Wondering if any of you guys or gals(if any) have read this study and what you make of it?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3411406/
Quote:
Interestingly, to our knowledge, this is the first study published that measured the effects of VLCKD [very low carb keto diet] on strength performance and the authors reported no difference in strength isometric performance between VLCKD group and high carbohydrate group.
Three factors should be taken into account to explain these conflicting results: 1) the time needed for keto-adapatation (approximately 7days), 2) usage or not of electrolyte supplementation 3) the protein intake.
According to the first factor, most studies have maintained the VLCKD for less than two weeks, which not sufficient to accomplish the full ketogenic metabolic adjustment (since 7days are required for keto-adaptation leaving just a few days to see the effects of ketosis during these short dietary protocols). In our experimental design the ketogenic period was maintained for 30days.
Regarding adequate electrolyte supplementation it is noteworthy that a supplement containing sodium and potassium is needed to maintain an effective nitrogen balance with functional tissue preservation [58] and the Tisanoreica® protocol reported here included an electrolyte supplementation [16].
Finally to maintain lean body mass a protein intake of 1.2–1.7g/kg/bw with reference to body weight is required [58]. Most techniques used for weight loss in sports lead to a reduction of lean body mass with consequent negative effects on performance. The effects of the reduction in daily protein intake below 1.2g/kg/bw during a VLCKD, includes the gradual loss of lean tissue and therefore the loss of physical performance as demonstrated by Davis [59]. The daily intake of protein during the ketogenic phase in our study was approximately 2.8g/kg (assuming an increased protein requirement due to the very intense physical activity)