increased in the VLCHF diet group. The results of this study call into question the presumed necessity of a high-carbohydrate diet for high-intensity exercise. Some research suggests that it may take several weeks for noticeable adaptations to occur on the VLCHF diet. A study that recorded relative power results during a 6-second sprint improved after 12 weeks of adaptation to the VLCHF diet. The short period over which the study was conducted constitutes a limitation of this study because it does not give participants the opportunity to fully adapt.