title: Carbohydrate loading and female endurance athletes: effect of menstrual-cycle phase.
abstract: This study compared 3 d of carbohydrate loading (CHOL; 8.4 g x kg(-1) x d(-1) carbohydrate) in female eumenorrheic athletes with 3 d of an isoenergetic normal diet (NORM; 5.2 g x kg(-1) x d(-1) carbohydrate) and examined the effect of menstrual-cycle phase on performance, muscle-glycogen concentration [glyc], and substrate utilization. Nine moderately trained eumenorrheic women cycled in an intermittent protocol varying in intensity from 45% to 75% VO2max for 75 min, followed by a 16-km time trial at the midfollicular (MF) and midluteal (ML) phases of the menstrual cycle on NORM and CHOL. Time-trial performance was not affected by diet (CHOL 26.10 +/- 1.04 min, NORM 26.16 +/- 1.35 min; P = 0.494) or menstrual-cycle phase (MF 26.05 +/- 1.10 min, ML 26.23 +/- 1.33 min; P = 0.370). Resting [glyc] was lowest in the MF phase after NORM (575 +/- 145 mmol x kg(-1) x dw(-1)), compared with the MF phase after CHOL (728 mmol x kg(-1) x dw(-1)) and the ML phase after CHOL and NORM (756 and 771 mmol x kg(-1) x dw(-1), respectively). No effect of phase on substrate utilization during exercise was observed. These data support previous observations of greater resting [glyc] in the ML than the MF phase of the menstrual cycle and suggest that lower glycogen storage in the MF phase can be overcome by carbohydrate loading.
authors.affiliation: Dept of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Rebecca T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: McLay
authors.forename: Christine D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.forename: Sheila M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Nancy J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Rehrer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006003:Glycogen / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008597:Menstrual Cycle / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism; D010807:Physical Endurance / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D006003:Glycogen