Keto’s Anti-Aging Benefits Might Not Extend To Endurance Athletes
This article originally appeared on Outside
Keto’s Anti-Aging Benefits Might Not Extend To Endurance Athletes
This article was originally published on Triathlete.
Keto’s Anti-Aging Benefits Might Not Extend To Endurance Athletes
Of all the diet fads to capture the imagination of endurance athletes, none has been quite as polarizing as keto. Although it is a essentially a reboot of fad diets that have come and gone numerous times in the past (Atkins is the best known of these) adherents to the ketogenic diet tend to treat it as though it is something novel and new and that it is the only diet an athlete should consider if they want to attain peaks in body composition, performance and lengthen their lifespan. They also claim keto can be a fountain of youth, helping athletes crack the anti-aging code through their eating habits.
Keto’s Anti-Aging Benefits Might Not Extend To Endurance Athletes
Nutritionists, on the other hand, as well as a fair representation of coaches in the endurance world, are not persuaded. This group of people who are less convinced by the marketing and sales extolled by social media personalities has for some time now pushed back against the keto craze, pointing out that the ketogenic diet is not suitable for athletes training for and participating in endurance sports. They also highlight evidence that often flies in the face of the bold claims being made in support of keto.
Keto’s Anti-Aging Benefits Might Not Extend To Endurance Athletes
So what is a ketogenic diet? Is there any evidence to support any of the main claims put forth by its proponents, or alternatively, those who are opposed to it? Finally, what should we take from a paper recently published that seems to suggest that the ketogenic diet may have some real benefits to counter the effects of aging, but not for athletes?
Keto’s Anti-Aging Benefits Might Not Extend To Endurance Athletes
RELATED: Can the Keto Diet Work for Endurance Athletes?
Keto’s Anti-Aging Benefits Might Not Extend To Endurance Athletes
What is the Ketogenic Diet?
Let’s begin first with a definition of the ketogenic diet.
The cells of our bodies depend on carbohydrates for their most easily metabolized fuel. To make use of them, cells have a locked door system that must be opened with a key to allow the entry of carbohydrates and this key is insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas whenever levels of sugar are high in the bloodstream.
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Decades ago, scientists postulated that the western diet was leading to higher rates of obesity, diabetes and cardiac disease because of the recurrent…