Experiment Proving Carbohydrate Intake Delays Fatigue Essay -- Biology

The goal of this scientific study was to determine if the delayed onset of fatigue, as a result of consuming carbohydrates, was associated with stopping muscle glycogen depletion. Therefore, this web page is dedicated to presenting the important points of the study and to expand on those ideas in order to encompass a more general function of carbohydrates in our daily activities. The basic outline of the experiment consisted of a control group and an experimental group; both groups contained endurance-trained cyclists who had fasted beforehand. The cyclists were required to maintain a constant 70% aerobic workload while they cycled. The control group was given a sweet drink that did not suffice as an energy source; the drink contained aspartame (NutraSweet) which has no nutritional value. The other drink contained nutritionally useful carbohydrate that had an equally sweet flavor. Cyclists were not told which drink they were receiving. This was done to avoid biases (such as cycling harder with the carbohydrate drink to "please" the scientists) from entering the experiment and thus corrupting the data. Muscle biopsies to measure muscle glycogen were taken before excercise, after 2 and 3 hours of exercise, and at the time of fatigue (when the cyclists could no longer work at 70% of their aerobic capacity). Blood samples were also taken every twenty minutes and upon fatigue. These blood samples were used to quantitatively analyze the glucose levels in the blood at the various times. The results of this study were that carbohydrate feedings during prolonged exercise delayed fatigue by one hour. As seen by the results of the carbohydrate feeding during the bicyclists' extensive exercise, glycogen utilization is not spared in ... ... more study Another clinical study was also done with Carbo-Crunch Bars by Shaklee. Cyclists pedaling at an energetic pace for more than three hours received Carbo-Crunch Bars and water or water alone. The speed was then turned up to sprint pace. Those who had been drinking water and eating the Carbo-Crunch Bars were able to last 24 minutes while those participants who had received only water lasted for an average of 2 minutes. Results: These clinical studies of Shaklee products show that carbohydrates help to prolong the onset of fatigue to keep the athlete going. Carbohydrate products have become so popular that dogs can even receive Power Bones, a product offering dogs a burst of energy from glucose and endurance from carbohydrates. The regular intake of carbohydrates during exercise help to keep body-sugar levels steady and prolong the onset of fatigue.