Carbohydrate intake during exercise increases performance. Athletes should consume carbohydrates before, during, and after exercise (during recovery) to optimize performance in competition or high-intensity training.

Department of Sports Medicine, Australian Institute of Sport, Australia

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Acute carbohydrate intake 60 minutes and 30 minutes before exercise improves maximal performance, reduces muscle fatigue, and speeds up information processing.

Université Cote d’Azur, Laboratoire Motricité Humaine Expertise Sport Santé, France

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Carbohydrate supplementation during intense exercise leads to a smaller decline in performance and enables greater total work. As a result, athletes can maintain high intensity for longer.

Department of Human Services, Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA

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Carbohydrate intake during prolonged exercise can significantly improve endurance performance, prevent depletion of liver glycogen, and enable a high rate of carbohydrate utilization. Carbohydrate intake during prolonged exercise significantly improves endurance performance, and even small amounts of carbohydrates can enhance shorter, more intense exercise bouts.

Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Health, NUTRIM School for Nutrition, The Netherlands

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A meta-analysis of more than 45 years of research confirms that carbohydrate supplements delay fatigue and improve performance in prolonged or intermittent sports such as football.

Section of Sport Medicine & Biology of Exercise, School of Physical Education and Sports Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

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Carbohydrate and electrolyte intake improves football players’ performance.

Institute of Sports Medicine & Science, Kwangwoon University, Republic of Korea

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Drinking a carbohydrate–electrolyte beverage before each half improved passing accuracy and high-intensity running ability in elite football players. It therefore helps maintain both technical and physical performance in the later stages of the game.

International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism

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Consuming a carbohydrate drink improved football players’ skill performance, especially toward the end of a match. Improvements of ~2% in agility, ~3.2% in dribbling, and ~3.5% in shooting accuracy were observed.

School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK

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A review of 50 randomized, crossover, placebo-controlled studies confirms that “carbohydrate intake increases performance during endurance exercise.”

Discipline of Exercise and Sport Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Australia

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Of the 61 published studies included, 82% showed a statistically significant performance benefit from carbohydrate consumption.

Canadian Sport Institute - Pacific, Canada

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A 2011 meta-analysis of 73 studies states that “carbohydrate supplements with an appropriate composition and dosing regimen can provide substantial benefits for endurance performance.”

Sport Performance Research Institute of NZ, AUT University, New Zealand

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The study examined the effects of different caffeine doses (0–100 mg) on attention, memory, and mood in both occasional and frequent consumers. Even low doses of caffeine improved cognitive performance and mood. The results confirm that even small amounts of caffeine can positively affect alertness and mental function.

Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, UK

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A meta-analysis of 13 studies showed that low to moderate doses of caffeine taken before or during exercise improve energy, mood, and cognitive functions such as attention and reaction time. Caffeine also reduces fatigue and may improve short-term memory.

Sports Department, Facultad de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain

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Caffeine has been shown to improve both aerobic and anaerobic performance in trained and untrained individuals. Taken before or during exercise, it increases endurance, muscular strength, sprint speed, vertical jump height, and agility.

Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada

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Caffeine taken before or during exercise produces a small to moderate reduction in perceived exertion (RPE). As a result, athletes may perceive training as easier and be able to sustain a higher intensity.

Int J Sports Physiol Perform

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A review of 21 meta-analyses confirms that caffeine improves performance across a wide range of sports. It enhances muscular endurance, strength, anaerobic performance, and aerobic capacity.

Institute for Health and Sport (IHES), Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia

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Caffeine intake significantly extends time to exhaustion and improves performance in running tests. Caffeine can therefore be an effective ergogenic aid for endurance sports.

Graduate School, Beijing Sport University, Beijing 100084, China

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Consuming moderate doses of caffeine (3–6 mg/kg) about 60 minutes before performance improves physical performance in team sports. The results confirm caffeine’s positive effects on game performance and explosiveness.

Department for Health, University of Bath, UK

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A single moderate dose of caffeine had a small but statistically significant positive effect on several measures of physical performance in team sports. Caffeine may therefore help in disciplines requiring speed and repeated high-intensity activity.

a Exercise Physiology Laboratory , Camilo José Cela University , Madrid , Spain

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A meta-analysis showed that caffeine reduces subjective perceptions of effort during and after exercise. This effect may partly explain why caffeine improves overall athletic performance.

Division of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Luton, Luton, Beds LU1 3JU, UK

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