title: Glycemic index--a new tool in sport nutrition?
abstract: The glycemic index (GI) provides a way to rank foods rich in carbohydrate (CHO) according to the glucose response following their intake. Consumption of low-GI CHO foods may attenuate the insulin-mediated metabolic disturbances associated with CHO intake in the hours prior to exercise, better maintaining CHO availability. However, there is insufficient evidence that athletes who consume a low-GI CHO-rich meal prior to a prolonged event will gain clear performance benefits. The ingestion of CHO during prolonged exercise promotes CHO availability and enhances endurance and performance, and athletes usually chose CHO-rich foods and drinks of moderate to high GI to achieve this goal. Moderate- and high-GI CHO choices appear to enhance glycogen storage after exercise compared with low GI CHO-rich foods. However, the reason for this is not clear. A number of attributes of CHO-rich foods may be of value to the athlete including the nutritional value of the food or practical issues such as palatability, portability, cost gastric comfort, or ease of preparation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sports Nutrition, Australian Institute of Sport, Leverrier Crescent, Belconnen ACT, Australia 2617.
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Collier
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hargreaves
mesh_terms: D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000145:classification* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D013177:Sports / Q000502:physiology; D013178:Sports Medicine / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D005947:Glucose